Her Forever Cowboy by Marie Ferrarella

Author:Marie Ferrarella
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

He was daring her. And maybe, just maybe, a part of Brett was laughing at her, as well. Not cruelly—instinct told her that Brett Murphy was not cruel by nature or design—but he was laughing at her in amusement. Amusement that still, no matter how it was sliced, was at her expense.

If only the man didn’t look so damn sexy while he was doing it. But even that incensed her, reminding her how vulnerable she’d once been by being attracted to a man’s looks.

Now, at least, she knew how to look beneath the veneer.

“Afraid?” Brett asked, his mouth curving.

Her eyes narrowed into small, flashing slits. Brett had inadvertently said just the right thing to galvanize her resolve.

To Alisha, to show fear had always been equal to showing weakness, and to be perceived as weak ripped independence right out of a person’s hands. Once lost, independence was incredibly difficult to win back—the same way that trust was difficult to win back once a person was caught in a lie.

She refused to ever be that weak person, and worse, to be perceived as a weak person.

Keeping that thought foremost in her mind, Alisha defiantly placed her hand on top of Brett’s, her eyes never leaving his.

“Satisfied?” she fairly bit off.

She watched, her body growing even more heated, as the corners of Brett’s firm mouth slowly, seductively, wickedly curved upward. She could almost feel the impression of his smile within her being. It took her a full second to realize that she’d stopped breathing. Air found its way into her lungs with effort.

“Not by a long shot, Alisha,” he whispered, making sure that she was the only one who heard him. Making his response that much more intimate.

Alisha.

He’d called her Alisha again. Not the flippant nickname he’d awarded her—Lady Doc—or her title—Dr. Cordell—but her given name. And by using her name the way he did, he made this exchange between them extremely intimate despite the fact that there had to be upward of at least fifty-five people milling around the inside of Murphy’s.

As if her ability to react was set on some sort of a five-second-delay program, Alisha suddenly pulled back her hand.

“Well, you’re going to have to be satisfied,” she retorted. Pushing her empty glass back toward him on the bar, Alisha rose from the stool. “Thanks for the drink,” she told him stiffly.

“My pleasure, darlin’,” he said, deliberately incorporating a whimsical Irish brogue into his voice. When she shot him an exasperated look, he winked at her. He watched as she became flustered, then turned her back to him.

“By the way,” he called after her as she started to hurry away, “when’s your next day off?”

The question, coming completely out of nowhere, struck her as incredibly odd.

“Why?”

Brett was the picture of nonchalance as he shrugged carelessly. “Thought you might like to get a look at a ranch—or what used to be a ranch,” he amended.

Curious, she retraced her steps. Just what was the man up to? “Used to be?” she repeated uncertainly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.