Sinful Hearts by Petrova Em

Author:Petrova, Em [Petrova, Em]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-10-22T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

Goddammit, he’d made a grave error. Graham dropped his face into his hands and let the terror roll through him. How could he have done such a thing? Bound himself to another woman who was sure to be taken from him? Self-disgust followed on the heels of his fear. He’d dragged the innocent Kathleen into his arms and made promises with his body when he wasn’t suitable for her.

The chance of losing her to a murderous enemy wasn’t slim with Wabash on the loose. Even if that traitorous bastard wasn’t out there lurking, ready to steal any peace Graham had managed to gain, women didn’t last long in this part of the country. Illnesses and hard work wore females thin, and childbirth took them out more often than not.

He stared down at the woman slumbering in the tall, fragrant grasses—his woman—and assessed her. Was she hardy enough to withstand the rigors of life as a cowboy’s wife? Cooking and cleaning for her father was less of a trial than running a ranch with a string of babies clinging to her skirts while Graham rode off for weeks at a time to sell horses.

She lay on her side, her cheek pillowed on his wadded-up shirt and her long auburn tresses spilled into one eye. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically beneath her skirt, which he’d used to cover her. The sun was just rising over the lip of the land, spreading its glowing fingers through the sky.

Kathleen was too pale. Hell, he could see several networks of veins beneath her fair skin. Though she possessed womanly curves, she was surely too thin. She wouldn’t last a week as his wife.

But it was too damn late. He’d claimed her, and that meant he had to get her to the preacher with all haste. If his family discovered he’d bedded a good woman without marrying her first, he’d find himself facedown in the barn, spitting hay and teeth. He could even expect a broken bone or two from his vigilant cousins. The Hollis boys simply did not carouse.

Fuck. He continued to stare at the little vixen who had weaseled her way under his skin. As with Bella, he’d gone with his gut instincts and the primal drive to possess her. The parallels were too alike, and that was what scared the hell out of him. That kernel of guilt had firmly lodged in his gut too. Was he marring Bella’s memory by taking up with another woman? He’d sworn to himself he’d never take another woman, yet here she was, spread out before him like a feast for a starving man.

Keeping her safe from the threat of Wabash and any other ghost from his past would be the real challenge. One he was up for?

Too late.

An impulsive ass, that was what he was. He deserved to be beaten to a pulp by his brothers and cousins. He had half a mind to ride straight home and confess to his brothers, Nolan and Clay.

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