The Black Sheep (North Moon Bay Book 1) by Patricia Ryan & P.B. Ryan

Author:Patricia Ryan & P.B. Ryan [Ryan, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: bush pilot, pilot hero, ex-con hero, wounded hero, Bad boy hero, hale's point, virgin heroine
Publisher: Hawkley Books
Published: 2012-04-25T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

YES, I AM!” Harley gave Marie’s lasagna pan one last scrub with the steel wool, rinsed it under the tap, and handed it to Tucker.

“No, you’re not!” He dried the pan with quick, angry strokes and slammed it down on the counter next to the sink.

She felt around in the soapy water with a rubber-gloved hand—no more dishes, they’d done them all—and pulled out the drain plug. The gloves made a wonderfully angry snap when she peeled them off, the better to punctuate her wrath.

Wheeling to face him, she said, “Just because we’re going to be living in the same house doesn’t give you the right to run my life, like some kind of overbearing, know-it-all...” What was the word she was looking for?

“Paternalistic,” he supplied.

“Paternalistic, full-of-himself, know-it-all...”

He leaned on the counter and grinned at her. “You’re repeating yourself.”

“You know what I mean!”

“God, you’re beautiful. You glow with indignation.”

She wasn’t going to let him charm her out of her anger. “Phil said if I felt up to it, I should do it.”

“He was talking about a walk on the beach, not swimming.”

“He meant any physical activity. I need some kind of exercise, and I love my evening swim. Now that the rain has stopped, I intend to take it.”

Tucker rubbed at his neck. “Look, I know you don’t remember yesterday very well, but you were very, very sick. I don’t think it’s a good idea to swim—not for a while.”

“A doctor of internal medicine let me climb down to the beach and take a pretty long walk this afternoon.”

He rolled his eyes. “That doctor of internal medicine happens to have ulterior motives.”

“Oh, please. First Jamie, now Phil. You think every man who knows me has designs on me, just because... because—”

He leaned his cane against the counter and moved closer. “Because I have designs on you? I know what you think. You think I’m panting after you like a hungry wolf, that I’d do anything to get you into bed.”

She took a step back and felt the sink behind her. “No, I don’t.”

He quickly closed in on her. “Well, I am, and I would.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her, deeply and passionately. When he released her, she gasped for air, and he murmured, “Anything. Just tell me what it’ll take.”

“You’re crazy! Men don’t just come out and say things like that. They, they finesse you, they—”

“Buy you flowers and take you to dinner and spend a lot of money on you and bring you home and turn off the lights and turn on some tunes and engineer some ridiculously obvious seduction, all the while pretending they’re madly in love with you, and a month later you’re history. Right?”

“I take it you’re more into dragging them by their hair into the nearest cave. Right?”

He stood with hands on hips. “At least it’s honest.”

“And they’re still going to end up history, only probably the next morning, not the next month, because you’re heavily into bolting. Am I on target?”

A slight pause on his part.

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