The Rancher and the Nanny by Caroline Cross

Author:Caroline Cross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2000-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

John came awake with a jerk.

Momentarily disoriented, he lay in the darkness with his eyes wide open, waiting for his mind to catch up with the rest of his body. In the next instant it happened, and with sudden clarity he knew he was in his own house, in his own room, between the sheets of his own bed.

And that the silken shape curled against him was Eve’s.

A glance at the digital clock on his dresser told him it was going on midnight. He blinked as he realized he’d slept nearly four hours. But then, he’d been worn down to a sliver after that last bout of lovemaking. Unlike their first explosive encounter, they’d gone slow, taking their time, letting the tension build and build as they explored each other. It had been exquisite torture—and the most intimate experience he’d ever had with a woman.

He slowly let out his breath.

For as long as he could remember, except for a short time as a very young boy when he’d foolishly believed his mother would recognize her mistake and come back for him, he’d dealt with life straight on, refusing to back away no matter how harsh the reality.

But this… Damn but it was hard to wrap his mind around. For so many years, Eve’s dislike had been a given.

Yet lying here now, with her hand twined in his and her hair draped over his chest, he could suddenly see how it could be like one of the trick pictures his psychology teacher had sprung on him back in high school.

He’d been asked to look at an image; he had and he’d seen a goblet. He’d been told to look again, and he’d seen the exact same thing. It hadn’t been until it had been pointed out to him that he’d seen that his “goblet” could also be the silhouettes of two identical faces looking in opposite directions.

It had been so many years ago that he couldn’t remember now exactly what that exercise had been meant to prove. But he suspected it had something to do with getting locked into a single perspective and seeing only what you expected.

Even though the truth might be more complicated. Like a beautiful girl who’d feigned antipathy to mask attraction. And a young man too proud to look beyond the obvious.

Still, it was old news. Instead of focusing on the past, he ought to be deciding what to do next.

The answer should have been easy, given that he never should have allowed this to happen in the first place. Having failed that, he should end things right now, before they became even more complicated. After all, he wasn’t in the market for any kind of committed relationship, having long ago judged—accurately as it turned out—that his chances of making someone a good husband would be on a par with him being a good father. And there was no reason someone like Eve—beautiful, intelligent, educated—should settle for anything less.

His mouth twisted at the irony of him suddenly feeling protective of her.

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.