Burning Desire by Lana Dare

Author:Lana Dare [Dare, Lana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance
Published: 2018-07-18T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Once back in his cabin, he set her on her feet, not taking his eyes from her as he slid the piece of wood in place to bar the door. He hung her hat and his on curved nails next to it. Turning, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Not trusting the look in his eyes, she backed away, not stopping until she reached the opposite wall. “I’m sorry.”

Raising a brow, he lowered his hands to his hips. “Are you?”

Nervous at his cool tone, Esmerelda took several steadying breaths. “I am. I was just scared. I thought you were going to give me to Big Bill.”

“I know what you thought.”

“You can’t really blame me for that.”

He bent to remove his boots. “No one else to blame.”

Esmerelda grimaced. “I was just afraid you changed your mind.”

After setting his boots aside, he straightened. “Gave you no reason to.”

Noticing that his words had become clipped, Esmerelda had a sinking feeling that she’d crossed some invisible line. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Careful not to place too much weight on her ankle, she eased back and held on to the wall. “Are you gonna spank me?”

“You deserve it.”

Pressing the backs of her hands against her bottom, Esmerelda leaned heavily against the wall. “I’ve said I’m sorry.”

He stripped off his shirt. “You called me a sidewinder. A liar.”

Esmerelda gulped again, realizing that she’d done it in front of a crowd. “I’m really sorry.”

“Tried to hit me with a crutch.”

Fisting her hands behind her back, Esmerelda straightened and stepped away from the wall, resigning herself to facing the consequences. “I did. That was wrong.”

He tossed his shirt aside, moving to the table beneath the window and setting several knives on the surface. “It was.”

He closed the window, a sign that he wanted privacy, and poured water into the basin.

He’d brought two more buckets in that morning before leaving for the day—a chore that would be hers once she could move without the crutch.

The distance he’d put between them gave her the courage to take another step closer to him. She could see how sweaty he’d become from digging fence posts all day and felt even worse for losing her temper. “You worked hard today.”

He dropped the cloth in the water and reached for the soap on the shelf, retrieving both his and her scented one. “Work hard every day.”

Distracted by the bunch and shifting of muscles, she took a step closer, mesmerized by the sight of him washing himself. “Bet you’re hungry.”

“Hmm.”

Swallowing heavily, she walked carefully around the mattress, forcing herself to keep moving until she stood right behind him.

Reaching out, she touched his back, finding it sticky with sweat. “Can I wash your back for you?”

Duke stilled briefly, turning to look at her as he rinsed the soap from his face, chest, arms and underarms before soaping the cloth again. Turning again, he handed it to her, his eyes narrowed and sharp.

Nervous, she took it from

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