Honey and Smoke Read Free

wanted to make sure that you were a woman. But you’re not just a woman, you’re a stealth bomber with a bosom.”
    “Funny.”
    He reached over a second time and wiped grime from her face. “I must be getting old. Hell, yes, you’re very female.” He looked closely at her shoulder-length blackhair. Then, muttering an oath of self-rebuke under his breath, he turned her onto her stomach and quickly freed her hands.
    Relief shuddered through her. She whipped around, shoved herself upright with one hand, and slapped him across the face with the other. He barely blinked. “Okay. I deserved that.”
    Betty scooted several feet away from him. “What gives you the right to manhandle someone who’s minding her own business?” she demanded raggedly.
    His eyes were light green. They never wavered from hers. “There was no reason for anyone to be in that cave. I thought you were a kid hiding drugs. Why didn’t you come out when I called you?”
    “I can’t imagine where my manners were. I
always
respond when I’m given orders by strange men in military gear carrying big rifles. Why did you shoot at me?”
    “I didn’t shoot at you. I was aiming at a deer.”
    “A ten-foot-tall deer.”
    “Some kind of strange bobcat ran into me, and my shot went bad. I swear. I tracked the cat here.”
    “It’s my pet!”
    He did a double take, then recovered. “Calm down. I wasn’t planning to make a rug out of it. I only wanted to get a better look at the thing.” Lifting a dirty hand, he pointed at her to emphasize his next intense words. “I would never hunt where it wasn’t safe to shoot. I thought this land was empty.”
    “It’s not empty. It’s mine. And there are no-hunting signs posted everywhere.”
    “I walked in from the south. You didn’t post them there.”
    “But … but there’s no road on that side for at least ten miles. That’s why I never thought anyone would wander over my boundaries from that direction.”
    He shrugged. The rifle rode the heavy muscles of his back. “I like to hike,” he said simply. He cleared his throat. “You can file assault charges against me. I do owe you an apology, and it’s sincere. Will you accept?”
    His honesty caught her off guard. The way his gaze kept flickering over her face and body distracted her. Betty wiped a gloved hand to her face and wondered if she looked awful. “I’m supposed to just grin and say, ‘Aw, shucks, Rambo, no harm done’?”
    “You have to admit, there were extenuating circumstances.” Admiration grew in his eyes as he studied her. “You were damned good in that cave. Resourceful.”
    Betty realized that she was adorning her cheek with bat guano. She dropped her hand into her lap.
He has beautiful green eyes
, she couldn’t help thinking. And his hair, now that she could finally see it, was a rich almond shade of brown. And all the camouflage in the world couldn’t disguise a finely honed masculine body in its prime.
    “Who are you?” she asked.
    “Where do you live?” he countered.
    “Who are you?” she repeated.
    “You never accepted my apology.”
    “I don’t accept apologies from nameless strangers.”
    “Max Templeton. I’d offer to shake hands, but I doubt you’re in the mood.”
    “You’re right. Are you local?”
    “Lately, yes.”
    “Good. Then you’ll feel at home in the local jail.”
    “You’re not making this apology process easy.”
    “You trespassed on my property and assaulted me.”
    “Don’t forget a misdemeanor charge concerning the careless use of a firearm.”
    “You’re not taking this seriously.”
    “You tossed a handful of firecrackers between my legs. I’m too upset to think straight.”
    “You don’t look upset.”
    “You don’t look upset either. Let’s go have a beer and get acquainted. I’ll buy. My apology will be much more acceptable with a froth on it.”
    She slumped. A ticklish new fear sat in the bottom of her chest, the fear that something potent was brewing