Marry in Haste... Read Free Page A

planted on his face, she answered, “Take advantage of me like this. How could you?” Tears threatened. She blinked them away as she reached to the floor, retrieved her panties, then tried to pull them on from behind the sheet.
    Sitting up now, all signs of sleep and amusement gone from his face, Reed’s deep voice was firm. “I did not take advantage of you.”
    Draping the sheet across her shoulders, she scrambled into her bra next, but as she fastened the catch, the sheet slipped to the floor. “You certainly did. I told you champagne went to my head and still you kept pouring. Now I know why.”
    When he slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood, looking much too male and intimidating, she grabbed her sundress and backed up a few steps, trying to keep her gaze above his waist.
    â€œYou don’t know anything,” he growled.
    Stepping into her dress, she quickly slid her arms under the straps and zipped up the back. “That’s possibly quite true. I can’t believe I ended up in a motel room with a strange man.”
    â€œYou didn’t think I was strange last night,” he argued with the lift of a brow, obviously unconcerned that he was naked.
    She slipped into her sandals. “I must have been drunk last night. I’ve never been drunk before and I’ve never ever—” Tears caught in her throat and this time she couldn’t blink them away as they welled up in her eyes. “I was…I was saving myself for someone special. For someone I was committed to andwanted to spend a lifetime with.” She now realized she’d ducked Winston’s advances these past few months because she hadn’t been committed to him, not in her heart. Finally she’d run because a lifetime with him had seemed unbearable.
    If she didn’t get out of here, she’d make more of a fool of herself. The last thing she wanted to do was to let this man see her cry. Her purse lay on the nightstand. Snatching it up, she turned and headed for the door.
    â€œMallory,” Reed called.
    But she wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. Not with tears rolling down her cheeks. Not with her head throbbing and her emotions in so much chaos. She didn’t think they’d ever settle down. It wasn’t until she closed the door behind her that she realized she didn’t even know where she was. But as she raced down two flights of steps and found herself across the street from the Golden Spur Saloon, she got her bearings.
    Running down the sidewalk to her motel, she realized Reed’s room had been posh compared to the one she’d rented. It had had a sitting area, deep pile carpeting and a nice quality of furnishings. As an interior designer, she recognized quality when she saw it. Unbidden, a vivid picture of a naked Reed popped up before her eyes and she shook her head to clear it. All she wanted to do was to get to San Antonio and her half brother Dawson and put some order back into her life.
    The bright sun made Mallory shade her eyes with her hand. As she hurried past the White Dove Wedding Chapel, the cool morning air raised goose bumpson her arms. She remembered feeling chilled last night outside under the stars, and Reed putting his arm around her….
    But there wasn’t anything else. Maybe in time she would remember her whole sordid night with him. Why had she ever thought dancing and flirting with a stranger wouldn’t be dangerous?
    When she reached her motel, she breathed a sigh of relief and opened the heavy glass door that led into the lobby. The Sierra Inn wasn’t fancy. It had been inexpensive and clean, exactly what she’d been looking for. But instead of spending three days here, she was going to check out early and head for San Antonio.
    Fighting off her headache, still feeling off balance and vulnerable because she couldn’t remember anything that had happened late last night, she was oblivious to everything