One Wild Cowboy Read Free Page A

more than I do,” Dylan intervened.
    â€œAnd neither of us like answering nosy questions,” Emily added.
    Holden shrugged, unrepentant. “You’re the one who brought it up.” He turned to Dylan. “Emily told us earlier that the two of you had a date tonight.”
    Jeb sauntered up, a typical know-it-all grin on his face. “I’ve got to say, we didn’t believe her then and given the fact the two of you arrived separately now…” He regarded his little sister suspiciously. “Now you wouldn’t happen to be pulling one over on the whole family just because we’re trying to set you up, would you?”
    The only thing Dylan liked less than being put on the spot was seeing a strong, independent woman like Emily reduced to making up stories simply to get her interfering family out of her business.
    â€œI can’t believe you would even think that!” Emily sputtered.
    Something about her vulnerability got to Dylan.
    He’d never been prone to rescuing damsels in distress—because that could only lead to trouble. But this was different.
    So he did the only thing that he knew would shut everyone up.
    He wrapped his arm around Emily’s slender shoulders, pivoted her slightly and brought her all the way against him.

Chapter Two
    Shock rendered Emily completely still. She couldn’t believe Dylan was about to kiss her, but she could not deny the electric jolt of the first brush of his lips. Suddenly breathless, she found herself closing her eyes and parting her lips. Darn it all, this reckless cowboy was one fine kisser. And she was susceptible as could be to the seductive heat of his mouth, combined with the masculine certainty of his tall, strong body pressed against hers. Despite her efforts to remain immune to this ridiculously false display of affection, she impulsively wound her arms around his neck. And still he kept on kissing her, until she shivered with sheer pleasure and the rest of the world literally fell away…
    Dylan hadn’t meant to get so caught up in the moment. And maybe he wouldn’t have, had Emily’s lips not been so incredibly sweet, her body so warm and womanly…. This was supposed to be his chance to put the audacious heiress in her place and make sure she never made false claims about the two of them again.
    And yet, the kiss that had started out merely as a way to knock her off balance and show her who was boss swiftly turned into much, much more. It was an invitation to delve further into the chemistry between them. A lightning bolt of desire that instinct told him neither of them would soon forget.
    He might not be the right kind of guy for her, or she the right kind of woman for him, but the passion between them was potent. Too potent, Dylan decided, for the kiss to continue.
    It took everything he had to let the passionate embrace come to a halt. And a second after that he was reminded that they had an audience.
    All three of her big brothers looked at him as if they wanted to clock him.
    Dylan could hardly blame them.
    Had Emily been his wildly impetuous baby sister…
    Blushing, Emily stepped back slightly, grabbed Dylan’s sleeve and held on tight. “You know,” she said, seemingly making up words on the fly with the same impetuousness that had him kissing her, “that wasn’t the smartest move either of us has ever made, Dylan. But,” she continued before any of the four males around her could interrupt, “that’s what happens when you’re in love.” She paused to beam at him. “Right, Dylan?”
    Once again, he had a chance to put her in place. All he had to do was disavow having any feelings at all for her. Tell the truth about their “date.”
    Certainly, it would have been the wise thing to do—if he wanted to end this craziness.
    For some reason, he didn’t.
    Dylan rocked back on his heels, braced his hands on his waist and shrugged in the