Texas Temptation Read Free

eyes. It was Annie. Her hair was shorter, but she most definitely was Jonathan’s fiancée.
    Ex- fiancée, Jared reminded himself grimly.
    Her eyes were wide and full of expression as she turned back to him. “Hello, Jared,” she said, smiling weakly as she forced a short laugh. “It’s, uh, nice to see you.”
    He frowned at her. She certainly had seen him. That was like Annie, to try to alleviate tension with a joke. The only problem was, he wasn’t exactly in a joking mood at the moment.
    He was still reeling with the realization that he’d woken up with a woman in his bed. That hadn’t happened in a hell of a long time. And it wasn’t just any woman. It was Annie, for God’s sake.
    He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, still trying to bring his body under control. He’d been dreaming something incredibly erotic. Although that certainly wasn’t strange, considering the state of his sex life lately. The woman in his dream had been tall and slender and blond, and while that wasn’t strange, either, the fact that she’d looked remarkably like Annie was. He still wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but he did know that he’d nearly made love to her, that he sure as hell had wanted to.
    Dammit. He still wanted to.
    His throat suddenly felt dry as a Texas plain. He stared at the bottle beside the bed and realized he’d probably had a little too much last night. He did that occasionally. Sometimes he had weird dreams.
    But Annie had been no dream. She was very real, and sitting twelve inches away from him.
    He couldn’t stop the ache that tightened his loins. Damn, but she had felt good. She’d smelled like spring flowers and tasted like something minty. Her skin had felt soft and smooth under his hands, and her hardened nipple under his palm—
    He cursed himself again. This was Annie. Jonathan’s Annie. He couldn’t think about her like that. He had no right.
    He’d never have that right.
    He raked a hand through his tousled hair and closed his eyes. “Annie... God, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
    â€œHey, Jared, it’s okay,” she said with a flip of her hand, but he could see her fingers shake as she tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind one ear.
    Dammit, she had every right to be scared. He’d practically attacked her!
    â€œBesides,” she went on, “it’s my fault. I never should have come in here like I did. It’s just that I heard a crash and you called out, and I, well, I thought you were sick or something.”
    A crash? Jared glanced around the room, then realized that a glass, the one that had been sitting beside the whiskey bottle, had fallen behind the nightstand and shattered. Good Lord, had he been reaching for the bottle even in his sleep?
    â€œI’m fine.” Careful to keep his distance from her and just as careful to keep the sheet over his hips, Jared scooted to the edge of the bed. “I had a late night, that’s all.”
    It must have been later than he thought, Jared realized, as he searched the bedroom floor. “Where the hell are my pants?” he mumbled irritably to himself.
    â€œThere’s a pair of jeans in the living room,” Annie said awkwardly. “They’re wet, though.”
    Jared frowned. He’d been outside on the steps, and it had started raining. He’d obviously stayed out longer than good sense dictated.
    But then, good sense was hardly one of his strong points, he reminded himself, in light of what had just happened.
    He stood, intending to grab a dry pair of jeans from his dresser, then remembered his state of undress. When he quickly sat back down, she looked away and started to rise.
    â€œI...uh, I’ll just wait for you in the other room.”
    â€œNo.” He took hold of her wrist and gently tugged her back down. Her pulse beat hard and fast under his fingertips.
    He knew he