Texas Tough Read Free

thought.
    A few weeks later he’d learned she was the visiting daughter of their jackass neighbor, Congressman Garn Prescott. She was also a capable accountant. Beau had hired her part time to create an online spreadsheet and enter the data for the ranch accounts. That would explain what she was doing here today.
    So far, Sky had made himself scarce when she was around. Any meeting between them was bound to be awkward as hell. And her being Prescott’s spoiled princess daughter was a complication he didn’t need.
    But that hadn’t stopped him from thinking about her, picturing that tousled red hair and those thoroughbred legs. It hadn’t stopped him from remembering the taste of her luscious mouth and the cool, firm silk of her breast in the hollow of his hand.
    Now she was here—alone. And the pain of what he’d learned from Jasper was eating a hole in his gut. The urge to break the rules and do something crazy surged like wildfire in his veins. Damn it, he wanted her . And if having her was a risk, so much the better.
    Kicking caution into the dust, Sky raked a hand through his black hair and strode toward the house.
    Â 
    Lauren was entering a line of data into the computerized studbook and double-checking the numbers when she heard the creak of a floorboard. She looked up.
    He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame as if he’d been there awhile, just watching her.
    Heat flooded Lauren’s face, staining her cheeks with crimson. “Can I . . . help you with something?” Her voice betrayed the effect he was having on her.
    He took his time, his gaze flicking over her white linen blouse, unbuttoned at the throat and sheer enough to show the outline of the pink lace bra beneath. His mouth twitched as if holding back some forbidden comment.
    â€œAs I recollect, you and I never finished what we started.” He spoke in a slow drawl. “And I’m not a man to walk away from unfinished business.”
    Pulse skittering, Lauren rose and walked around the desk. She wanted to put him in his place, to inform him that the half-drunken floozy he’d picked up in the bar wasn’t her real self. She had an education. She had goals and standards. And if Sky Fletcher thought he could just walk in here and expect her to fall into his arms . . .
    They stood almost toe to toe. Hands on her hips, she glared up into his impossibly blue eyes.
    Lord help her, she wanted the man. . . .
    He waited with a knowing look that told her it was only a matter of time. Damn his complacency. It would serve him right to get his gorgeously chiseled face slapped hard enough to leave a bruise.
    Even when her hand shot up, poised to strike, he didn’t turn away. His steady gaze was strong but disturbingly gentle. Lauren felt something break loose inside her—the shards of her resistance as she gave in to what she wanted. Her arm caught his neck. She strained upward, yearning for the kiss she’d remembered since that night in her car—the night that had left her burning for more.
    Unfinished business, he’d called it. And now their bodies demanded that they finish what they’d started—here and now.
    His lips crushed hers with a savage tenderness, demanding all she had to give. As he jerked her close, a hot, hungry ache surged inside her. His erection pressed her belly through layers of denim. She tilted her hips to heighten the tingle, molding her thighs to the solid ridge—demandingly hard and so big that she found herself wondering how he would fit inside her.
    With a low mutter he slid his hands into her jeans, cupping her buttocks to rock her against him. She moaned, shuddered, and gasped. The burst of sensation that ripped through her was a release that left her wanting more. Moisture soaked her panties. In every way, she was ready for him.
    Drawing back, she reached down and fumbled with his belt buckle. With a rough laugh, he moved her hand aside and finished