Uncovering Annabelle Read Free Page A

confines of her
bun and tried again. “I’m sorry. The knock on the head must have
shaken me up. What was it you said?”
    “I said I heard you’re hot, Annabelle.” The
half smile on his face was knowing, as if he were somehow privy to
her lascivious thoughts.
    She could feel the blush cover her cheeks
and resisted the temptation to slap her hands over them to hide the
telltale color. Oh, my Lord. Had he noticed her watching him
whenever she’d run into him in town? Had he guessed that she
thought he was the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on?
    His brown eyes sparkled as they swept her
from head to foot. Was it her imagination or had his eyes grown
darker since last time she’d seen him? His gaze seemed to linger on
her mouth. On her lips. The memory of what her lips had been doing
in her dreams hit her full force. They were suddenly parched, and
she licked them, trying to ease their dryness. It didn’t help. Her
gaze dropped to the front of his jeans before she jerked it back to
his face.
    Mike stood stock-still in the doorway, his
eyes intently following the progress of her tongue across her lips.
His entire body tensed. He closed his eyes and exhaled heavily,
seeming like a man nearing the end of his patience. Shaking his
head, he opened his eyes again and his body relaxed into its former
pose. As she continued to stare, that little grin of his curved up
once again. The tension-filled moment passed as if it never
happened.
    She was getting herself worked up over
nothing. There was no way he could possibly know about her
dreams—hot, steamy nighttime fantasies that ended way too soon and
left her drenched in sweat when she woke. No, he couldn’t know
about those. She’d never told a soul. She hardly even let herself
think about them, at least not in the daytime. When she crawled
into bed at night was a different story.
    She knew he was still waiting on her, so she
summoned up her frostiest smile. It had been tried and tested and
was guaranteed to let a man know she wasn’t interested or amused.
“What do you mean by that comment?”
    “Just what I said.” He continued to smile as
he straightened away from the door frame and sauntered slowly
across the room.
    It was only when he was towering over her
that she was reminded she was still sitting on the floor. It was
very reminiscent of her position last night, and again her eyes
were drawn to the front of his jeans. She wondered if he could
possibly look as good naked in real life as he did in her
dreams.
    This had to stop. Annabelle ran her hand
over her face in an effort to gain control of her emotions. This
was the first time she’d had to deal with Mike almost immediately
after one of her dreams. Usually, it was days before she had to
face him on the street or at some local function. This was too
soon. Her body was still thrumming with the pleasure from the night
before, and knew that this man was responsible for it. And it
wanted more.
    Before she could scramble to her feet, he
stretched out his hand. “Here, let me help you.”
    Annabelle was powerless to resist the lure
of his voice and the excuse to actually touch him. She placed her
hand in his. It was large and rough with calluses, and a faded scar
ran diagonally across the top. The heat from his skin spread up her
arm, leaving tingles in its wake.
    He gently closed his fingers around hers and
tugged her to her feet. She’d never been this up close and personal
with him before. His eyes reminded her of chocolate—rich, deep,
delicious melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. His eyelashes were sinfully
long. They would make most men look feminine, but on Mike they were
extremely sexy. She could quite happily lose herself in his
eyes.
    He radiated a steady warmth that made her
want to snuggle up against him, even on a hot day like today. The
strength and comfort he unconsciously projected drew her like a
lure. She took a deep breath and then wished she hadn’t. He even
smelled hot—a combination of woodsy