"Joy, Carolee - Wild Angel" - читать интересную книгу автора (Joy Carolee)

For Nan, my first writer friend and the closest to an angel anyone will meet this side of heaven. Your encouragement and enthusiasm are an inspiration.



With Special Thanks:

To Doris Booth, a talented lady who knows how to make good things happen, and to Authorlink's wonderful staff, especially Elaine Lanmon,
a gifted writer and a dedicated friend who always finds time to help.
Author's Notes

This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously for verisimilitude. Any other resemblance to any organization, event, or actual person, living or dead, is unintended and entirely coincidental.
Chapter One

She hadn't expected him to have such a big-gun.

Ellie Winfield hadn't recovered from the shock of the shoulder holster lying on the dresser when suddenly the cowboy was standing before her, wearing only white briefs, a black Stetson and a wicked grin. He laid a pocket watch on the dresser beside the vicious looking weapon and a money clip a half an inch thick with bills.

Ellie twisted her fingers together, totally at a loss as to what he wanted her to do. Should she talk dirty to him? A little strip tease? Or just undress and get it over with?

He stretched out on the double bed, his broad shoulders practically spanning the mattress. Everything about the man was big, from his muscular chest to hands that could swallow two of hers, to feet three times the length of her size fives. She didn't even want to think about the scary territory that lay between the hard, flat planes of his abdomen and the muscular thighs sprinkled with dark hair.

He tipped his hat back with a broad finger. "Your turn, darlin'."

He meant to just lie there and watch her remove her clothes?

Unfortunately, her urban cowboy seemed to have sobered up considerably since leaving the honky-tonk on the outskirts of Austin. Any hopes she'd had of him simply falling asleep so she could quietly slip out with the cash he'd promised disappeared with each heated glance he gave her.

Ellie swallowed a lump the size of a tumbleweed. What would he think when he realized her fingers were shaking so badly she couldn't even undo the hooks on her black satin sheath? She tried to assume a confident air. At least she was attracted to him, more so than to any man she'd ever met. "Perhaps if you'd tell me what you like ...."

His grin grew even wider. "Whatever you'd like."

What she'd like was to run from the room and never look back. But she had to go through with this, for Lauren's sake. The five hundred dollars he'd promised her would pay for the plane ticket to see the heart specialist her baby sister needed so urgently.

Biting back tears of humiliation, she reached around and fumbled with the fastening of her dress. The slippery fabric slid away beneath her trembling fingers, eluding her efforts.

Shaking his head, he crooked a finger and beckoned. "Shoulda told me you weren't in any better shape than I am. I would never have let you drive."

Glad he had misjudged her awkwardness, Ellie sank to the edge of the bed and turned her back. The Jaguar had been fun. Whoever Joshua Bell was, he obviously had a great deal of money. He'd never miss the little bit of cash she needed so desperately.

She lifted her hair off her nape and twisted the thick strands to one side. Holding her breath she waited for the heaviness of his hand on her and was surprised by the gentleness in his touch as he undid the hook and eye, then slid the back zipper down.

An air-conditioned chill slid over her skin when he eased the filmy sleeves down her arms and parted the dress completely. He whispered reassurances against her skin, and Ellie shivered. From the cold, she told herself. Not because his lips felt like velvet. Certainly not because his tongue was making little wet circles on her back.

He slid the dress down, clasped her waist with his big hands and turned her to him. Her plunging, black demi-bra must have been a good idea, because his green eyes darkened appreciatively. He licked a finger and trailed it over her skin, just above the lace cups, leaving a trail of moisture that again made her shiver.

"Take it off."

"The dress?" Throat dry, she surrendered to the urge to cover herself and clutched the gauzy fabric to her breasts.