Read Online A Cowboy For Christmas by Kristen James - Free Book Online Page B

worked with. Not after the struggle
to get past the humiliation and the rumors. She turned and ran
clear to her house.
     
    * * * *
    “ Missy!”
    She didn’t hear. She was
gone.
    His body felt on fire. For
a minute, he’d been lost in the most moving experience of his life.
His lips felt cold now that hers weren’t there.
    Was he loosing it, or had
she leaned toward him first? The woman had no idea of what she
wanted. Her reaction sent a chill through him, though he couldn’t
tell if she’d been shocked or disgusted. Both were
disheartening.
    He breathed deeply and
debated for a minute, and then started walking. Maybe it wouldn’t
be as simple as getting her into bed. He had tried to tell himself
that would fix these feelings for both of them so they could get on
with their work.
    But she was afraid of
something, and he felt a lot more than plain old lust.
    If only he knew what to do
about it. For the moment, he needed to make sure she was okay. He
knocked five times before she opened the door. The words he wanted
to say just didn’t work. Not when he saw the pain in her big brown
eyes.
    She’d removed her red coat,
revealing the white long sleeve shirt she wore underneath. It
stretched across her breasts, making him wish they were here to
continue what they’d started, not discuss why they wouldn’t
be.
    Something big stood in the
way of her trusting him. He could see it in her expression. Her
pale face made her eyes larger, darker. He wanted to hold her and
kiss her again to make it all right, but not after what just
happened.
    “ Missy, don’t you trust
me?”
    Taking several steps back,
she nodded. At the very least, she said she did. Maybe she’d been
upset with herself for breaking a personal rule. Could it be that
simple?
    “ Then did I read you
wrong?” he asked, stepping inside and shutting the door.
    “ No.” Her hunched shoulders
kept him close to the door, watching her as she took a deep breath.
When she motioned to the couch, he came in and sat, leaving space
between them.
    Suddenly he noticed the
pile of folded blankets next to the couch. “You’re sleeping out
here?”
    Shrugging, she tried to say
something, but just ran her fingers through her hair. He didn’t
understand for a minute, but it didn’t take long. From where he
sat, he could see down the hallway, to the bedroom door. It was
shut. He doubted she’d gone into Ben’s old room.
    Brent felt so lousy about
himself he didn’t know what to say.
    She cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry.”
    Even if she’d kissed him
first, which he doubted now, it wasn’t her fault. “You don’t have
to be sorry for it.”
    She looked up to his face
again. He saw regret in her eyes and braced for the words. “I have
to be, and I can’t do that again.”
    “ You didn’t like it?” His
question went over the line, but he had to know. He wasn’t sure how
he’d walk away from someone so mysterious, so beautiful.
    “ I did like kissing you,
Brent.” The way she spoke slowly had him bracing for the ‘but’.
“I’m just not ready for a relationship.”
    “ I wasn’t either. There’s
no way to prepare for that.” She’d about knocked him over, sent him
into moans.
    “ I don’t think I’ll ever be
ready for that.” She stood back up as she spoke, and he jumped to
his feet after her.
    “ If you’re not attracted to
me, tell me, but please don’t turn away if it’s something
else.”
    She folded her arms. “I
don’t have to explain this to you, or anybody. I told you my
problems are just that, remember? My problems.” Anger simmered
under her quick words. She took three long strides to the door and
grabbed the handle.
    She was tall, but he was
taller and took two steps to catch her. He planted a hand on top of
hers. “That’s not how it works with people who care about
you.”
    “ What?”
    “ Yeah, I care about you.”
Without warning, he planted his mouth on hers again. She made a
noise that started like an hmm and ended