Read Online Canyon Shadows by Harper Vonna - Free Book Online Page B

possessed around strangers while this pair seemed to be simply assessing him. Of course maybe he just wasn’t that interesting to them. How would they react if they knew he’d like nothing better than to discover what their mistress was like in the sack?
    “Enough.” Shari snapped her fingers. The dogs immediately backed away from him and flanked her, their noses testing the air. “They’re a little overloaded because they’re in a new environment. I want to give them time to comprehend their surroundings.”
    “You know what they’re thinking?”
    She chuckled. The sound sliced through his skin and went straight to his nerves. “I wouldn’t call it thinking. They pretty much operate on well-developed instinct. Maco?”
    Say my name again. “What?”
    She looked around. “I didn’t realize how big this operation is. I should have, but—I’m impressed.”
    “So am I,” he admitted. “Jason and I have worked a number of large projects, but this is our first dam.”
    “Then how do you know what you’re doing?”
    “Simple. We follow the engineers’ blueprints and specs.”
    “It’s more than that. It has to be.”
    “Correct.” He was surprised at his ability to hold up his end of the conversation. “Getting the right manpower working for us is a key element. So is a broad understanding of construction. That said, at this point it’s pretty basic. Right now we’re doing the ground preparation, something we have expertise in. Once that’s done, they’ll bring in experts who’ve worked with dams before, and we’ll follow their lead.”
    “Oh.” Her tone said she knew things were even more complex than he’d alluded to but wasn’t sure she wanted to go there. Neither did he.
    “How’s your day going?” he asked. She was an intriguing mix of competence and subtle femininity, a modern woman with a primal body.
    “Busy. Same as yours, I imagine.”
    “They’re all busy.” Damn it, come up with something better than that! “What about what happened yesterday? Have you heard anything from the sheriff’s department?”
    “Not a word.” She tucked her hands in her back pockets. The maybe unconscious gesture pushed her breasts against her top and reminded him—as if he needed reminding—of what he wanted to do to and with her. “It’s been peaceful except for my having to call a couple of pups away from a skunk just as I was loading up these dogs. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
    “I’m glad. Really glad. One day of excitement’s enough, right?”
    “Right.”
    “You don’t sound particularly convinced. Are you sure it’s back to normal?”
    “Whatever normal is,” she muttered.
    Good thing her hands were out of reach. Otherwise, he’d be tempted to grab them and pull her against him. Ask her if she really had a handle on her emotions. Take her past memories of what had happened to Ona.
    When she tilted her head, it occurred to him that she was waiting for him to say more. Unfortunately his cock was the only part of his anatomy engaged in dialoguing with his brain. Damn it, the woman turned him on.
    Was that all? He was horny and she came equipped with the anatomical part capable of handling his horniness? Throw in a slender but strong form and big eyes and he wanted nothing else from life?
    If only.
    Silence enveloped Shari, making her both uneasy and unnerved. Granted, silence wasn’t the operant word, thanks to the lumbering machinery mostly below the level area where they were standing, but neither she nor Maco was saying anything. Probably he was waiting for her to launch into educating him about Bruce and Tucker, although maybe he thought she’d be more interested in the dam’s construction or the horses.
    Neither of those things mattered.
    Maco was male with the stereotypical capital M. No way could she convince her body otherwise. This macho place was his world. He belonged here, understood it, accepted it. No urban high-rise office for him. Instead, he piloted the