Read Online Man of Passion by Lindsay McKenna - Free Book Online

bed. The shower was tiny. The galley kitchen was spick and-span, but small. Still, it would be her home away from home for the next three to six months. That made her feel giddy. She had been expecting to rough it, but the houseboat was a wonderful surprise.
    Quickly trying to smooth her hair into place because she'd mussed it while haphazardly shrugging into a crimson tank top and jeans, she found herself more than eager to be with Rafe . In her hand, she had her faithful leather-bound journal and a pen—just in case he had another story to tell her.
    Rafe heard Ari clambering noisily up the stairs. Against his better judgement , he grinned a little as she emerged. Her hair looked flyaway, an unruly golden mop around her face and shoulders. Still, it did nothing but make her look more beautiful in his eyes. She wore a brilliant red tank top that nearly matched the flush on her cheeks. He saw with pleasure that she wasn't going to be a fashion dresser. That was a surprise to him. Instead, she wore a pair of soft, serviceable blue jeans that were loose enough that she could comfortably hike in them. He liked the dark brown leather belt with the sterling silver heart clasp that she wore. Yes, he suspected grudgingly, Ari was all heart, all passion. His emotions reeled from this possibility. Rafe kept trying to reject her because she came from a rich, powerful family, as Justine had. And as he had.
    "Whew! That was the fastest change I've ever done," she confided with a glowing smile as she stood nervously outside the cockpit.
    Rafe pointed to the other chair, which was bolted to the deck next to him. "Come on in. Sit down."
    "Thanks," Ari whispered, barely able to meet the curious warmth burning in his eyes. Her heart skittered as her left elbow brushed against his dark, hairy arm. Settling herself in the well-worn wooden chair, she looked around. "I'm so excited! This is a dream come true, Rafe . You have no idea…."
    "I'm getting there," he murmured dryly, draping his fingers across the twin throttles on the console. When he reversed the engines, the houseboat began to slowly back away from the dirt bank and the rickety old dock.
    Ari held the large journal in her lap, gripping it firmly. She liked the quiet way Rafe nudged the houseboat out into the river. The gentle floating motion of the craft was soothing to her fractured nerves. "This feels so nice," Ari said, then sighed as she gazed at the incredible expanse before them. "The rocking of the boat reminds me of the times my mother would hold and rock me when I was feeling bad, or when I was sick."
    Rafe pointed the bow of the boat downstream, toward where two major rivers joined to create the Amazon. No matter how hard he tried to focus on piloting and keep Ari far from his thoughts, it was impossible. How could she reach inside him so quickly and touch his heart?
    "You said it was a dream come true," Rafe said, glancing past her head as he spotted a huge log bobbing just below the surface of the water. It was coming directly at them and he swung the wheel to the left to avoid it. If one of those big logs hit the houseboat, it would punch a hole in the hull and they would sink very quickly. The area they were crossing was where the rivers combined, the current tricky and surprising. Logs and debris could come from any direction at this point of the journey.
    "Yes. How much did my father tell you about me?"
    Rafe kept his gaze on the log. The Amazon current was deceptive. The river was wide and deep. It looked fairly calm on the surface, but that was an illusion. The log was traveling with the current, at a good six or seven miles per hour. "Actually, I received information on you through Morgan Trayhern at Perseus . He's a close friend of your father's." Rafe didn't want Ari to know he worked for Morgan and added, "Morgan is a friend of mine, also." It wasn't a lie—just not the whole truth. He angled the houseboat a little more to give the log a wide berth. "He sent