Read Online Mountain Wild (Harlequin Historical Series) by Stacey Kayne - Free Book Online Page A

you—”
    “You didn’t,” she clipped. Remembering just how willingly she’d responded to his kisses increased the fire beneath her cheeks. The sheer relief in his expression doubled her embarrassment. His eyes no longer clouded by fever, the thought of such intimacy with someone like her likely repulsed him. Alarmed by the moisture burning her eyes, Maggie turned toward the stove.
    “I was disrespectful.”
    Startled by the voice directly behind her, Maggie spun around. He stood a foot away, his fingers tucked into his pant pockets, his expression nothing short of miserable.
    “I am truly sorry.”
    The ache in her chest intensified. “Okay,” she said, hardly able to breathe the word.
    “It ain’t a wonder you’ve looked on the verge of skinning me. I’d be gunning for any man who’d treated my sister in such a way. Honest to God, I thought you were a dream. I couldn’t imagine why else I’d be in bed beside such a…”
    Maggie steeled herself for the insult. Hag? Shrew? She’d heard them all, whispers of townsfolk when she’d venture into a settlement.
    “ Beautiful woman. I figured I must be dead or dreaming.”
    Surprise rippled through her. Was he mocking her?
    He took a step back, caution darkening his gaze—the effect she was used to having on folks—and Maggie realized she was glaring at him.
    “Did you really drag me two miles through the snow?”
    She wanted to rage at him to keep backing up, to sit down and shut up until he cleared out…but she couldn’t. His solemn gaze choked her anger and put an ache in her belly. He felt bad—she didn’t know why that should soften her rage, figuring he ought to feel real bad and then some for all he’d put her through. It had been sheer hell, having her hands all over him while fighting the memory of his sweet words and even sweeter mouth.
    “I had a sled,” she told him, his silent guilt wearing on her nerves. “Not that it made the climb an easy one.”
    “Thank you.”
    His gaze held hers as an unfamiliar surge twisted through her, feelings she couldn’t identify.
    “Guess I can’t blame you for not wanting to share your name after the way I shamed you. Don’t blame you a bit for reactin’ so hostile. I’ll admit, for a moment there, I thought you might be the woman they call Mad Mag. I swear, I—”
    “Grace.” She blurted out her middle name, the first that came to mind.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    Realizing she’d shouted the name at him, she dragged in a calming breath. “My name is Grace.”
    His stormy eyes warmed as his lips curved into a grin.
    Sweet mercy.
    “You look like a Grace.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “That it’s a pretty name.”
    She blinked against a sudden burning in her eyes. She had to get out of here. She couldn’t breathe with him standing so close. “You still have food on the table.”
    He gave a nod and turned away from her. “I have a niece named Grace. She and her sister are six years old and cute as buttons.”
    The moment his butt touched down on the chair she made a dash for her coat and shrugged into the heavy fur as she reached for the door.
    “Where are you—?”
    “Wood box,” she said, stepping into a burst of cold wind. “Boots!”
    Garret watched his dog dash outside. She slammed the door before he could offer another word, much less any assistance.
    His elbows hit the table as a hard breath broke from his lungs. He rubbed a hand over his face and the four days’ worth of growth on his chin. He must look like a polar bear. He’d clearly displayed all the manners of one.
    Maybe Duce was right and he needed to find himself a steady girl at the Gilded Lady. He’d given it a shot, but after having his own woman in his own bed, weekend romps just didn’t appeal to him. A hell of an inconvenience for a man with no wife. The thought of seeking out any of the single young ladies in town left him cold and irritable. He flat didn’t trust those inviting smiles and