Read Online Right Of Possession by Jayne Castle - Free Book Online Page B

interesting. I've never set out to completely seduce a woman. Getting them into bed always seemed enough before I met you." He yawned again, ignoring Reva's fierce look. "But I think I'll have to start the project in the morning. I know this doesn't sound particularly romantic, but I'm exhausted. I've spent the past few months working day and night to salvage my company's holdings in that godforsaken country, and as soon as I could get away I came straight here to Portland where I was again obliged to work day and night tracking you down. I'm tired, Reva. Do you mind if we continue this brilliant conversation in the morning?"
    But he wasn't really asking for agreement, apparently. Josh had already made his decision, Reva thought ruefully, watching as he closed his eyes and turned over on his stomach. He calmly went to sleep beside her, the slow, even pattern of his breathing telling her he wasn't playing games. She waited a few minutes, staring down at his broad, tanned back in mingled astonishment and disgust, and then, not having the heart to try and kick him out of bed, she dragged the quilt up over his shoulders. He was tired, she thought wonderingly, thinking of how indefatigable he had seemed during those three days in South America. He must have been through a lot since then, she told herself. And she had already told him he could stay the night. What did it matter whether he slept in here or out on the couch?
    It wasn't her decision to let him stay in her bed that
    surprised Reva, it was the temptation she experienced to stay beside him. For a long, intriguing moment she sat amid the covers and toyed with the notion of simply slipping down alongside his lean warmth. Then the rational side of her mind took over. Matters had come perilously close to disaster once tonight when she'd practically thrown herself into his arms. She'd been downright lucky he'd convinced himself he wanted her mental as well as physical surrender. It would be stupid to have him wake up beside her and decide he'd take what he could get, after all!
    Very carefully Reva slipped from the bed, adjusting the covers once more over the large man lying half tangled in her sheets. Then she padded silently out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. In the living room she found Xavier curled in the middle of the sofa bed and she smiled at him as she got under the covers.
    "Did you have a nice conversation out here with my guest, cat?" she asked politely, propping herself on her elbow and slowly stroking the large animal's thick gray fur. He opened his eyes sleepily to let her know he heard her and then pressed himself cozily against the warmth of her leg. His right ear, which had been chewed rather badly in a long-forgotten fight, twitched absently.
    "I thought the two of you might get along quite well," Reva went on softly, her eyes on the city lights which sparkled below her eighteenth-floor apartment. "There's something about that man which reminds me of you, Xavier. He told me he's not what I thought he was but I still have the feeling he's been through a lot. Like you, he's tough and he's carrying some scars, even if they're not visible. And now he's decided he wants a home." Reva sighed gently, settling back against the pillow. "I'm grateful to him, Xavier. But you can't marry a man out of
    gratitude. And even if he's not a mercenary, it doesn't take much insight to realize he's not at all the sort of man I want for a husband. I'm sure the only thing we have in common is that time we spent in South America. No, tomorrow I'll tell him he has to leave," she concluded decisively. With that thought firmly etched in her mind, Reva turned on her side and went to sleep.
    Saturday morning dawned cloudy and wet. The Portland sky drizzled rain down onto a city long accustomed to such weather and Reva awoke with a long, luxurious stretch. It took a moment to realize she wasn't in her own bed and then her memory snapped back into focus. Josh Corbett had