Read Online Shadow's Stand by Sarah McCarty - Free Book Online Page A

the sheriff and his cronies will be fooled. Or, at the very least, slowed down enough that you can get that gold you want.”
He had the thickest lashes for a man, and the most beautiful eyes. So deep and dark, but oh, so haunted. Her dragon had demons. How bad did a dragon have to be scarred inside for demons to take root? “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She couldn’t help but watch his mouth as he formed the words. That was beautiful, too. Wide and full, but completely masculine. It spoke of a man of confidence. Of power. Of passions. Not a horse thief. The taste of him lingered in her mouth, in her senses. Tearing her gaze away, she glanced upward, to the heavens.
When I prayed to you, my American ancestors, I did not pray for a husband.
No answer came from the heavens. No answer came from her head, and the one from her heart she couldn’t hear. She may not have wanted a husband, but she had one now. Not the figurehead she’d envisioned, but a man of heart. She didn’t know what to do about that. He wasn’t what she’d expected. Not at all. Clucking to the mare, she started up the hill. He fell into step beside her. She studied him from the corner of her eye, watching his long legs eat up the ground, one step for her two. The muscles bunched and contracted under his clothes. She remembered how they’d felt beneath her palm during that kiss. Hard and powerful. She remembered how she’d dug in her nails but there’d been no give. She remembered how she’d needed to get closer, but when she had, closer hadn’t been close enough. And there was the danger of this man. He made her want.
She shook her head. She couldn’t afford this distraction right now. They’d had their kiss, their taste, and it had been wild. But wild wasn’t who she was, and she owed him yet again because he’d seen that and been strong enough for both of them. Taking his hand in hers, feeling very daring as he cocked an eyebrow at her, she gave it a squeeze. It was not something a Chinese woman would do, but it was something she’d seen many American women do. At least with family. And right now, Shadow was the closest thing to family she had.
“What was that for?”
“A thank-you for your strength.”
Lifting her hand, he helped her over a rough spot. “We’re not talking about my muscles, are we?”
She shook her head. “No. As nice as they are, I am not. It is not that I do not see the passion between us. And it is not that I wish to insult you, but if we were to make this marriage real, there is the risk of a child.”
“Understood.”
“I cannot have a child with you.”
“I said I understood.”
“So what happened before…”
“The kiss?”
She couldn’t help her blush. “Yes. That cannot happen again.”
He turned her, forcing her, with a finger under her chin, to look up. Her knees went weak immediately.
“Even though it felt good?”
“I have already confessed to the passion between us.”
“I find I like hearing that you enjoyed it.”
His eyes had the slightest crinkle at the corner. He could be joking with her. Or he could be serious. “I cannot indulge you in this.”
“In what?”
“In this passion. I would get pregnant for certain.”
He blinked, and his dark eyes went darker before the set of his lips softened and within her an equal softening took place. “I just bet you would.”
He could at least sound unhappy about it. She took a step back. He shook his head and adjusted his hat. With an easy flex of muscle that she envied, he popped her over a rut in the path.
Her hands were shaking and her breath was coming in unsteady rasps. As soon as he took his hands away, she straightened her shirt, taking a minute to control her reactions. She was tempted to see if he was having the same reaction, but she didn’t dare because if he was, she might just be tempted to test his strength again.
He came up beside her. “Are you all right?”
There was no hope of disguising her reactions. “I do not