Read Online Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan - Free Book Online Page B

uncharacteristic by not calling too much attention to her, not asking for more background, more checks. He cursed himself for falling into the inevitable trap some women seemed to bait so easily. His initial reaction to her—that terrible need to be the one to change that look in her eyes, to be the man she relied on—made no sense. He was a cynical man. He’d seen it all. He didn’t believe in love and he sure didn’t believe he would be pulled into a trap by a woman. He’d thought himself immune, but he recognized danger when he saw it.
    “The gallery was closed for a time and lost a bit of ground, but since reopening, it’s recovering nicely, at a very steady rate.” She flipped on the lights in the office.
    The room was spacious, but private, with a door leading to a bathroom and another that led outside. The entire front of the gallery was tinted glass to protect paintings from the sun while allowing a sweeping view of the ocean across the street.
    “Frank actually owns this building outright. The price includes the building and surrounding lot as well as the gallery name and inventory. If you’re really interested, he owns the block beside the building as well and I believe he’d consider selling that also.”
    For the first time, he actually wished he was an American businessman and could settle there in the little village by the sea, this woman at his side. He wouldn’t mind owning his own art gallery. He frowned and pressed his fingers to his temple, the beginnings of a headache slipping up on him unnoticed. What was he thinking? Men like him didn’t settle down. They hunted, and then they were hunted.
    “Are you all right?”
    His gaze found and captured hers. He gave her another lopsided smile. Charming her. He caught the rise and fall of her breasts beneath that slim jacket at her sudden intake of breath. “Long flight and then a good four-hour drive. The scenery was beautiful though.”
    “Did you fly into San Francisco, or Oakland?”
    The question should have been conversational, but there was something in the way her eyes tried to move from his but couldn’t. His heart accelerated. As a game of chess, he wasn’t certain who actually was ahead in moves. She didn’t seem to have to do much of anything—that sensual caress in her voice endangered his sanity as nothing else could. She had to be innocent, no one could be that good. He’d come across some of the best agents in the business and none had ever waged such a brutal, vicious attack on his body and his self-control.
    “San Francisco.” Deliberately he glanced away from her, a shy businessman a little outclassed by a beautiful woman. “I was looking at a gallery there as well, but I could tell I would be trading one big city for another. A different way of life, perhaps, but still not what I’m looking for. Sea Haven appeals to me.”
    He stepped close to her, crowding her a little on the pretense of looking into the safe she had crouched down to open. The thought of her head level with his aching groin made his cock jerk and thicken that much more. He took a breath to get his body back under control, reminding himself that wayward part of him belonged to him, not her. He took care not to accidentally brush up against her. He had to be that sharp businessman, a little shy with women, charming, but not pushy.
    Judith was attracted to him and that made her wary. The fact that she physically responded to a stranger obviously bothered her on the same elemental level it bothered him. She removed several books with unsteady hands, but she hid it well. He filed that away, more pleased than he should have been at the evidence that she was having as much trouble as he was. He had no business thinking of her as anything but a mark.
    His job was to find the best way to seduce her into trusting him. For the first time that he could ever remember, he didn’t much like his assignment and hadn’t from the beginning. He’d convinced himself it