Read Online Tempted by His Target by Jill Sorenson - Free Book Online Page A

exhaustion as soon as she saw a bed.
    It was almost dusk when they arrived, and their presence garnered little attention, as Tehuantepec didn’t thrive on tourism. The bus station had closed, but the schedule was posted. They could leave bright and early tomorrow.
    Hotel accommodations were few and far between. Isabel spotted an old colonial near a corner café. As they walked toward it, her stomach growled at the prospect of a sit-down dinner. Across the street, there was a small pharmacy, its lights on.
    “Do you have any sunglasses?” she asked Brandon.
    “No. I left them in Puerto Escondido.”
    “What about a hat?”
    “Just a baseball cap. It’s in my pack.”
    “Wait here,” she said, ducking into the pharmacy. She found the items she needed quickly and came back out. Although he didn’t ask what she’d purchased, she showed him the box of semipermanent black hair color.
    “You going gray already?” he asked, studying her dark locks.
    “It’s for you. Your hair and eyes are too noticeable. Even with a hat on, you’ll stand out from other men.”
    “I will anyway. I’m a head taller than the average Mayan.”
    “These people are Zapotec.”
    “Whatever. They’re short.”
    She put the dye back in the shopping bag and handed Brandon a pair of cheap sunglasses. He donned them, smiling wryly. They weren’t stylish, but they covered the bruise under his left eye and the bandage above it.
    Inside the hotel lobby, she did the talking while he stood in the shadows, his hands shoved in his pants pockets. Unfortunately, there was only one room available, a single. Isabel was surprised the hotel was full on a week-day during the off-season, but she was too tired to look elsewhere. After securing lodgings for the night, they continued to the café and collapsed in chairs on the outdoor terrace, dusty and disheveled.
    Brandon didn’t bother with the menu. “You order for me.”
    She browsed the selections, which were few. “Do you like mole?”
    “I like anything with meat in it.”
    When the waiter came, she asked him for two house specials, which included a hearty vegetable soup and fresh bread, served with green tomatillo salsa. After they devoured that, he brought two heaping plates of shredded chicken slathered in rich, dark sauce. Black mole, a staple of the area, had a bold, complex flavor with a hint of chocolate.
    Brandon cleaned his plate, abandoning any attempt at conversation. Isabel smiled when he was finished, pleased that he’d enjoyed the dish as much as she had. They’d both eaten with more gusto than grace.
    He leaned back in his chair, looking somewhere between satisfied and chagrined. “I think I’d have growled at the waiter if he’d passed by.”
    She laughed a little, taking a sip of her agua fresca . The light, refreshing guava juice complemented the spicy meal perfectly. “One day with me, and you’ve already become uncivilized.”
    He drank from his own glass, his mouth wry. “I wasn’t that civilized before we met.”
    No, she thought, remembering his bared teeth and straining muscles as he choked Carranza’s man into submission. He wasn’t.
    They fell into a charged silence, sipping their drinks and watching the sunset fade from passion-orange to deep pink. After the day they’d had, she should have been drowsy, but the food and exercise revived her. Or maybe it was the company. When she thought about sharing a bed with him again, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.
     
    Brandon wasn’t in a hurry to get back to the hotel room, but they had to stay out of sight as much as possible.
    And staring at her from across the table was becoming a serious test of his willpower. She looked beautiful in profile, her dark hair tied at her nape. Every time she took a sip of juice, his attention was drawn to her lips. She had a delicious mouth. Her words fascinated him, too. She revealed so little about herself; it was only natural for him to crave more. She was a very sexy