Read Online Tender Is the Storm by Johanna Lindsey - Free Book Online Page A

wearing less clothing. She had to be baking in that heavy traveling suit. The sooner she got if off…
    His every thought was stripping her. “Sharisse?”
    She started, having almost forgotten his presence. He stood at the open door, waiting for her to enter his house. What would she find inside? The same severity?
    With a sigh, Sharisse went inside, careful not to let her skirt brush against his long legs as she passed him. The light inside was muted by closed curtains, and there was no time for her vision to adjust before the door closed and she found herself swung around and caught firmly against Lucas Holt’s hard chest. She squealed in fright, or started to, but the sound was smothered by his lips over hers.
    Shock struck her system, Charley hissed, and suddenly she was standing alone, shaking, staringwide-eyed at Lucas. It was difficult to tell which of them was the more surprised.
    “I always thought it was just a figure of speech,” Lucas said. “But I guess a female really can hiss like a cat.”
    “I imagine it is just a figure of speech, Mr. Holt. It was a male hissing, and he really is a cat. I hope you don’t mind, but I couldn’t leave Charley behind.”
    She set the basket down to open it and lift Charley out. Lucas found himself staring at the longest-haired cat he’d ever seen, short and compact, a golden orange color that nearly matched the girl’s hair. He’d seen cats by the dozens back East, but never one that looked like this one.
    At that moment, Mack came in from the back of the house. “What the hell is that?” he cried. “Not you, ma’am,” he was quick to amend. “But that thing you’re holdin’?”
    Sharisse stared at the little man with a chin full of gray stubble, lively blue eyes, and a hat with a slouching rim. Lucas quickly made the introductions, explaining Mack’s many jobs around the ranch. But Mack wasn’t paying a bit of attention to Sharisse. His eyes were on Charley.
    “What is it?” he repeated.
    “My pet, Charley.”
    “You keep that wild critter for a pet?”
    “He’s not wild,” she assured him. “He’s a Persian cat. I saw quite a few of them when I was in Europe. They’re rare in America, though. In England, they even hold cat shows where rare breeds like Charley can be shown to the public.”
    “The only cats we got here is predators,” Mack remarked. “This little one don’t bite?” He reached out a hand tentatively to pet Charley and received a low growl for his trouble.
    “You’ll have to forgive him,” Sharisse apologized. “I’m afraid he doesn’t take too well to strangers. I’m about the only one he really tolerates.”
    Mack grunted and turned to leave, grumbling, “Better not let Billy come across that feisty little thing. He’ll think he’s found something new to throw into the stew pot.”
    Sharisse turned wide, horrified eyes on Lucas. “Did I hear him correctly?”
    “Mack’s the feisty one, Sharisse,” Lucas said, amused. “Just about everything he says must be taken with a grain of salt.”
    “But—”
    “You’re not to worry about your pet, not at least as far as Billy’s concerned. He works for me, too. He isn’t nearly as savage as Mack would have you believe.”
    Was he teasing her? She supposed she would have to take his word for it, but she decided to keep Charley close to her for a while.
    Then she addressed another important topic.
    “Mr. Holt, about what you did.”
    “Greeting my prospective bride with a proper welcoming?”
    Sharisse was abashed by the devilishly charming grin that turned his lips soft and made him appear rakishly handsome.
    “We were interrupted,” he went on. “If you’d like me to continue…”
    “No! I mean, well, we’re not exactly an average engaged couple. What might be allowed after an extended courtship doesn’t apply to us. We have only just met.”
    “And you want to get to know me better first?”
    “Exactly.” She was relieved. He wouldn’t be so