Cajun Vacation Read Online Free Page A

tried to shimmy herself up to the nearest branch.
    Now that she wasn’t moving farther away from him, he slowed to a walk. He moved silently across the damp ground. She struggled to get higher into the tree, completely oblivious to everything around her. Even over the fresh air and smells of the bayou, he could take in the scent of her perfume. The tantalizing smell sent a flush of excitement through him. Her brown hair fell back behind her in a tangled weave that reminded him of the forest and how the trees sometimes wove their branches together. He licked his lips.
    Her focus on climbing the tree amazed him, but his mind still put her in positions more suited for the bedroom than that bayou. He knew it was too much to ask for. That this be the woman who would break his sexual drought, but if she focused on a man as intently as she tried tree climbing, then it would probably be trip to heaven.
    She reached up for a new branch and swung her legs up to a knot in the trunk. Her foot hit the mark and she started pulling herself up when the branch cracked. A scream split the quiet and she tumbled backward. He covered the remaining distance in a heartbeat and had his arms stretched out under her. Her weight slammed into him and his knees buckled slightly under the impact, but he held onto her and pulled her into his chest.
    His eyes closed under the strain of stopping her descent. He’d read once about a man who caught a kid falling out of an apartment in New York. The papers lauded him a hero, but didn’t mention all the bruises he got by saving the boy. He wondered if this would be the heroic act that put him into a hospital with some broken bones or torn muscles. Under his hands, he could feel her body trembling. Slowly his legs stabilized.
    “Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” he said and he felt her relax slightly.
    She had wrapped her arms around his neck and he could feel her breath on his skin. Every ounce of her body radiated heat and it poured into him. Whatever had frightened her, it didn’t diminish for an instant the incredible sex appeal he had for her. Her trembling quieted some more. His right hand held her legs, but his left was under her back, and he pulled her tight. Her perfume smelled stronger, more inviting this close up and mixed in with the intoxicating smell of her hair. Everything about her had excited him. He stroked her skin through the fabric of her clothes and felt a tremble move through her.
    “I’ve never saved a lady like this before,” he said. “Are you all right?”
    Her breath deepened and she lifted her head from his shoulder. A wave of heat swept through him as he gazed into the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. Perfectly formed, wide-open brown eyes locked with his gaze. He looked over her whole face from her thick, lush hair; past her eyes and over the curves of her cheeks; to end on her full lips. An urge surged into him to lean his head down and take her lips into his. He wanted to taste her, but he resisted. He wanted her, but she had run from something. If he went in for a quick kiss, his chances would be over. He needed to reassure her of her safety and avoid scaring her. He breathed in and lifted his eyes to meet her gaze again.
    Her mascara had smudged, but she wasn’t crying. Whatever tears she had were over as her body continued a slow descent from fear to calm. “What happened to the gator?” she blurted out, her eyes darting to look at the path behind them.
     
     
    His face contorted for a moment. Then he broke into a deep, rich laugh that rumbled through her body and heated her up. He held her close to him and she briefly wondered why she hadn’t jumped out of his arms yet. Here was a real man. Not the fake, made-up one she left behind in New York. Warmth flowed down between her legs, a place she thought she’d turned off for the time being, since learning the truth about Gary. But the arousal growing between her legs pulsed steady.
    “I didn’t see any gators