Lawless by Emma Wildes

they’d arrived as planned and it would probably be a good two weeks before he came back. The enforced time alone with her in a remote place and the close quarters of the cabin was taking its toll on his self-control and this was just the third day.
    God help me.
    Since he was pretty sure he was undeserving of divine aid of any kind, that seemed unlikely, he thought with sardonic humor. The sooner he delivered the tantalizing Laurel Daniels to her father’s ranch, the better.
    She soaped her hair and let out a low gasp as she stood after sinking into the water to rinse it. Wet gold strands clung to her slim shoulders that now trembled from the chill of the stream. When she turned to wade out, he got a perfect view of her enticing backside as she bent over to retrieve the cloth she used to dry off. It was just as perfect as the rest of her, the mounds of her buttocks smooth and pale and made to be cupped in his hands.
    The dainty triangle of curls between her thighs was a darker gold than her blond hair, and her legs long and slender. As far he could tell, and he was really paying attention, every inch of her from the top of her head to her toes was made to make a man think about things he shouldn’t. Like having her beneath him, naked and moaning…
    He certainly was having impure thoughts, at any rate, and it was getting to him.
    His preoccupation had him not paying attention when she screamed and stumbled backward. Instinctively, he shot out of his hiding place, rifle at the ready, though he couldn’t see what caused such alarm. As he crashed through a small thicket of thorny bushes in his haste, she whirled around, the cloth clutched to her chest.
    “Cal!” Her blue eyes were wide as she took in the gun in his hand.
    There was still no particular menace he could see. “What’s wrong?”
    “S-snake.” She pointed at the rock where she’d set her clothes. “It startled me. I didn’t see it.”
    Relief washed through him as he saw, indeed, a nice size rattler had decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and was sunning itself, comfortably situated on one of her petticoats. He thrust his fingers through his hair. “Jesus, girl, you scared me to death.”

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    Emma Wildes
    “I almost touched it,” she shot back, her voice choked, “and I hate the darned things.”
    “They aren’t my favorite,” he admitted. “But I’ll take care of it. He doesn’t look all that happy to see us either.”
    She shuddered, trying to wrap the towel around herself. “Just get rid of it, please. I only have one set of clothes as it is. I’m not sharing it with a snake.”
    He couldn’t help it, he laughed. She looked delectably wet, tousled and indignant.
    Not to mention still very naked since the cloth wasn’t all that big. “I’ll coax him to give it back.”
    “And right after that maybe you can explain what you were doing hiding in the bushes.”
    He figured that was coming but just lifted a brow. “I’m not in the habit of explaining myself to anyone, but if there was one person on this earth who could bribe me to do so, it would be a very beautiful naked woman.”

    Bribe him?
    Laurel stared at the man in front of her, recognizing after the last week in his presence that flare once again of tension between them. Not antagonism, but something else entirely, an unspoken challenge in a battle she’d never fought before. His eyes, pure steel gray and so hard to read, held a heavy look, his dark lashes lowered just a fraction.
    Without saying another word, he walked over to the rock, managed to skillfully scoop up the rattlesnake with the tip of his rifle, and tossed it a few feet away. It slithered into the bushes and disappeared from sight.
    Thank the Lord. She loathed the creatures and always had.
    Cal reached over and scooped up her clothes. “Here you go. All yours again.”
    The cloth she held in front of her barely covered her breasts and upper thighs. She could feel the blush