Read Hallie's Destiny (The Donovans of the Delta) for Free Online Page B

ripened for him. Only their mouths and parts of their bodies touched, but the joining was as complete as if they had loved.
    Instinctively Hallie and Josh knew.
    He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “You’re sweeter than the wine, Hallie.”
    She returned his smile. “And you’re better than the cheese.”
    “Then one more bite. . . .”
    “Just one more. . . .”
    His mouth was on hers again, and the same magic was there, the same glorious sense of being taken, of being known. Hallie reveled in the feeling, gave herself up to it.
    Josh raised up and tenderly brushed her hair back from her face. Then, with his index finger, he traced a line down her cheek, across her throat, and into the open neck of her blouse. “Dressed in white you look like a gypsy masquerading as an angel.”
    “How do you know I’m not an angel?”
    He laughed. “I’ve seen a side of you that’s less than angelic. It could be called devilish.”
    “What I am is human. And very hungry.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “For more kisses, Hallie? I have to oblige.” The kiss was swift and hard and, again, thorough.
    When it was over, she merely smiled at him. “A girl could starve to death on a picnic with you, my poetic trucking man.”
    “Insatiable gypsy angel.” He lay beside her and pulled her into his arms. Pressed full-length against her, he captured her lips. There was more urgency in the kiss this time, more hunger, more passion.
    Hallie felt suspended under the endless blue sky, a willing captive on a carpet of sweet blue flowers, bound to a golden man by feelings as old as time.
    When Josh sat up, he pulled her up with him. Leaning across her, he broke off a hunk of cheese and a piece of bread. He handed them to her, then took another portion for himself.
    She took a bite of her bread. “This is good.”
    Josh refilled their cups with wine, then stretched in the sunshine to eat. “Tell me about rodeoing, Hallie.”
    “It’s just something I do. I enjoy the danger, the excitement.”
    “How long have you been doing it?”
    “Since the divorce.”
    His gaze swept over her. “It has to be rough, but I don’t see any signs of damage.”
    “I’ve been lucky. Only that broken toe I told you about, and once I broke my wrist.”
    “What is it women do in rodeos? Barrel racing?”
    She smiled. “Among other things.” She looked up from her wine as one of her dogs barked. Wolfgang was engaged in a life and death struggle with a bumblebee. “Look at him. He thinks he’s indomitable.”
    “Like his mistress.”
    “Perhaps.” She bit into her bread and watched until Wolfgang gave up on the bee, then she turned back to Josh. “You always ask questions, but you never talk about yourself. Do you own your truck?”
    “Yes.”
    She laughed. “I can get more information from the backs of cereal boxes.”
    “They’re much more interesting.” He plucked a bluebonnet and tucked it behind her ear. Then he leaned back to admire her. “Flowers suit you, Hallie.”
    She reached up to touch the blossom. “Thank you.”
    “How long do you plan to stay here at the lake?”
    “A few days. A week. I don’t really know. One of the nicest things about my vagabond sort of life is that I don’t have schedules to keep.”
    “You’re lucky.”
    She gave him a searching look. “You say the strangest things for a trucker.”
    “Lucky in more ways than lifestyle,” he quickly amended. “You mentioned your family and how happy all of you are.”
    “Yes. My brother Tanner and his wife Amanda are expecting a baby any day now. It will be a big family event.”
    “Their first?”
    “No. Their second. Little Anna is almost two. She’s a redhead like her mother, and a hellion like her daddy.”
    “And her aunt.”
    Hallie chuckled. “You keep pegging me as a devil and a hellion, when actually I’m a very conservative lady.”
    “The conservative ladies I know don’t go around rodeoing and skinny-dipping.”
    She sighed