Read Her Texan Temptation for Free Online

he should feel guilty, he told himself. Living with guilt made him steer clear of women with white lace and flowers on their mind.
    Women like Mary Beth.
    He ran his hand along the edge of the picture, then sighed and opened the refrigerator door. There was a can of biscuits on a shelf, and thinking a week or so wasn’t too long, he ignored the purchase-by date and popped open the can. Within a few minutes they were baking in the oven.
    With the rest of the meal ready, he put the full plateson the table, filled glasses with tea he found already made in the fridge, then went to see if Mary Beth was still asleep.
    She was. She’d shifted to her side on the sofa, and her short white T-shirt had bunched up, baring her midriff. His gaze ran slowly over her. Her skin looked smooth and satiny. Her jeans were snug on her hips, and his mind wandered to that tiny mole he remembered being right at the top of her thigh. He’d thought it kind of sexy.
    Damn! He’d been traveling a lot and competing hard, and he hadn’t had much time for a social life.
    He needed a woman.
    Badly.
    Knowing that woman couldn’t be Mary Beth, he approached her with trepidation, wanting to touch her, but knowing he needed to rein in his awareness of her.
    “Mary Beth,” he called, lowering his voice so he wouldn’t startle her.
    She didn’t move.
    Okay, so now you’re going to have to touch her.
    His palms felt sweaty, and he rubbed them on his jeans.
    You wanted an excuse to, anyway.
    Yeah, he did. Crouching beside her, he called to her again as he gently shook her shoulder. “Come on, sweetheart. Wake up.”
    She came awake slowly, then focused her green eyes on him. She sat up and sucked in a quick breath.
    “Deke! What are you doing here?” She hadn’t expected him to be there, and just thinking about him hanging around while she’d been sleeping was unnerving.
    Deke didn’t move. “I stayed for a while to be sure you were okay.”
    Figuring she must look a sight, Mary Beth raised a hand to her hair, then brushed several strands of it from her face.“You didn’t need to. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.” She tugged on her shirt and straightened it.
    “Yeah, you keep saying that.” His gaze skimmed her face. “Here,” he said, assisting her as she started to stand. “I’ll help you to the kitchen. I made some dinner for you.”
    She stilled. “You what?”
    He chuckled at her stunned expression. “Don’t get too excited. You haven’t tasted it yet.” An easy grin formed on his lips.
    “I can walk,” she insisted, not wanting him to touch her. She tried to push his hands away as she struggled to her feet.
    Deke sighed with frustration. Her ankle was still quite swollen, and he knew it had to hurt. “Humor me, huh?” Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he held one of her hands as she half walked, half limped to the kitchen.
    Mary Beth eased onto a chair at the table. “What’s that I smell?”
    “Damn!” Deke made a beeline for the oven, jerked open the door and, using a battered pot holder, removed the tray of overbrowned biscuits. Disappointment outlined his features. “I think they’re a little overdone,” he stated, frowning as he put them on a plate and placed them on the table.
    Her stomach growling, Mary Beth reached for one. Steam rose from the biscuit as she pulled it apart and took a bite. “They’re not too bad,” she assured him in an effort to make him feel better. “You didn’t have to do all this, Deke.”
    He shrugged and joined her at the table, easing onto the chair next to her. It wasn’t a big deal, and he didn’t want her to read anything into it. “I was getting hungry, and I thought you’d be hungry, too.”
    She smiled at him, her appreciation genuine. “I am hungry, and this looks delicious.”
    Deke stopped in the middle of biting his biscuit. It was the first time Mary Beth had smiled since he’d arrived, and he felt the force of it all the way to his toes. Her hair,