Read Naked Heat: Naked Cowboys, Book 7 for Free Online Page A

Matt Stark, the women hugging her as they always did, the men giving her brotherly kisses on the cheek. Cyn and Jess Orosco pulled up right on the heels of the others, followed by Liam Douglas and his fiancée, Charity Vance. Nida told the butterflies dancing in her stomach to take a nap. What on earth was she so nervous about anyway? She shouldn’t even be thinking about the man. Her bad track record and his preoccupation were two strong reasons for her to stay away from him.
    The couples were all so familiar with the B&B they literally made themselves at home, the men taking drink orders and the women helping in the kitchen. Nida wasn’t sure drinking would be such a good idea tonight, but she settled for a Lone Star Light, figuring she could nurse it for a long time. For the next fifteen minutes, she scolded herself for being nervous about something she didn’t even think she wanted to happen. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts she never heard the front door open.
    “I’m back,” Cade said, pausing to hug his wife. “And I brought Mac with me, as ordered. I’ll check the grill if one of you will give this poor man here a drink.”
    Mac walked in behind Cade, looking slightly uncomfortable, and Nida wasn’t sure she blamed him. She knew exactly how he felt, like a bug under a microscope.
    “Hey, Mac,” Buck called. “Come over here and tell me what your poison is.”
    Georgie did the honors introducing everyone to Mac and then somehow they were all suddenly out on the screened porch with drinks and appetizers, watching Cade adjust the grill. Everyone seemed to find a place with their spouse, leaving Nida and Mac suddenly with the settee as their only option. Lord , she thought. Could these people be any more obvious?
    For a moment, she thought the man was just going to stand, or maybe walk outside to where Cade was stoking the fire. But then he sat down beside her, somewhat stiffly, and gave her a tentative smile.
    “Good to see you again, Nida.”
    “Back at you.” She took a sip of her drink. “How’s the work coming out at the ranch?”
    He snorted. “With apologies to Cade, you could hardly call it a ranch.”
    “Cade came to terms with all that ages ago,” Georgie said. “He’s happy someone’s changing the face of it.”
    “Good.” Mac took a swallow of his drink.
    Nida watched him, unable to control her fascination with the play of his muscles in his neck. In the week since she’d seen him, his skin had darkened from the sun and his blond hair had lightened. Its length now touched his collar. She noticed two Band-Aids on his right hand that she was sure were souvenirs of the hard work he’d been doing. From his strong jaw to his very sexy ass to his long, lean legs, he was every inch the masculine icon, and her body reacted to him in spite of her determination not to.
    “Did you get someone to tear down those rotted outbuildings?”
    He nodded. “Cade was kind enough to hook me up with a guy who handled it. I’d ask you to come around and see how far I’ve gotten, but it’s still pretty much of a mess.”
    Now why the hell did I say that?
    Mac wanted to kick his own ass at his stupidity. He’d already made up his mind to stay away from this woman. His body reacted to her and distracted him from his mission. But damn! She sure looked like a warm mouthful tonight. Jeans lovingly caressed curvy hips and a round butt, just the kind he’d like to get his hands on and squeeze. The vee of the snazzy pink tee shirt she wore with it showed a hint of cleavage and emphasized her breasts.
    Mac had always been a man of strong sexual appetites, and in other circumstances he’d already be figuring out how to haul her off to someplace private, strip her naked, feast on her body and then drive his cock deep inside her as he took them both to paradise. He knew he should have sent Cade away tonight, been more forceful in refusing the invitation. But he hated to insult the man when he’d been