Read Taken Home (Lone Star Burn) for Free Online Page B

uncomfortable state of affairs considering the table she’d joined. He recognized the man and woman as her parents. She was standing beside her father when she turned and sought Mason’s eyes.
    My God, you’re beautiful. I can’t believe you’ve never been with anyone. The things I could teach you about yourself. Something tells me you’d be worth whatever trouble being with you brought.
    Her father said something, and Chelle blushed, then turned away again. A moment later, her laughter rang out, and he wondered if the comment had been about him. Her father sent him a brief glare, and Mason fought back a guilty smile.
    He knows what I’m thinking.
    Chelle glanced at him again with a shy smile. She, however, has no idea. She leaned down and made one last comment to her parents, then began walking in his direction.
    His breath caught in his throat and his heart beat crazily in his chest. Behind her, he saw Charles give a curt shake of his head.
    I know. I know.
    Mason pushed off the wall and exited the reception hall. He was halfway across the foyer and headed toward the stairs when he heard her voice.
    “Mason, there’s something I need to say before you go.”
    Mason groaned and stopped without turning around. I am only human. “I have to meet my plane. I’m flying out tonight.”
    She stepped in front of him and looked up. The siren of earlier had been replaced by an earnest innocent. “I want to apologize for my behavior tonight. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never hit anyone in my life.” She chewed her bottom lip. “And I shouldn’t have called you a dog. I don’t know anything about you, and I only said it because my pride was smarting.”
    He stood there staring at her, digesting what she’d said. He’d expected her to try to give him one final cutting remark. Or to make another play for him. He didn’t quite know what her agenda was. Women always had one. “No need to apologize. You made up for hitting me by convincing Trish we were together.”
    She smiled wryly. “I’m glad it worked out the way you wanted it to.”
    He frowned at her instead of answering. Glad wasn’t how he would describe how he felt. Part of him wanted to push her, see if a little temper would bring back the passionate woman he’d glimpsed within her. Leave well enough alone, he warned himself.
    She held out a hand for him to shake. “Since you’re close with Charles, I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see each other. If you can forget my temporary lapse in sanity tonight, maybe we can be friends.”
    Mason wrapped his hand around hers and simply held it. Her grip was strong and honest. Her lips, the ones that had sought his earlier, pursed sweetly as if she were holding back something she wanted to say. “Friends?”
    She pulled her hand back and hugged it to her, seeming suddenly less sure. “Why not? I’ll admit I was embarrassed earlier, but my grandfather always said people are only as happy as they make up their minds to be. So I’m looking for the positive in us meeting. I’m grateful it worked out as it did.”
    The more she spoke, the less happy he was. “That you didn’t leave with me?”
    She smiled with shyness, and it took everything in him not to pull her into his arms. “Yes. I do want the first time to be with someone I care about. I appreciate how you respected that. Awkward as this conversation is, I wanted to say thank you.”
    “Glad I could help,” Mason said tightly and turned on his heel. He needed to get out of Texas and away from the woman who had succeeded in tying his insides up into a hundred painful knots.

Chapter Five
    Two weeks later, Chelle was sitting with Sarah and Melanie in Sarah’s living room. It was the second time that week she’d been invited over for lunch. The discussion the last time had been mostly about the Hawaiian honeymoon Sarah and Tony had just returned from and the little they had actually seen outside their presidential suite. Both