Read Your To Take - Connaghers 03 for Free Online Page A

about it?
    She couldn’t tell Jesse that he was wrong, because he
wasn’t, and she couldn’t refuse him, because he had to know how fast her heart
was pounding. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
    Ironically, now she knew exactly which color to use in her
line.
    Without saying a word or turning toward him, she stepped
away. He let her go without trying to hold her back. Trailing her fingers along
the fabrics, she walked down to the opposite end of the shelving, straining up
high to reach a shimmering bolt of blue-lagoon silk.
    It’d been an impulse buy, rather embarrassing, actually,
because she’d never thought she’d end up using it, and it had cost her a small
fortune. The color was too bright, too jewel-toned for business wear, and too
seasonally restrictive for all-year wear. Or so she’d thought as she’d shoved
it on the highest shelf out of her way.
    Bracing herself mentally, she raised her gaze to his face as
she walked toward him. His eyes, so bright, so hot and intense, were made
darker and richer by the silk in her hands. Her chest constricted with an
answering surge of attraction, deeper and more compelling every time she looked
at him. If he’d stop looking at her like that, begging her with his eyes to
devour him whole, then maybe she could pretend nothing had changed.
    He was just a good guy who’d fallen on hard times.
    She was just a good Samaritan.
    He didn’t have to get in the middle of her romantic mess.
    Her cheeks burned at the thought. The image of him and Elias
both touching her seared her mind, burning her to ash. She’d never once thought
about such a thing, but now…
    She draped the silk over the center rack and stepped back to
look at her entire collection. If she made a simple turquoise shell to wear
with the black pantsuit, and maybe something with gray and turquoise mixed
together, it might work. However, she needed to settle on the signature piece
for herself.
    “What do you think?” She didn’t turn to look at him, afraid
that he’d see the growing need in her eyes and take the next step himself. “Is
it too much?”
    “Nothing’s too much for you.”
    A lump crowded her throat, making it impossible to breathe.
“Jesse—”
    “Hear me out, please.” He stepped closer, hovering behind
and to the side without touching her. “Keep your cop. I don’t care. Just keep
me too.”
    “You know I can’t do that.”
    “Why not?”
    “You’re my guest. I’m gladly helping you and I want nothing
in return.”
    “You think I want you only because you helped me?” He
dropped his forehead against her shoulder. She let out a soft sigh. If he’d put
his hands on her, she could have taken him to task for touching her, but his
head was such a tender gesture that she couldn’t be upset. “Why do you think I
made you that card? Why did I carry it all these weeks, hoping beyond hope to
find you again? When you get the chance, look closer at the card. See my
message to you. If you’d simply thanked me for the card and sent me on my way
last night, I would have gone, happy to have only seen your face, and loving
you as much as I do now.”
    Her breath seized up in her throat. She’d dated Elias off
and on for months and he’d never told her his feelings. He’d never show such
vulnerability. He couldn’t let down his guard long enough.
    “I came to find you because I couldn’t face life without
seeing your smile at least every once in a while.” He rubbed his mouth on her
shoulder. “I’m not offering myself to pay you back. I just need to be with you,
whatever that means.”
    She let go of the silk, afraid her sweaty palms would ruin
it before she could ever implement a design. Swaying, she fought to keep her
head and remain calm, untouched. “You don’t know me, Jesse. Not really.”
    “Yes, I do.” He whispered in her ear. “I know your heart. No
one else has even considered helping me in five years. That’s proof of what
kind of woman you are, and I want