Hearts in Defiance (Romance in the Rockies Book 2) by Heather Blanton Page B

him.” Stupid! She flinched at her
insensitive words. He had come here to find assurance. She faced him and tried
to feign a confidence she didn’t actually possess. “I’m sure, after the shock
wears off, I’ll be fine.” Charles pursed his lips as he mulled that over. Slowly,
he reached out and touched her cheek. Naomi closed her eyes and tilted her face
into his palm. “I’m sorry, Charles, I don’t know why I’m being so …”
    “Female.” He said it as if he was resigned to the curse and
dropped her hand.
    Her eyes flew open and her hackles rose. “Well, pardon me for
being a bit stunned by Matthew’s arrival. You said it yourself. He’s the
spitting image of John. I think I’m entitled to be a little muddled. What I’m not is some weak-willed, water-kneed child around him just because of the
resemblance. I’ll have you know—”
    Charles captured her cheeks with both his hands and kissed her
with a vengeance. Furious, she pushed against him, but her resistance burned
away as fast as summer grass hit by lightning. Eagerly, she slid into his arms
and lost herself to the hunger of his lips and the tickle of his beard. A heady
desire swept over her, but a breathless peace accompanied it, because she was
meant for his embrace. He tightened his hold and kissed her ravenously, till
she felt lightheaded. She floated on dreams of him, wishing she never had to
wake up, never had to let him go.
    And just as suddenly as he’d grabbed her, he released her, rose to
his feet and took a step back. She would have been embarrassed at her reaction
to him, except for the satisfied smirk on his lips. “If the matter of your
affection takes a different direction, princess, I would appreciate being
apprised of the change.”
    Infuriated by his arrogance, she also found it comforting. Trying
to slow her galloping heart and hold a stern expression, she stood as well,
albeit on wobbly legs. “Garnered quite a bit of information out of one kiss,
did you, Mr. McIntyre?”
    Nonchalantly, he pulled a cheroot out of his breast pocket and
raised it to his lips, where the smirk still resided. “Why, yes, I believe I
did, Mrs. Miller.” He reached inside his coat for a match and lit it with a
flick of his thumbnail. Puffing on the cheroot, he explained, “You are a woman
of few words, Naomi. Your actions have always betrayed your heart. If you ever
kiss another man like that, I hope I’m lying dead somewhere.”
    She smiled at the way he could take the bluntest statements and
make them sound like romantic poetry. She stepped up to him and laced her
fingers through his. “I’m not sleepy.” Indeed, left to think about that kiss
she might not sleep for days. She wondered if he knew how his touch melted her.
“Would you mind escorting me on a walk?”
    Perhaps remembering the Southern gentleman he was raised to be, he
immediately offered her his arm. A mischievous smile lifted the corner of his
mouth. “A walk? Yes, I suppose that will have to do for now.”
    Minutes later, they strolled down the quiet main street of
Defiance. In the east, behind the jagged mountains, the sky had started its
march past blue dawn to the reds and yellows of sunrise. Naomi clung to
Charles’ arm. Still reeling from the heat of that kiss, holding him dampened
her memories of John. She wanted to remember him, of course, but not feel as if
she could reach out and touch his cheek or hold his hand. That was too
disorienting.
    Oh, why did Matthew have to come to Defiance now?
    “How did your family reunion go, by the way?”
    “Fine, I suppose.” She frowned, wondering why she felt the need to
lie. “No. Not fine at all. He thought he was coming to rescue us, to take us
back with him to California. He said he has a house for us with a maid.” She
hugged his arm tighter, concentrating on the feel of taut muscle beneath her
fingers. “I feel so badly. I wrote him a second letter. I told him we were fine.
He said he never got it.”
    “A house