Cajun Magic 01 - Voodoo on the Bayou Read Online Free Page B

mocked her sudden inability to articulate. Instead, he graced her with an encouraging grin.
    Her mouth opened, but her brain refused to engage. She had the overwhelming urge to run her tongue over his lips to taste his next sentence.
    He cleared his throat. “Are you, or are you not, going to start over?”
    She gulped, then stammered, “I-I’m Elaine Smith.” Wiping the sweat from her palm, she stuck her hand out.
    “Craig Thibodeaux.” His rough hand enveloped hers. The simple gesture sent tingles through her digits, reminding every cell in her body she was female, single, and over twenty-one.
    Myriad sensations raced from her fingertips to her lower extremities, moistening places that had no business being wet in the company of a strange man…a sexy-as-hell, strange man. Maybe shaking hands with him wasn’t such a good idea after all.
    When her senses returned, she jerked her hand back and rubbed it against her khaki slacks to still the spread of electrical impulses triggering an entirely chemical response throughout her body. Her reaction was pure physics and chemistry, nothing more, nothing less, she told herself. Besides, hadn’t she just broken off an engagement? Get a grip.
    “Mr. Thibodeaux, I spoke with you on the phone about renting a cottage for three weeks.” She chose her words carefully, rather than uttering embarrassing nonsense as she had earlier.
    “You must have spoken to my Uncle Joe. He owns the place.”
    “Oh, I see.” She dragged her gaze from the vicinity of his chest and scanned the interior again. “Where can I find him?”
    “I think he’s out on the dock. Why don’t you go see?” The man—Craig—didn’t make a move from behind the counter. “I’d take you out there, but I have something I need to do first.”
    The thought of the dock paralyzed her. Docks were generally built around water. “I can wait,” she said, quickly. “Go ahead and finish what you were doing.”
    Craig frowned and glanced away. “No, really, I don’t want to hold you up. Just go on outside. He’s sure to be within shouting distance. I’ll be out in just a minute.”
    “Oh. Okay.” She stared at the door he indicated with all the anticipation of one heading for a guillotine. “Are you sure you don’t want me to wait?”
    “Positive. Please, go on.”
    Geez . He sure was in a hurry to get rid of her.
    Good . She didn’t have time for men. Remember? Besides, she couldn’t possibly have anything in common with an uneducated fish boy like Craig Thibodeaux. She was better off sticking with her scientific studies. She could have much more interesting conversations talking to herself. At least with her own company, she knew where she stood.
    A little voice popped into her head, yeah, hiding behind a microscope .
    She liked to think she was moving at a swift walk toward the door. If she was honest, it was more like a snail’s pace. But she didn’t stop, she kept right on going. Even though the dock was scary, the marina owner’s nephew left her more unsettled than the murky swamp around her. She reminded herself that she’d come to study frogs, not the mating habits of the Cajun swamp dwellers. The less she saw of Craig Thibodeaux, gorgeous body and all, the better off she’d be.

    Chapter Three
    Once outside the bait shop, Elaine stood with a hand pressed to her chest and breathed deep, calming lungfuls of the sticky, warm air.
    What had come over her? The sight of one bare-chested male shouldn’t cause her to take leave of her senses. Even if he was one of the most beautiful specimens of hot, spicy Cajun males she’d ever seen. With those piercing blue eyes and more than his share of dark curly hair on his head…and on his chest…
    She fanned the rising heat spreading up her neck into her face. Beads of perspiration sprang out on her forehead and upper lip.
    No man had ever had this effect on her, not even Brian. And, frankly, it scared her.
    Elaine Smith was a scientist, not a