Chain of Love Read Online Free

body,
    and she decided that concentrating on his stomach or anywhere else below would be unwise. She stared fixedly at the curling hair at the open collar of his
    shirt, keeping a blank expression on her face.
    To her intense relief he backed away, rummaging underneath one of the bunks and coming up with an Irish knit sweater that would probably reach to her
    knees. He tossed it to her, showing no surprise as she adeptly caught it, and pulled another out for himself. “Put that on,” he ordered
    casually, pulling his over his head. “It’ll be too big, but it’s the warmest thing I’ve got.” Still she stood there, holding
    the sweater in motionless hands. He started toward the steps, turned and gave her a semi-exasperated glance. “Look,” he said, running a
    harassed hand through his already rumpled hair. “I promise to stay at the other end of the boat if that’s what’s bothering you. Your
    sister and brother-in-law are really worried about you. It would be nice if you could make an effort to be sociable.”
    She hesitated for a moment longer. “I’ll be out in just a minute,” she said finally, shrugging into the heavy sweater. “And you
    don’t have to stay at the other end of the boat,” she mumbled into the sweater.
    He moved back, a glimmer in those hazel eyes. “What did you say?”
    “I said you didn’t have to stay at the other end of the boat,” she repeated patiently, hoping he couldn’t see the deepening color
    on her pale cheeks. “I’m sorry if I was rude to you.” She placed her sunglasses back on her nose and gave him a trace of a smile.
    His smile widened, the dimple appeared, and the laugh lines around his eyes crinkled behind the dark glasses. “That’s perfectly all
    right,” he murmured. “I’m quite rude on occasions too. Truce?” He held out one hand. Cathy stared down at it for a moment. Her
    father said you could always judge a man by his hands and his eyes. She had already observed that his eyes were kind and humorous, much to her dismay. The
    hand in front of her was large and capable and well-shaped, the fingers long and tapering, the nails short and well cared for, unadorned by any rings. She
    put her slender hand in his, feeling it swallowed up in his strong grip. He let go far too quickly, his hand reaching out to take her elbow.
    “Shall we join the others and tell them the war’s over?” he inquired, a trace of laughter in his deep voice.
    “Might as well. I don’t want to have to spend he entire day in the cabin,” she replied with a trace of her old spirit, and was rewarded
    with a laugh.
    “Well, for that matter, I could always keep you company. I’m sure we’d have no trouble finding ways to spend the time,” he said
    casually.
    He must have felt her entire body stiffen through the light clasp on her elbow. Yanking her arm from his grasp, she started for the steps. “No, thank
    you for the kind offer,” she snapped, shaking with an overwhelming rage and something not far removed from panic. She had barely taken two steps when
    his hands reached out and caught her, turning her to face him and holding her upper arms in an iron grip.
    “Hey,” he said softly, his forehead creased, “what’s gotten into you? I was only kidding.”
    “Well, kid with someone else,” she cried, knowing she sounded neurotic and completely out of control. “I don’t need Meg finding
    someone to flirt with me to take my mind off my problems, and I don’t need—”
    He shook her, briefly but quite hard, and the words rattled to silence. “Let me make one thing clear,” he said in his deep still voice that had
    a curiously enervating effect on her. “I flirt with almost every pretty lady I see, unless I’m with someone, and you, despite your monumental
    bad temper, are one of the prettiest women I’ve seen in a long time. I don’t need Meg to encourage me, and she knows she wouldn’t get
    anywhere if she tried. Is that understood?” When she refused to