Hearts in Defiance (Romance in the Rockies Book 2) Read Online Free

imperceptibly. The knife
was in. Now McIntyre needed to figure out how not to twist it.
    “ You are the first
woman …” He took a step toward her as he searched for words. “You are the first
woman I have ever cared for more myself. I want you so much, it’s all I can
think about. And yet, I don’t want to touch you until we’re married.” He lifted
his face to heaven and fanned the air with his hat. “God knows I have never felt like that before. I had never even thought about denying my
passion,” His gaze dropped back to her, “until you.”
    Jamming his hat on his head,
he marched toward her. His sudden, determined stride sent her back-stepping
till she bumped into the wagon. McIntyre reached out and clutched the railing
on each side of her, trapping her. “The stagecoach routes are opening up.
People will be traveling again.” A crease in her brow revealed her confusion,
and he cursed himself for being so inept at this.
    Just spit it out.
    “There are women who may
come to Defiance. Women who will expect … my hospitality.” In every sordid
way imaginable . “And that will hurt you.” He tightened his grip on the
wagon, the force turning his knuckles white. “If I could, I would take another
bullet instead of putting you through that.”
    ~~~
     
     
    Naomi shook her head and stared down at her clutched hands, trying
to get rid of the sick feeling in her gut. “Don’t say that … I don’t understand
what you are saying, but please don’t say that .”
    “I’m saying we all gave ourselves to strangers …”
    He tried to look into her
face, but Naomi avoided him. She needed a moment. A lump forming in her throat,
she wondered if he was saying good-bye. She couldn’t bear to lose him too.
    “It’s the kind of thing that
destroys people, Naomi, if they can’t get past it. Ghosts come out of the
woodwork, reminding you time and again of the terrible things you’ve done.”
    She looked at him then and
was saddened by the guilt and shame playing out across his face. She’d once
thought his black beard, always trimmed to perfection, gave him such a
mischievous demeanor. Now, his sparkling brown eyes showed signs of defeat, and
pain etched itself in his creased brow. His bravado gone, here was a man
stepping up to give the devil his due.
    Wishing she could take away
his pain, she touched his cheek. “What are you saying really? That you don’t
think we can be together because of who you were ? I’ve told you, your
sins are in the past, Charles.”
    “No! No they are not.” He
shook his head, and softened his tone. “I deeply regret that you may be forced
to deal with the things I’ve done, but my past is definitely not dead and
buried. Most likely it will dog us forever. I need you to understand that … so
you can choose.”
    Reeling from everything he’d
said thus far, good and bad, Naomi dropped her hand and absently fiddled with
the wedding band she still wore. He rested his forehead against hers, the
movement pushing his hat back.
    “Naomi, I don’t want you to
end up hating me.”
    Still spinning her ring
around her finger, she bit down on her lip and ruminated on his confession. Or
was it a warning? So what if a couple of these old flames showed up? What if
they flaunted their past relationships with Charles right in front of her? What
would she do?
    Pull out some floozy’s hair.
    But more importantly, what
would he do? She looked up. “Ghosts from your past cannot hurt anything
but my pride.” She laid her hand on his heart and spoke slowly. “ You can
break my heart. But still I wouldn’t hate you.” She grinned. “I might shoot
you, but I would not hate you.”
    They laughed softly
together, and then Naomi shook her head. “Seems to me the real question here is
what you are going to do if any of these women show up.”
    “I am done with them.” The
uncompromising tone in his voice gave her hope. “I’m done with that life. I’ll
make it clear the moment any of them