In Your Arms Read Online Free

thought crossed her mind, she couldn’t keep herself from smiling.
    Marcus grinned in response, tapping her nose. “There’s my smile. You still going to show me around?”
    Now she blushed. How could this man take her through so many different emotions at the drop of a hat? If she weren’t careful, she just might swoon.

Four

    “My sister is going to ask you to the Patricks’ barn dance in a couple of weeks.”
    Melissa laughed as Marcus coughed and sputtered the cool water he’d been drinking. They’d returned from their tour of Gideon’s Gulch in just under an hour, seeing the rest of the livery stables as well as the bank and local saloon. A few of the folks out and about had tipped their hats or nodded their heads, and some had even stopped to make friendly conversation. Marcus and his good looks seemed to charm most of the ladies who gave Melissa envious glances.
    She’d blushed quite a lot that morning, knowing most people assumed Marcus was her new beau--and after the embarrassing encounter with Widow Skaggs, Melissa was convinced her skin would be permanently stained red. The older woman congratulated them up and down, shaking their hands and asking how they’d met, when the wedding was, and how Melissa’s father felt about such a whirlwind courtship. Despite their claims to the contrary, Mrs. Skaggs hadn’t seemed to hear them and had simply nodded with a grin. With a hasty goodbye, Melissa and Marcus had trotted down the boardwalk giggling up a storm.
    Now they stood back at the water pump behind the Blooms’ General Store, each taking long sips of the cool water.
    “What do you mean your sister is asking me to a dance? She’s barely known me for more than a day!”
    Melissa bit her lips in an effort to keep from smiling. “That doesn’t matter, Marcus. She’s quite taken with you.”
    Splashing some water on his face, he looked up and squinted at her in the bright sunlight. Droplets of water pooled on his chin and fell to the ground. Melissa suddenly had the urge to lick them off.
    Dear Lord, where had that thought come from?
    “Well, I’ll just have to tell her I’m not interested,” Marcus said. “I don’t dance much.”
    “I doubt she’ll be taking no for an answer.”
    “She’ll be taking no from me.”
    “Shirley is pretty tenacious when she wants to be. She’s looking for the perfect man.”
    “The perfect man for what?” Wiping his face with his palm, he flung the rest of the droplets to the ground.
    “For a husband.” Melissa bent to drink from the pump.
    Marcus laughed at that, throwing back his head and slapping his knee. “Ah, sugar, that’s the funniest damn thing I’ve heard all day.”
    Melissa choked in mid-swallow but managed to say, “Why is that funny?”
    “I’m not the marrying kind.”
    “Why not?” Standing with her hands on her hips, she stared at him.
    “You don’t wanna know.”
    “What if I do?”
    “Wouldn’t matter.”
    “Does it have to do with your guns?”
    As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back. Marcus’s look darkened as he crossed his arms.
    “What if it did?” he asked.
    “A lot of men wear guns. Cowboys, sheriffs -- ”
    “Outlaws,” he interrupted.
    Melissa gasped. “You’re an outlaw?” Her eyes were wide and she took an involuntary step backward.
    “I’m not wanted, if that’s what you mean.” He stepped closer. “But I have killed some folk.”
    “You? But you’re so nice.”
    “I’m not always nice, sugar.”
    That nickname made her heart flutter wildly in her chest as she struggled to breathe. But looking into his golden eyes, she could see he spoke the truth. Something fierce and ruthless was behind them just now. She knew she should turn away, go inside and stop talking about his past, but his gaze held her rooted to the spot.
    Silence descended upon them as his eyes roamed over her face, focusing on her mouth as if his thoughts were elsewhere. In her nervousness, Melissa