It Takes Two: Deep in the Heart, Book 1 Read Online Free

urging him toward his pleasure. The memory seemed more distant and faded than the horizon in Desperado.
    The snake, still in its prison by the steps, seemed to promise revenge, the forked tongue trembling as Annie walked inside the house. Zach hurried past the serpent as fast as he could.
    “Would you like some iced tea?” Annie flung the question over her shoulder as she glided into the kitchen.
    With great difficulty, Zach snapped his attention away from her enticing posterior and back to where it belonged. On his job. “Tea is fine,” he answered.
    She got out glasses and a pitcher. The old man came into the kitchen, along with the child, whom Zach thought looked heartbreakingly like her mother.
    “Papa, this is Zach Rayez, the man I told you about earlier. Zach, this is my father, Travis Cade.”
    “Hello, sir,” Zach said, extending his hand.
    The old man ignored it, leaving no one in any doubt of what he thought of Zach’s presence in his house. “Come on, Mary; we’ll go play outside,” he said instead, walking out of the kitchen. The little girl followed behind him.
    Annie turned unblinking eyes on him. “I suppose an apology is in order for my father’s behavior. However, surely you can understand his feelings.”
    “I do,” Zach replied. “I understand them all too well. I’m sorry I had to meet him under these circumstances.”
    It was true. He was no more welcome in this house than that old rattlesnake outdoors was, and he couldn’t blame the old man for feeling that way. Annie handed him a glass of iced tea, which he took, grateful for the coolness of the glass and the sensation of her warm fingers barely brushing his.
    She opened a closet in the kitchen and tossed her boots inside, putting a pair of worn-out leather sandals on her feet. Annie’s feet were brown to begin with, but had seen lots of sun too, turning them a toasted almond color. Currant-colored polish on her toes complemented the earthiness of her skin. Zach thought about LouAnn’s little white toes and her delicate white feet that rarely saw any sun except in St Tropez, and he wondered why he felt attracted to Annie. She was nothing like what he aspired to have in his life for himself.
    After setting a plate of brownies down in the middle of the table, Annie sat down across from him. Her fingernail scratched at an old scar in the table, as if she was trying to think of something the two of them had in common they could talk about.
    Although Zach usually was a master at the art of conversation, especially with women, he didn’t know what to say, either. There wasn’t much that he and Rattlesnake Annie had in common. And sitting there, simply gazing at her, seemed to be enough for him. An odd feeling of contentment settled over him.
    Annie’s gaze rose to meet his with the slow, gentle grace he found so fascinating about her. He watched in amazement as her eyes traveled over his shoulders, across his cheeks, skimming down to where his shirt disappeared inside his belt. It felt strange to sit and observe her considering him so carefully with those indigo eyes of hers. He endured her perusal, though, without minding it. For a quick second, when it seemed that she forced her eyes to meet his again, he saw what he thought was admiration in them.
    Dawning wonder filled him. Was it possible that, against her will and in spite of the fact that he’d come on a mission that pitted them against each other from the start, Annie was attracted to him?
    He found that thought intensely flattering. He sensed Annie gave neither body nor heart easily. He wished, with all his soul, that he were in a position to explore the secrets veiled behind her eyes.
    Zach struggled to contain his lustful thoughts. Papa and his rifle held more than a touch of menace, and he didn’t feel like becoming target practice for some redneck farmer in Desperado, Texas. Zach reminded himself that he’d done this type of job, and had the conversation he needed to have