Bowles, Jan - Bound by the Montana Mountain Man [Cowboy Bad Boys 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Online Free Page A

she was a natural blonde.
    “Brad, you are one motherfucker.” He shook his head and chuckled slightly. “Yeah, well, when I stop looking, I guess I’ll be six-feet-under.”
    He held her in his arms and began rubbing the duvet, trying to coax some heat into her skin. He patted her face with his hand. “Cassie, come on now. You need to wake up.” Her forehead was cool to the touch, and he looked closely at the gash on her head. She’d taken one hell of a knock.
    He heard her groan, and her eyes flickered open. Now that was a good sign. “Cassie, wake up.”
    Obviously in some discomfort, she began mumbling. Incoherent words at first. He stroked her hair. “It’s okay, baby. You’ve hurt yourself, but you’ll be all right.”
    “No,” she whispered, shaking her head, a knot of tension in her brow. “Don’t say that.”
    Still delirious, she began to sob.
    Trying to give some comfort, he cradled her against him, and stroked her face. “You’re fine, Cassie. You just need to wake up.”
    “But my baby’s gone.”
    “Shh, now. Everything’s fine.”
    “Just leave me alone, and go back to your floozy.”
    At first he thought she was talking to him, but he realized she was referring to her ex-husband. Her subconscious was dwelling on her most painful recent memories. It looked like the bastard had dumped her at a most vulnerable time in her life.
    Suffering from concussion, she was just starting to come around. Now Cassie looked more stable he needed to get her some medical attention. He grabbed the telephone from its cradle and dialed the doctor.

    * * * *

    Initially, Cassie thought the voice talking on the telephone was Aaron’s. Cocooned in a duvet, it seemed the most logical choice. The pain of loss filled her senses once more. Surely that was why Aaron was here? To comfort her because she’d lost her baby. Her head hurt so much it was difficult to think straight, but the voice didn’t quite sound like Aaron’s. It was deeper and more sensual.
    Then it dawned on her. It was Brad Dawsons’ voice, her neighbor. But what was he doing here?
    “What happened?” she whispered, and then everything went black once more. When she came to, Brad was leaning over her. He looked all blurred. “My head hurts.”
    “Yeah, she’s coming ’round now. Says her head hurts.” He listened some more, and then said, “Okay, will do. Thanks, Doc. I’ll keep her warm and safe until you get here.” He put the phone down and caressed the side of her face. “You’ve had an accident, Cassie. Your Jeep ran off the road.”
    Somewhere in the back of her mind, the memory surfaced. She’d been going to visit Brad when she’d lost control. Everything from that point on was a blur.
    So what had happened? How had she gotten here?
    She watched Brad stoke up the fire, adding more logs. When she turned, she slowly became aware of her skin rubbing against the inside of the duvet. What the hell?
    Quickly, she lifted the material and stared down at her naked body. Her head snapped toward Brad.
    “Your clothes were all wet,” he said matter-of-factly. His silver eyes unreadable as he stared back.
    “You removed them all?” Her voice cracked with emotion. Brad, her neighbor, had seen her naked body. Stared at it and taken a keen interest in it, no doubt.
    “Had to, Cassie, they were keeping you from warming up. Hypothermia had set in.”
    “You say.”
    “Your lips had turned blue.”
    “I don’t believe this.”
    “That’s up to you, Cassie. I did what I had to do.”
    “Like hell, you did what you wanted to do.” A sharp pain seared into her skull, making her wince.
    He rubbed a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t like that.”
    “I bet you had a good look, though.” When he didn’t answer, she groaned and turned away. “You ain’t no gentleman.”
    He chuckled. “Well I’ve news for you, Cassie. You ain’t no gentleman, either.”
    “I’m so glad you’re amused by it all.”
    “It’s minus twenty