Valentine's Cowboy Read Online Free Page A

about. Now she hugged and kissed both Dale and him in public more often, something he was a tad uncomfortable with.
    He started undoing the sofabed and pictured Valentine Hart as he’d first seen her: tipsy and tripping down the cabana steps. He didn’t approve of anyone, especially a woman, getting so drunk they didn’t know what they were doing. There were a lot of crazies in the world who could and would take advantage of them in the wrong situations. She deserved to have her pert little backside heated up just for that. And then there was the whole throwing herself into a stranger’s arms, not that he—the stranger—minded. Still, that was something else she should be spanked for.
    Unfolding the bed, he blew out a deep breath. If he kept on thinking about reasons to spank the hot female in his bedroom, he’d never get a lick of sleep tonight. Worst part of it all was that he wanted to touch her so bad that he was willing to come up with unreasonable reasons to take her over his knee. If he couldn’t slide between her legs and into her warmth, at least he could lay a hand to the soft flesh of her bottom.
    He jerked off his clothes and flung himself bare-assed naked down on the sofabed. Then he flipped onto his side. He was too damn hard to sleep on his stomach. Hell.
     

Chapter Two
     
    Valentine crawled from the bed and stumbled her way into the living room, holding one hand to her throbbing head. Her eyes were barely open and not focusing well. “Oh gawd, oh gawd. Turn down the ocean,” she moaned as she headed for the sliding glass door she’d left open.
    Even the tiny slit of sunlight she was able to see was excruciating. She squeezed her eyes closed while she continued toward her destination. A few steps later her knee hit a metal bar and she stubbed her toe, making her yelp in pain. Her eyes flew open even as she fell face forward across the open sofabed. Face forward over a large, warm, obviously male body.
    Immediately the male body, that had been nearly dead to the world, burst to life. “What the hell!”
    Almost at the same time Shelby knocked on the front door. “Sam? Sam, what’s going on in there?” She pounded again. “Sam!”
    Valentine scrambled upright, her hands flying to her head, which seemed to be threatening to explode. She glanced down in horror—okay, and definite appreciation—at the deliciously naked form of Sam Thompson. The cowboy she’d met the night before. The man that, even through the fuzziness surrounding her brain, she wanted to throttle on Shelby’s behalf.
    “What are you doing here?” she managed to ask, rubbing her forehead with her fingers in a useless attempt to calm the headache. “Oh gawd. Just shoot me now,” she added on an agonized moan.
    “Not a bad idea,” Sam grumbled and reached around her to snatch at the top sheet he must have thrown aside in the middle of the night. While the wicked woman inside her wanted to protest his action, he stood and drew the sheet around his body from the waist down. He glowered and snapped, “This is my condo, Not yours.”
    “Sam! I hear you in there, let me in!” Shelby called out, pounding again on the door.
    Valentine gaped in mortification. She felt the color draining from her face as she realized his sister was about to catch them in pretty bad circumstances. She looked at Sam for some kind of help and found him heatedly staring at her. No help from his quarter.
    Then she followed his gaze and glanced down. Heat rapidly spread over her entire body. Somehow she’d lost her bikini top. Her breasts were bare. His attention was completely focused on them and, to her displeasure, her nipples hardened in response. Could she possibly be anymore humiliated?
    Evidently yes because she burst into tears. She detested crying in front of someone else, which made her quietly sob harder. What a horrible start to a day! In the midst of her pity party moment, she heard Shelby pound on the door yet again.
    Sam’s brown eyes