Free Ambushed by Shara Azod Page B

laughing brown eyes blazing with
    pure need just for him—only for him.
    He had waited long enough. Hopefully tonight
    he would see all those things and more. Tonight was
    the night he was claiming his woman.
    Waiting until she disappeared around the corner
    of bookshelves, Tex eased back to the section where he
    had hidden a picnic basket full of Alexandria’s favorite

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    finger foods, champagne, a blanket, rose petals and a
    couple of large pillows. He wasn’t leaving here tonight
    until she was his, totally and completely. He didn’t
    reckon he could take another night without her by his
    side, his woman through and through. After reading
    every one of the books she’d written, he had a pretty
    good idea of his woman’s fantasies, at least the ones
    she couldn’t help but reflect in her writings.
    She wanted romance, to be swept of her feet. She
    wanted to be overwhelmed with heated passion. That
    was exactly what Tex aimed to give her, and not only
    for tonight either. He sprinkled the delicate crimson
    and eggshell colored petals in a line leading from the
    last section Alexandria would check back to the
    romance section, where he spread out the blanket and
    set out the food and two crystal flutes of champagne,
    setting the pillows up closely side by side. He’d
    decided against candles. Wouldn’t want to burn the
    place down and ruin a perfectly good seduction.
    Besides, he planned on getting her good and wild; the
    chances of knocking small flames over was a liability
    neither one of them needed.
    Satisfied everything was just right, Tex sprawled
    out on one of the pillows, removing both his shirt and
    his boots. He wasn’t a vain man, but he knew she
    loved the sight of a well-developed chest. Years of hard
    ranch work had sculptured his upper body in a way
    women apparently liked, and he was damn well going
    to use everything at his disposal to push past
    Alexandria’s natural shyness.
    Now if she would just hurry along, they could get
    started on the rest of their lives.

    Alexandria hummed to herself as she made her
    way along rows and rows of books, making sure
    everything was in its proper place. She loved
    everything about the library. If she could live her
    whole life in a book she would be happy. Books were
    so much better than real life. Her reality in particular
    was boring and staid, with no real prospects of
    excitement in the future. She understood that by
    staying in Lauréa, chances were good she would end
    up alone. Even though she held out stubborn hope
    some mysterious cowboy would ride into town, or
    drive in with his horse trailer hitched to his truck, and
    sweep her off her feet, she knew the dream was not
    likely to happen.
    Shaking her head at her senseless thoughts, she
    tried concentrating on her job. Wishing wasn’t going
    to bring some lover to her bed. Besides, she doubted
    she could ever really be intimate with anyone, not
    when her heart still belonged to Tex Westley. It was
    pathetic, but Alexandria had lost her heart to her best
    friend sometime during her sophomore year in high
    school, and no one had ever managed to take his place.
    Oh she’d tried dating other men, especially when she
    went away to college. She’d even had one long-term
    relationship. Too bad it had been doomed to failure
    even prior to the first kiss. Anthony had been nice
    enough, respectful, a generous, considerate lover, but
    he wasn’t Tex. She compared everything he did to the
    boy from high school with whom she’d never shared
    more than a hug and a peck on the cheek, and just like

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    every other man she’d ever known, Anthony came up
    short. No other man’s body could stand against the tall,
    whipcord hard, lean body Tex had been blessed with.
    No other lips looked as sensuous, as infinitely kissable.
    No other eyes sparkled bright green like emeralds
    reflecting a wicked sense of humor. No voice could
    send shivers all up her spine with a slow, lazy Texas
    drawl that was so much a part