Free Harlequin Romance April 2015 Box Set by Jennifer Faye and Kate Hardy Jessica Gilmore Michelle Douglas

motion. Bandit immediately leapt to his feet too. ‘I did tell you that you were a striking woman.’
    She snorted and turned towards the house. ‘You’ve been stuck out here on your own for too long.’
    Without warning, cool, firm fingers gripped the suddenly overheatedflesh of her forearm, pulling her to a halt. ‘And you’re selling yourself short.’
    No, she wasn’t. She just knew what she was. And she wasn’t the kind of woman who turned men’s heads. Mac was just trying to charm her, manipulate her.
    ‘I should put your mind at rest, though.’ He stroked her skin with his index finger before releasing her. ‘I want to assure you that you’re perfectly safefrom unwanted attention. I have no intention of thrusting myself on you. I do mean to act like a perfect gentleman towards you, Jo.’
    She wished he hadn’t used the term
thrusting
.
    She drew herself up to her full height but he still towered over her. ‘No other scenario occurred to me, I assure you.’
    ‘Good.’ His eyes twinkled for a moment. ‘It doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy looking atyou, though.’
    Jo stumbled. Mac laughed. Bandit barked and raced off towards the house.
    * * *
    Mac paced back and forth outside the kitchen door.
    Jo peered around the doorway. ‘You
can
come in and watch, you know. You could sit at the table.’
    If he did that he’d bark instructions at her the moment she started. He’d make her nervous and she’d have an accident and burn herself.His stomach churned at the thought. If he sat in the kitchen he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to take over.
    He didn’t deserve to indulge his passion when a boy lay in a hospital bed, suffering because of that passion.
    ‘So, all I’m doing at the moment is infusing these few ingredients for the béarnaise sauce I’m to make tonight, right?
    ‘That’s right.’
    ‘And—’
    ‘No questions,’ he ordered. ‘I need to know if you can follow the recipe.’
    ‘Okay—gotcha.’
    He couldn’t have said why, but her earnest expression made him want to kiss her.
    He could just imagine how she’d recoil from
that
. He grimaced, and tried to push the thought from his mind, but it didn’t stop the itch and burn that coursed through his body.
    ‘If you’re not going to watchthen you best go somewhere else to pace. You’re making me nervous.’
    Go where? Do what? He didn’t have a hope of settling to work at the moment. What if she didn’t understand an instruction? What if—?
    ‘Go toss a ball for Bandit.’
    With a nod, he barrelled outside. The dog had a seemingly boundless reserve of energy.
    Mac threw the ball three times. When Bandit brought it backthe third time he gave the border collie an absent-minded scratch behind the ears. ‘How do you think she’s getting on in there, boy?’
    He glanced back towards the house. It wasn’t as if she had to do anything difficult—just measure out a few ingredients, chop up a tablespoon of onion. Simple, right?
    He sprang up the steps and moved soundlessly across to the door. He breathed in deeplybut couldn’t smell anything. He straightened, ran a hand back through his hair. He should at least smell the vinegar being brought to the boil by now, surely? She should be reducing the mixture and...
    Maybe she hadn’t started the reduction yet.
    He reached for the door handle.
    Bandit barked.
    With a curse, Mac wheeled away and clattered back down the steps. He threw the balluntil his arm grew tired and then he switched arms. Bandit didn’t show any signs of tiring. All the while Mac kept his attention cocked for any sign of sound and movement behind him.
    Finally Jo emerged from the front door, bearing a plate of sandwiches, a jug of water and two glasses. ‘Hungry?’ she called out.
    Not a bit—but he moved to where she’d set the things on the wooden table thatstood at one end of the veranda and poured them both glasses of water. He drank his in an effort to appear nonchalant.
    ‘Run into any