Free 100% Pure Cowboy by Cathleen Galitz Page B

with the image of Cody’s mischievous blue eyes and warrior-like body burned into her subconscious.
    Her first thought upon awakening the following morning was that she had been a fool to have let modesty deprive curiosity of such a satisfying eyeful. Dragging her aching bones out of her sleeping bag, she donned a tired smile and with red-rimmed eyes set about the business of preparing for yet another day on the trail.
    Watching Cody saunter into camp half an hour later looking bright-eyed, well-rested and, as always, cleanshaven, was nothing short of infuriating. No matter the conditions, the man somehow managed to look as if he had just stepped out of the shower.
    She was surprised by how nonchalantly he was able to greet her “Good morning.” After the performance she had put on for him last night, the least he could do was have the decency to look a little sheepish. She had , after all, put on a private exhibition for him, and he was acting as aroused as a piece of old driftwood. It was insulting. While she had spent the night battling erotic fantasies, Cody had apparently slept like a babe.
    Danielle glared at him over her eggs. He was impossible!
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    She’s adorable! Cody watched a becoming blush climb from the collar of Danielle’s dress to stain her cheeks with twin roses. It had been a long time since he’d met a woman modest enough to blush so sweetly. More than once over the past couple years he’d found himself in the predicament of having to fight off some hot, half-dressed bimbo awaiting him in his hotel room after a concert. None of those supple young bodies had stirred him like the sight of Danielle emerging from that shimmering, moonlit pool last night. That she was embarrassed by the lustful spectacle she had made of herself for some reason pleased him very much.
    He wondered how well she had slept after their midnight rendezvous. If she were to have the moxie to ask him that question, he would have to report that he hadn’t slept worth a damn. What little of the night he hadn’t spent wrestling an enchanted water nymphette in his dreams he had spent examining his reaction to Danielle. They definitely struck sparks off one another. It was an attraction that he would like doused as quickly as possible. There was no room in his life for another woman, not even one as intriguing and sassy as Danielle Herte. He had worked too hard to prove himself in a business that ate men like fire just to toss it all away over a bad case of hormones.
    Despite the overwhelming odds, Cody had not only survived, he’d thrived. And somehow he made it look easy. No one would suspect what the struggle cost him. From the top of his sequined cowboy hat to the soles of his fancystitched boots, he was depleted. It wasn’t just that he deserved a short break before throwing himself back into his work like gangbusters; he had to have one.
    The last thing he’d expected when he’d signed on as wagon master for this little “vacation getaway” was to have his tenuous peace of mind shaken by a den mother whose antipathy to him was as conspicuous as her bottlered hair. Cody was tempted to take a strand between his fingers and test its texture. Were those springy curls natural or the result of a talented beautician’s artistry? Strangely enough it seemed that her wild mop of hair was a little softer today.
    Maybe Danielle’s hair was losing its brass, but the lady herself wasn’t. The “kick your butt” look she was leveling at him right now was almost enough to take the edge off his appetite. Almost. Lord, the woman could cook! Grinning over his full breakfast plate into her icy aqua eyes, Cody couldn’t help but wonder if she cooked as well in the bedroom as in the kitchen.
    It’s a good thing I’m not a mind reader, Danielle thought silently, or I might just slap that cat-sly grin off his face. She told herself that she was simply too preoccupied