Free The Fairest of Them All by Leanne Banks Page A

well-developed pecs and broad shoulders. Denim cutoffs stretched over fascinating masculine bumps and ridges ending in the middle of muscular thighs dusted with curly auburn hair.
    “You’ll have to be the wheelbarrow since I’m bigger,” Russ said. “You want to go ahead and get in push-up position?”
    Carly was suddenly reluctant to have Russ Bradford staring down her spread legs. “That would be breaking the no-touch rules.”
    He frowned. “But we’re responsible for showing these people the correct racing position.”
    She just bet they were. Carly wondered if he’d finagled these events for his purpose. Determined to cling to her sanity-saving rule, she said, “Perhaps you should get a volunteer.”
    Russ shook his head. “No. I’ll be the wheelbarrow, and you carry my feet. You can do it. You’re strong.” Carly put her hands on her biker shorts. “What about the no-touch rule?”
    “That was about me touching you,” Russ pointed out with a sly grin. “You can touch me anytime and any way you want, darlin’.”
    He looked at her with pure sensual invitation in his eyes. Carly didn’t know whether to slap him or kiss him. She rolled her eyes. “Okay, Bradford, hit the dirt.”
    Russ gave a long-suffering sigh, but got into push-up position.
    Carly watched the way his wide shoulders tapered down to his waist and hard, taut derriere, and fought the scandalous urge to pinch him. She clenched her hands together.
    “Do I have to wait all day?”
    “No,” she replied crossly. Then she picked up those tree trunks he called legs and strained and wobbled her way down the field.
    An hour later, she found herself in the awkward position of trying to demonstrate a three-legged race while her partner kept his hands to himself. Every step forward seemed destined to throw them to the ground.
    “This would be a hell of a lot easier if you’d let me put just one arm around you, Carly.” Everything would be easier, Russ thought, if she’d let him keep his arms around her. She spent too much time alone thinking. If he could keep her in his house for one week with no interruptions, Russ felt sure he could persuade her to marry him. And it wouldn’t be all sex, he thought. They would talk and eat and laugh and swim. He enjoyed her company. He enjoyed everything about her.
    He cursed, tilting perilously toward the ground.
    Carly grabbed his waist with both her hands. “Did anybody ever tell you that you weigh more than a bull?” She rubbed her forearm against the perspiration on her forehead. “You’re entirely too large.”
    “Haven’t you heard bigger is better?”
    “Only from big people,” she said, laughing.
    Gasping for breath, they stopped. Russ noted the way her breasts nestled his side. Her soft, smooth thigh rubbed his rough, hard one. Her hand lay on his belly, torturing his imagination and libido. Her womanly scent filled his nostrils. Russ looked down at his empty, itchy, wanting hands and nearly wept with frustration. “Untie the ropes, Carly,” he said through gritted teeth.
    After the three-legged race, they took a break for lunch. Carly took one last bite of her barbecue sandwich and leaned back on her elbows. She lounged beneath a huge shady oak. A shadow passed over her, and she looked up. Carly gave a mock scowl. “You look nice and cool while I’m a sweaty mess. Go get a hot dog and spill some catsup on that fresh-looking blouse.”
    Sara sat down. “You don’t look messy. You look like you’ve been having fun.”
    Carly offered her a piece of ice. “You always say the right thing. I don’t understand why you’re not married with a ton of kids.”
    Sara’s face grew shuttered. “I lost my husband two years ago.”
    Immediately contrite, Carly sat up. “I’m sorry. That’s horrible.”
    “Yes, it was.” Sara looked into the distance. “We used to live in Chattanooga, but after Ron died, I guess I lost the desire to stay in the city. I need a slower pace where I