Free The Ruination of Essie Sparks (Wild Western Rogues Series, Book 2) by Barbara Ankrum

mid-rant, and was studying her in the fading afternoon light. Against all common sense, she was struck again by his beauty, his rugged, effortless beauty—of which, she was quite sure, he was completely unaware. In fact, if anything, she supposed he considered himself without appeal, a conclusion with which she should heartily agree.
    But nothing about this man was simple. Not the way his instinct to protect her seemed almost the equal of his instinct to ruin her today, nor the way he seemed able to crawl in her mind to know what she was thinking before she did. His complexity drew her and offended her at once. But when he looked at her, as he was doing now... despite the sudden sallow color of his skin, the awful scar bisecting his cheek or the bitterness in his eyes, she couldn't deny the effect he had on her. On both her heart and her female parts.
    Then, as if he'd made some decision, he slid the knife from the sheath at his hip and, with an effort, crawled closer to the tree she was tied to. The blade glinted dangerously in the thin sunlight.
    Instantly, she feared she'd gone too far, said too much. There was a darkness in his eyes that hadn't been there before—a warning.
    She might have imagined the wounded look in his eyes when she flinched as the blade drew near. Yes, most certainly she had. Still, when he slid the blade between her hands and slit the rope that tied them, she couldn't quite believe he'd done it.
    For a moment, she simply stared at her hands before scooting entirely out of his reach on her backside.
    He gestured with his knife at the trail below. "Go."
    " What ?"
    "Run back to them. Back to your pretty life."
    "My pretty life? What would you know about my—Wait. You... you're letting me go?" Was this a trick? If not, he wouldn't have to tell her twice. She shoved to her feet and backed up a few steps, glancing over her shoulder down the mountain, at where she supposed the searchers were now, so far away. It had taken the whole day to get this far uphill. How long would it take her to go back down? What if the men gave up looking and disappeared? Could she find her way back on her own? On bare feet?
    "Night comes quick up here," he said, his words beginning to slur. "Maybe you'll find your 'friends' before a cougar finds you. Or a grizzly bear."
    She stopped in her tracks. A bear? Or a cougar? She glanced through the thick stand of trees surrounding them. A million places for an animal to hide.
    "Then," she said, "I'll need a weapon."
    "And I need a good leg," he said. "Seems we're both... out of luck."
    She blinked. "You'll send me off with nothing to protect myself?"
    Gesturing with his knife, he said, "Count yourself lucky I didn't take that pretty scalp of yours." He was still watching her, but through half-lidded eyes. "Savage that I am."
    When she didn't move, he warned, "Sun's going down. What you waitin' for?"
    She stepped closer to him, tearing the remains of the rope from her wrists. "Not that I care, but... what about you?"
    A questioning look furled his brow, as if he couldn't imagine what she meant.
    "You're... you're still bleeding."
    He glanced down at the fresh blood seeping against his leggings. "So?" His gaze rose to meet hers. She opened her mouth then closed it again. He slammed his eyes and nodded. "I'll take care of the bullet myself. So I need the knife. Get out of here."
    Essie frowned, uncertainly. "And you're not even going to tell me who you are to Daniel, or... or what this is all about?"
    "Learn to live with disappointment, Essie Sparks. Like the rest of us do."
    "Fine." Disgusted, she turned in an uncertain circle. "Fine. I'll go. Now that I've missed my train, and now that I'll... I'll have to buy myself a new ticket East." She glanced back at him, but he seemed not at all interested in her petty problems. "I hope you're happy. What was the point of all this? Did you always mean to release me in the middle of nowhere? As if it were all just a game to you? To leave me