Free The Bridal Path: Sara by Sherryl Woods Page A

ground.”
    The shudder that swept through Sara couldn’t be blamed entirely on panic. An unmistakable image of an impending wedding night set off a fair share of the trembling reaction she had to Jake’s confident words.
    He regarded her speculatively. “Unless of course, you’ve thought better of it and want to call the whole thing off.”
    “Not a chance,” Sara said fiercely, refusing to be provoked into doing what he wanted.
    One way or another she was going to have Three-Stars. If marriage to Jake was the only way she could get it, then she’d find some way to live with it.
    A surreptitious glance in his direction made her pulse escalate. For some reason she couldn’t quite convince herself that having Jake Dawson in her bed would be a total calamity. Maybe it was time she found out for sure.
    * * *
    How the dickens did she do it? Jake stared across the fire at Sara and cursed his luck for the hundredth time that day. She was sleeping like an innocent babe, while he was tied up in knots.
    Leave it to him to develop the hots for a woman as irritating and perverse as Sara Wilde. He’d been in a perpetual state of arousal practically since dawn. Surely a man could die of frustration after a day like that. Tomorrow didn’t promise to be one bit easier on his libido.
    Meanwhile, Sara had been blithely acting as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Even his deliberate taunts about the inevitable loss of Three-Stars hadn’t stirred much of a reaction. She’d apparently concluded that the ranch would be hers one way or another and was satisfied with that.
    He found her ready acceptance that she might have to marry him to get it a bit disconcerting. He was finally forced to face the fact that he’d gotten himself in way over his head with that impulsive counterbet. There was every chance in the world that he was going to be forced to marry her just to live up to his word.
    What in God’s name had he been thinking?
    He sighed heavily. The truth was he hadn’t been thinking at all. He’d reacted impulsively, something he seemed to do all too often where Sara was concerned. Lately his ironclad self-control flew out the window when she was around.
    As he was contemplating the reason for that, the distant, plaintive cry of a wolf split the night air. Sara shot upright, which indicated to Jake that perhaps she hadn’t been sleeping quite as deeply or peacefully as he’d thought.
    “What was that?” she asked.
    He didn’t buy the startled reaction for a minute. “You’ve heard wolves before, Sara.”
    “He sounded close.”
    “You know how noise carries out here. I’m sure he’s miles away. Go back to sleep.”
    “I don’t think I can.”
    Jake regarded her suspiciously. “When did the sound of a wolf start making you nervous?”
    Her gaze met his evenly. The firelight made her eyes glitter like brilliant jewels, the kind of gems that turned honorable men into thieves.
    “I guess I’m just jumpier than usual tonight,” she claimed. “Would you mind if I moved to your side of the campfire?”
    The soft plea put him in a hell of a bind. He might not believe her, but he couldn’t very well say no. He’d come off like a hard-hearted jerk. By the same token, saying yes was definitely tempting fate. That campfire was just about the only thing between him and a decision that would lead them both straight to disaster.
    “Please,” she said softly.
    “Come on over,” he said, his tone resigned.
    Sara slid out of her sleeping bag and carried it over beside his. She spread it out scant inches from him, then wriggled back inside it.
    With every shifting movement, Jake’s body hummed with awareness. He wanted desperately to slide in her direction, to cover her body with his, to claim her mouth again and prove to himself once and for all if it was sweeter and more enticing than any other mouth he’d ever tasted.
    “Jake?”
    Jake gritted his teeth. “Go to sleep, Sara.”
    “I think I’d feel better