“But here’s the thing. Delegating is still done if you’re a CO. Or, you know, a CEO.”
“I see where you’re going with this.”
It wasn’t like her friends hadn’t been after her for some time that she shouldn’t make the job everything. But often, running this company didn’t feel like work. When it came to spreadsheets, yeah, that was work. Seeing everything come together the way it had recently had become thrilling and addictive. Sometimes she couldn’t shut off the ideas in her head, coming to her late at night when she should be sleeping.
Also, she didn’t have a boyfriend to help occupy her time. There was that.
“Sam? Can I ask whether you’d take a leadership role here?”
He snorted. “Hey, I’m getting promoted already?”
“No. It’s sort of off-the-books right now.”
Besides, she’d noticed he was already leading. It seemed easy for him. Might as well let him know she appreciated it.
“Might want to ask one of the other guys, too. Not sure how long I’ll be sticking around.”
She hadn’t thought of this being a temporary stop for Sam, but what did she really know about him?
“But for now,” Sam said. “I’ll keep these bozos in line. You can count on me.”
Chapter Six
Because the upcoming weekend would involve their first trial run, Sam found himself with a couple of days off at the end of the week.
Julian left town to meet up with an old friend in San Francisco. Michael and Ty were headed to Santa Cruz to catch some waves. Of course, he’d been invited to tag along, too, but had made excuses. Lied and said he had other plans.
He had no other plans. His plans were for some alone time. His plans were a punishing hike off trail in the heat of the day. Maybe run across some of the mountain lions native to the area. Late that morning, when he got back from the seven-mile hike, having spotted exactly zero lions, he walked down to cool, pristine Anderson Lake. It was a great day for a swim, the temps inching up into the high 70s. He’d certainly worked up a sweat. A swim sounded good.
He quickly found that he was not alone in this idea. In the distance, Jill appeared to be sunning herself on a rock, a towel on the ground nearby, her Kindle on top of it. She wore a skimpy red top that left little to the imagination. A short skirt that came to just below the thighs of those long and luscious legs.
He’d avoided her since their trip to the hardware store, always busy when she came around to check their progress. She was an intriguing woman, and the more he learned about her the more intrigued he became. But he couldn’t afford to be interested in her. She was wrong for him on many levels. Sweeter than he’d realized. Someone determined, who accomplished her goals and didn’t fail at them. She needed someone more like her, someone who hadn’t failed at so much. Even so, he still wanted her, and talked himself out of that every night since he’d arrived.
He didn’t quite understand the pull she had on him. But like he was a missile and she was the heat, he went right to her.
“Hey.” He stopped on a dime right behind her.
She whipped around so fast she almost fell off the rock. “What are you doing here?”
“I work here.”
She scrambled off the rock and self-consciously pulled on her skirt. “Yes, but you guys have time off since you’re working all weekend.”
“I went for a hike. That’s not technically working.”
“I thought you went surfing.” She frowned. “You should relax.”
Funny. He would love to relax. But he’d left “relax” in the dust years ago.
“I’m good.”
“All right. Since you’re here, I’m due one new thing about you.”
“How did I know you were going to say that? Remember my thing was big enough to carry me through another day.”
She sighed, turned away and walked toward the edge of the lake, where the water gently lapped to the shore.
He followed. “But I’m owed one thing about you.”
“Seriously?”
“New day and why not? Two can play this game.”
“Fine. You’re right. I think I work too hard.”
“Nice try. Doesn’t count. I already know that. Everybody knows that.”
Although he would not have guessed that to be true the night they’d met. Then, she’d given him the impression of someone who knew how to unwind. Relax and drive a man crazy. No, there was not much Jill Davis could hide from him. He’d already learned plenty without her assistance. She worked too hard, had a serious case of hero worship for her older brother and cared far too much what people thought of her. The last one was an educated guess, but he’d lay serious money down that he was right.
Still, this game was amusing, if more to find out what she’d be willing to tell him.
“Here’s something about me.” She blew out a breath. “I have two best friends, Carly and Zoey. You’ll meet them this weekend on the trial run. Anyway, Zoey runs a pet store in town, Pimp Your Pet. And she’s sort of the Pied Piper of dogs. That’s to say, if you really want a Labrador, she can probably find you one.”
“Great. As soon as I’m settled, I’ll look her up.”
“Settled?”
“If I wind up staying here in Fortune.”
“Okay, but why wouldn’t you stay? You have a job here.”
“It’s temporary, the agency said.”
“Leading to permanent. I’m going to need guides.”
“Wouldn’t that be awkward? You and me, long-term boss and employee?”
“Not unless we let it.” She put one toe in the water, then drew it back like she’d been stung by a bee.
“Cold?” He laughed.
“This lake isn’t swimmable until August.” She stepped back. “It’s perfect for kayaking and wakeboarding. All the water sports.”
He squatted and tested the water. Cold but not arctic. “It’s not bad at all.”
“It’s got to be fifty degrees.”
“Not even.”
“That’s pretty big talk for someone who’s standing there fully clothed.” Her gaze swept from his long-sleeved tee, down to his long hiking pants and boots.
She had a point.
“You probably shouldn’t have said that.” He grinned and kicked off his hiking boots and socks.
“What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” The shirt went next, followed by the pants, one leg at a time.
“Don’t get naked!” She covered her eyes.
“Hell, no. You’re not ready for that.”
He walked in the lake wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. This was just what he needed to cool off. Better than a shower after a hike or run. The cold water stung and, accompanied by the warmer temps in the air, was a shock to his system. Felt like hundreds of razor blades hitting him at once. He swam several feet out and looked behind him. Jill stood at the edge, watching him, her arms crossed, head cocked.
“Isn’t it freezing?”
“Nah.” He dunked his head and came up as clearheaded as he thought he’d ever be around her. He wasn’t going to lie. The pain helped. “Come on in if you don’t believe me.”
He waited. Waited for her to realize that despite this pull between them he wasn’t going to be the one to act on it.
Jill stripped down to her underwear. That underwear was a matching plunging red bra and panties that seemed to cover only the essentials. He swallowed hard. She waded into the water, grimacing at turns, but pushing forward. He liked that about her a whole hell of a lot. She was tough when she had to be. Tough and brave.
She would have to be, to have approached him that night in San Francisco. He’d been in a hell of a snit until he’d looked up to see her face.
She swam to him, teeth chattering. “You’re
r-right. It’s n-not b-bad.”
“Uh-huh.” His body had already become adjusted to the water, in part thanks to the rescue training he’d had during a short stint with Special Forces. “You cold?”
“N-no.”
“Liar.” Telling himself he’d do it for any one of his men, he rubbed down her spine and up again, creating friction and warmth. He shouldn’t let her go into shock. In fact, he really should get her out of the lake.
Surprising him, she wrapped her long legs around his waist and buried her face in his neck. He went instantly hard.
“Sam.”
“Yeah.”
“It was one night.”
“I know. One perfect night.”
She pulled back to meet his gaze. “We were strangers and now...we’re not.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, but this is my life. My town. You’re in it and you work for me.”
“It wasn’t planned.”
“Neither was that night. But now it’s...complicated.”
“Or basic chemistry.” He dropped his hand to her bottom and squeezed.
She made a tiny sound in the back of her throat he found extremely gratifying. “You make it sound so simple.”
He lied. “It is.”
“See, I have a confession. That night...that wasn’t really me you met. Okay, so it was a version of me. But I’d never... I’d never done that before. A one-night stand.”
“First for me, too.”
“Really?”
Her wide-eyed look of shock made him chuckle. “I’m going to pretend that didn’t hurt my feelings.”
She kissed his shoulder. “That did not hurt your feelings. But I’m sorry. It’s a surprise.”
“I accept that.”
“But here’s something new for you about me. This is going to make two things in one day. My real life is difficult. People depend on me. Sometimes I manage to let them down. But I’m not going to screw this—” at this she nudged her chin toward the land all around them “—up.”
She managed to let people down? Somehow he doubted that. That she worried about letting others down? That he believed.
“I’m here to make sure you don’t screw up.”
“Thank you.” She pressed her forehead to his. “But...you and me. That could screw things up. For me.”
With no words to make his case, he kept quiet, because she was right. More than she could have known. In his current condition, he’d ruin her. Just drag her down into the dark depths with him. All her optimism and exuberance would be gone. And that would kill him.
“Unless it’s just one more time,” she said.
Again, he thought perhaps words were going to get in his way at this point. Especially when he liked where this was headed.
“Sam?”
Great, now he was going to have to say something that might possibly risk this. “Right there with you.”
“So, you agree? One more time? Just to see if—”
“If it was a fluke.”
“Right. Because maybe it was that night, or the mojitos, or the city, or the fact that we were both lonely.”
He knew it was none of those things. Not for him. “Sure. We could tell ourselves that.”
“Or we could find out. For sure.”
Chapter Seven
From the moment Sam had stripped down to his tight boxers, Jill hadn’t had a rational thought in her head. Or any thought that didn’t involve her naked and under Sam as soon as humanly possible. His body was exactly as she’d remembered it. Perfect. One long, lean and muscular cord of genuine strength. The half sleeve of tattoos on one arm, winking back at her in the dappled sunlight. He walked with manly grace like he had no clue what he did to her. She wanted to lick him from his earlobe, down his flat stomach, straight to the promised land.
The water was icy, sure, but she was a trouper. This was a good physical challenge to her body and she needed more of those. Mind over matter. Control over her body as much as she had over her mind.
Besides, put a half-naked Sam in the water and she would surely follow.
Even right off a cliff.
Because, oh Lord, she wanted him. Maybe she could have this one thing right now because she’d been so good and worked so hard. And three years! C’mon! Just one more time with him. She’d find out that it was one of those crazy little things, like so many in her life, where a memory had grown larger than life over time. And reality could never quite match up to it. Then they’d go back to their regularly scheduled programming with no one else the wiser.
Sam’s hands were everywhere he could touch her, and every inch of her skin felt singed by fiery and uncontrollable warmth. He kissed her, long and deep, his tongue warm, wild and wicked and her resolve shattered. She remembered him. This. Even when she’d been the one to approach him, even when the whole situation had been her idea, he took control.
Like he did now, carrying her out of the lake. The moment her skin hit air, the mix of frigid lake water and heat did something wild to her senses. That could be the only reason she lightly bit Sam’s shoulder. But the reaction of sensing his muscles tense and bunch beneath her touch was more than worth it.
She shivered in a far different way than she had in the water and tightened her grip around his shoulders.
Sam stood her near the rock where she had her towel and Kindle, and threw the towel around her. Then he was digging through his knapsack. He pulled out a canister, a windbreaker, what appeared to be a nylon blanket and a Buck knife.
Her thoughts went immediately to Ryan’s words. Have all these men been checked out by the agency? But he was an overprotective brother.
“A k-knife?”
“In case I ran across a mountain lion.”
“Don’t tell me you were going to k-kill it.”
He quirked a brow. “Not unless I had to.”
She huddled under the towel, shaking and feeling guilty for not sharing it as he squatted next to her, dripping wet. And then the nylon blanket became a small pup tent.
What the—?
“Is that a t-tent?”
“Always be prepared.”
“For camping?”
“Or being stranded overnight, injured and unable to get help immediately. Shelter and warmth.”
She was nudged inside the tent. Once there, she began to warm up and laid her damp towel over the nylon flooring of the tent. It wasn’t exactly a bed at the Marriott but it would do. Oh yes.
Just outside the tent, Sam crouched and balanced on the balls of his feet. “Are you warm yet?”
She’d be much warmer if he joined her, but with every moment that passed she got the distinct impression that he would not.
“I think so.”
“Your teeth aren’t chattering anymore. I’m encouraged.”
There was something wrong with this picture. He’d taken a different posture since placing her inside the tent. It seemed that his primary concern really did involve getting her warm. And nothing more. What had she missed here? Why was he suddenly backing off? Because that was exactly what he was doing. Taking two giant steps back.
Oh yeah. Because she was his boss, damn it. His sex-starved, extremely unprofessional boss.
“Can I have my clothes, please?” Might as well get dressed since there was nothing else going on in here.
A moment later, he handed them to her. Still not inside the tent with her. He didn’t look the slightest bit cold out there. Maybe he’d been a penguin in another life.
Getting his message, she zippered up the tent.
“Look, Jill—”
She pulled on her skirt over wet panties. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m sorry I suggested it. You’re right, even one more time is a bad idea.”
“I was just going to say tha
t I don’t have a condom with me.”
After pulling her top back on over her wet bra, she unzipped the tent. “You have a Buck knife with you but no condom? Always be prepared, you said.”
“Wasn’t thinking I’d run into someone on my hike and need a condom.”
She had some in her trailer. Bought them the day after seeing Sam again, which made her delusional, prepared or desperate. She was going to go with prepared.
“We could go to my trailer,” she said.
It was wrong, her brain said, but her body fought back: Shut up! Three years!
He grinned and she almost came. “Probably not smart. All the other guys will be jealous.”
Okay. Desperate and delusional it is.
But he was right. It wasn’t smart. They couldn’t do a fling. And one more time would be a fling. Bottom line: that night they’d had together could never be re-created. It was gone. And she obviously needed help remembering that she had to learn to want someone available. Someone solid and stable. Not someone who couldn’t even tell her why he didn’t have an emergency contact.
“You’re right.”
“Even if you weren’t my boss, you don’t need me messing up your life. And I would mess with it.”
“Why? What’s so wrong with you?”
He’d taken himself on a punishing hike on his day off. He plunged into ice-cold waters that she knew had to have been a stab of pain but he seemed to enjoy it. He didn’t talk about his family and wasn’t particularly ecstatic to reveal anything about himself. So she had a few clues that he had some issues.
Yet, she was still fascinated, which meant that maybe she had her own issues.
“Too many things to list.”
“You seemed okay that night in San Francisco.”
“Okay?” He cocked his head as if he didn’t quite believe her. “I haven’t really been okay for a while. But I’ll get there.”
She studied him as he collapsed the tent and quickly dressed, her heart hurting. He wouldn’t want her pity but her mind immediately went to all the vets with PTSD that Ryan had worked with in the past. She quietly wondered if that was Sam, too, and knew better than to ask.
More than One Night Page 5
