by Coleen Kwan
Oh, oh, oh. She couldn’t focus on anything except his abs, his arms, his waist. That package snugly encased in tight black cotton. Good God, she needed oxygen.
He plucked at her T-shirt. “Take that off, too. You’ll need something dry to wear afterward.”
She nodded, wordless, and obeyed. When she was stripped down to bra and panties, Joe appeared to have a hard time looking elsewhere, too.
He swallowed hard, and then he took her hand and nodded down at the ocean below. “We’ll jump on three. Ready?”
She nodded again. The feel of his fingers wrapped around hers and the tickle of his arm against hers sent the adrenaline soaring. Holding hands with Joe felt even more exciting than jumping off this cliff.
“One, two, three!”
She didn’t stop shrieking as they plummeted down. Her senses were assaulted by the rushing wind, the feel of Joe’s body falling with her, and her own weightlessness. They plunged into the ocean, and cold water seized her. Bubbles filled her vision before she kicked her way to the surface, popping up at the same time as Joe.
She let out a few whoops of exhilaration. “That was awesome!”
Joe wore a big grin on his face. “Yeah. I’m surprised I can still hear.”
She splashed some water at him and laughed. “Admit it. You enjoyed it, too.”
“I did.” Moving closer, he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re a very bad influence on me.”
His chest pressed up against her breasts, and suddenly there was a lot more to get excited about. But just then a wave slapped into them, dragging them under for a few seconds.
“Let’s get out before we freeze to death,” Joe said when they reemerged.
He kept beside her as they swam toward the rocks and scrambled out of the water.
Nina stood shivering on the damp rocks, not regretting one moment of the experience.
“Those teenagers aren’t far away,” Joe said. “They’re not going to move while you’re showing all that.” With a lazy smile he dropped his gaze to her chest, and she saw that her white bra was now practically transparent and her nipples had pebbled from the cold.
She swallowed. The heat in Joe’s look made her nipples even harder and achy for his touch.
She drew in a breath and waved at the teenagers. “Hiya, boys!” They gawped and waved timidly back, looking skinny and raw compared to the alpha male next to her. But when she turned back to Joe, he was already heading up to the rock platform, so she fell in behind him.
Watching Joe’s ass clad in wet boxer briefs was no hardship at all. All too soon, they arrived back at their clothes, where Joe dressed with brisk efficiency. She would have liked to linger for a while, maybe watch the sun set, but it was obvious Joe was eager to get back to the inn. He’d already spent more time than he’d bargained taking her out for a drive, so she couldn’t complain.
They drove back to town in companionable silence.
“Thanks for taking me there,” she said when they entered the Comet Inn. “I really enjoyed myself.”
“I’m glad. Hartley’s full of hidden gems like that. You just have to know where they are.”
“Maybe you could show me another one next Monday.”
Joe paused and gave her a sharp, assessing look. She didn’t care for that look—it always seemed to conclude in some deficiency on her part.
“Or any other Monday would do, too,” she added, trying to force a response from him.
“You’re planning on sticking around, then?”
Oh, yes, she’d been right about that look of his. She propped one hand on her hip as she faced him fully. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“You have a wedding in San Francisco in three weeks.”
“What are you implying?”
Joe pushed his fingers through his salt-stiffened hair. “I’m not implying anything, but look at it from my point of view. You might be pissed off with your dad, but he wants you at your sister’s wedding. Add to that the fact you’re not used to small-town living and you’re not exactly thrilled with your job here, and, well…I’d be a fool to assume you’d stick out your probation period.”
His cool, dispassionate reasoning made her clench her fists. “I’m not a quitter. I might have to go to my stepsister’s wedding, but it’s just one weekend. It’s not going to change my plan. I’ll be back.”
But that was impossible, she realized with a pang. She had to be in San Francisco before Brooke’s wedding. With her vacation time used up, she’d have to return to her job at Beaumont, Inc. She was returning, wasn’t she? This whole working-as-a-maid thing was strictly temporary. But if she told Joe that, why would he keep her on?
“You’re sure?” he said. “One weekend in the big city might remind you of everything you’ve been missing.”
“I said I’ll be back,” she reiterated through gritted teeth.
“Why? Because of…this?” He waggled his finger. “This thing between us?”
She drew herself up. “It’s not just the URST. I have things to prove to myself, too.”
“The URST?”
“Unresolved sexual tension. What you call ‘this thing.’”
He blinked, and then a rueful smile spread across his face. “It’s true I’ve been URSTing after you something bad.”
“Well? What are you going to do about it?”
Silence hung over the deserted lobby. He cupped her cheek in one hand, concentrating on her mouth for so long she felt breathless. “There are so many things I want to do…”
He brushed his thumb across her lower lip, and she was held captive like a bee in nectar. “You like to keep a girl in suspense, don’t you?” Her words came out unsteady, needy.
“No. You’re a special case, Nina. I’ve never met anyone like you.”
Her heart flipped a somersault, painfully, and suddenly all her sass dried up, and she could only stare mutely at him, waiting for him to make the next move, to kiss her. Because surely he wanted to kiss her? Surely he wanted to finish what he’d started before that ill-timed call from her dad?
But instead of kissing her, he lowered his hand from her, and she was left wondering, aching.
“I have to get back to my bookkeeping,” he said.
“What?”
“I still have a lot of receipts to get through.”
Bookkeeping? Receipts? He’d rather do bookkeeping and receipts than kiss her?
“Oh…” What little confidence she had left whooshed out of her like a leaking balloon.
“We’ll talk later.”
What did that mean? Was “talk” code for “make out”? She wished she knew; she wished she had the guts to ask him.
“O-okay.”
She pressed her lips together as she watched Joe cross the lobby and head back to his office. If she were Nina Summers without a dime to her name, she would’ve run after him, crash-tackled him to the floor, if necessary. But underneath it all she was still Annette Beaumont, and there seemed to be no getting away from that.
Chapter Five
The wicker chair on the balcony looked so inviting. And Nina’s muscles were crying for a break after her lengthy stint of cleaning made even harder by the fitful sleep she’d endured last night, tortured by dreams of Joe naked except for those black boxer briefs.
Nina pressed a hand into the aching small of her back and uttered a groan. Just five minutes, she told herself as she eased down on the cushions of the wicker chair. Mmm, it was so comfy here with the gentle midmorning sun bathing her and a view of Hartley and the ocean spread out in front of her. Just five minutes rest and she’d feel like new again. Her limbs relaxed, and her eyelids drooped…
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she jackknifed up, surprised and disoriented.
“What’s going on?”
She squinted up to see Joe towering over her, looking displeased. Her heart dropped as she scrambled to her feet.
“Um, I was just, uh, taking care of a few cobwebs.” She grabbed the broom th
at had fallen to the floor.
“Oh, yeah? Looked more like taking a few z’s.”
A guilty blush heated her cheeks. Shoot, just yesterday she’d insisted she was staying put, and now he’d caught her napping on the job.
“I-I’m sorry.” She edged back from him and leaned against the balcony railing. “It won’t happen again. It’s just that I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Still worrying about your dad?”
The unexpected concern in his voice made her pause. “Not really. I mean, we have issues, but it’s nothing new.”
“So if it’s not that, then what’s been keeping you up at night?”
Memories of yesterday danced through her mind—Joe’s suntanned body brushing against hers on that stone ledge, the thrill of jumping with him, his fingers interlaced with hers. And earlier, that kiss that had almost happened, that she still wanted so badly. That was what had kept her up last night.
“You,” she blurted. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Oh my God, what is wrong with my mouth? It seemed it had a will of its own.
Joe’s eyes widened. “Me?”
“You and the URST. It’s driving me crazy.” Huh. Yes, she had officially lost control of her mouth.
“Ah, the URST. Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around at the moment.”
She could have sworn there was a glint in his eyes. Her pulse was racing, her fingers twitching. Nervous, she licked her lips, and Joe seemed to be riveted by her action. She stepped closer to him, and there was no mistaking the increase in his breathing rate.
“You too?” she asked, emboldened by his reaction to her.
She was close enough to feel his body heat and inhale his clean, masculine scent. Even in the pitch dark she’d be able to pick him out. She closed her eyes, imagining herself blindfolded in a bedroom with Joe, and the potency of her fantasy made her sway.
“Nina.” Joe’s gruff voice made her open her eyes. The pent-up hunger in his expression made her lungs constrict. A look like that could melt a girl’s panties off.
“Yeah?”
She swayed closer, the need to touch him overwhelming. She rested a hand against his chest and it was like touching a live generator. He pressed his palm over hers, his grip hard and urgent. Sunshine glinted off his dark, wavy hair, picked out the faint lines at the corners of his fierce eyes. Her heart leaped in her throat. My God, he’s so gorgeous…
“Yoo-hoo!” A voice from below trilled, bursting the bubble that had enclosed them. “Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Nina. Isn’t it a lovely day?”
Mrs. Stewart. Standing on the sidewalk and gazing up at them. And calling out for everyone in the street to know that Joe and Nina were together.
Joe pulled away from Nina as he returned Mrs. Stewart’s greeting. Nina wasn’t capable of speech, so she waved instead. Mrs. Stewart nodded and smiled before trotting on down the street.
“We need to talk.” His clipped tone felt like a jab to the stomach.
…
Joe shut the balcony doors firmly behind Nina, cursing his weakness. Christ, what had Mrs. Stewart seen from the street below? Had she noticed the dangerous hunger in him as he held Nina’s hand and imagined all the ways he wanted to rip her clothes off?
He should’ve been mad at her for sleeping on the job, but all he’d wanted to do was to kiss those soft strawberry lips. And that was another reason why he had to resist temptation—it wasn’t professional or fair to his other employees if he gave her preferential treatment just because he was desperate to sleep with her. He had to be firm before she made him look like a complete sap. And that might have happened already since Mrs. Stewart had caught them holding hands, him probably looking moonstruck and idiotic. She was a sweet lady but the biggest gossip in town, and God knew whom she’d already told.
Nina was studying him with a slightly apprehensive expression. He was uneasy, too. Nina was about as predictable as a tornado.
“I’ve been thinking. About us.” The words jerked out of him.
“Okay…” she said, caution clouding the fire in her eyes.
“We shouldn’t fool around or flirt with each other anymore. We should go back to being just friends.” Clearly there was no way they’d ever go back to being boss and employee, if they ever had been in the first place.
She stared at him, clearly perplexed. “I have to point out that we aren’t actually friends.”
“I took you for a drive yesterday. I jumped into the sea with you.” And he’d never felt more alive and carefree as when they’d hurtled through the air, hand in hand, Nina’s shrieks of joy echoing his exhilaration. “Doesn’t that count?”
“Maybe…” She tilted her head. “And when you say friends, you don’t mean friends with benefits?”
“No,” he retorted. “I mean platonic friends.” But there’d been nothing platonic in his reaction to seeing her step out of the sea with her semitransparent bra clinging to her breasts, her perky nipples provocatively outlined. If it hadn’t been for those gawking teenage boys, he wasn’t sure he could have resisted temptation. No, they definitely weren’t platonic friends yet, but he could work at it.
“Why?” Nina asked.
“Why?” He widened his eyes at her. “Because it’s better this way. All this flirting going on between us can’t stay secret forever. I don’t want it upsetting the rest of the staff and, to be frank, it’s messing with my concentration, too. I’ve got a lot to deal with at the moment—the inn, my new business, my grandmother, the Food and Wine Festival.”
Plus, he didn’t have time to find a replacement for Nina. Yesterday he’d contacted the employment agency and discovered the person they were supposed to have sent him had changed her mind at the last minute, but the agency hadn’t bothered to notify him, which meant he wasn’t using that agency again.
“Right.” Nina pressed her hands to her hips and glowered at him. “So I’m just an inconvenient little itch that’s screwing up your wonderful, busy world.”
Little itch? That was hardly the right description for the raging lust she induced in him, but that wasn’t the point.
“There’s your dad, too.”
Her brows drew together. “My dad? What’s he got to do with anything?”
“You obviously have problems with him. Your life is complicated enough without adding a secret…” He waved his hand impatiently. “Affair.”
“That’s bull. You’re reaching for excuses.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have led you on. But it’s better this way.”
She glared at him, eyes blazing, and despite the situation, he couldn’t help admiring the obstinate line of her jaw and the feisty set of her lips. Even when she was angry with him she was such a turn-on.
“Right,” she said. “It’s so much better now that you’ve toyed with me and dropped me without any discussion.”
“I’m discussing it right now.”
“No, you’re not. You’ve already made up your mind, and now you want to deliver the bad news pronto and scuttle off like a cockroach.”
Shit, the woman had a tongue like a razor. “If you want to take a shot at me, then go ahead. I’m not scuttling off anywhere.”
“How big of you.” Nina ran her fingers through her hair, pushing up sheaves of golden strands. “But don’t worry. I’m not going to have a huge meltdown just because you’re tired of me.”
Tired of Nina? Was that even possible?
She tugged at her T-shirt, stretching the material across her bust, and for a moment he was blinded by the memory of her breasts—sweet and delicate, with delicious nipples that responded so well to his licking…
Need roiled in him to grasp her and make a mockery of everything he’d just said. He shut his eyes and growled as he strove for willpower.
“I’ll be as nice as pie to everyone.” Her glower singed him, taunting him as it fueled his hunger. “Even you.” The air between them beat with prickling silence. Then she straig
htened her shoulders and walked away, leaving him alone, aroused, and uneasy.
…
Joe was restless. It was Wednesday night, and the local wine club was having its monthly meeting in the restaurant. Normally Joe enjoyed chatting with the members, but tonight he couldn’t settle and instead prowled back and forth between the bar and the restaurant.
If he’d thought reining in his lust for Nina would restore normality to his life, then he was sorely disappointed. Ever since yesterday morning Nina had treated him with a shiny brightness that grated because he knew it was meant to irritate him. When she’d turned that friendliness on others—whether it was the guests, the staff, or anyone else who turned up at the inn—he’d been forced to watch them bask in her warmth. He’d grit his teeth until he had a permanent ache in his jawbone.
Tonight she was busing tables in the restaurant, and because he didn’t want her thinking that he was checking up on her, he ducked in and out from the bar next door. As the evening wore on, he walked into the restaurant one more time to see Nina standing by the counter that displayed the club’s featured bottles of wine.
“These are some good wines you have here,” Joe heard Nina say to the president of the wine club.
The guy went pink with pleasure. “We try to get a good variety.”
“That 1997 Barbaresco is very nice.” She pointed to one of the bottles.
The president raised his eyebrows. “Yes, isn’t it?” He coughed, clearly taken aback. “A wine for special occasions.”
Joe was just as surprised as the president. How was a lowly coffee shop waitress familiar with wine that cost more than a hundred and fifty bucks a bottle?
Nina caught Joe’s eye and flushed as if she’d been caught. “Oh, er, maybe I was mistaken.”
She picked up her tray and rushed off, glasses clinking dangerously. Joe followed her into the wash area of the kitchen.
“So you’re a wine aficionado, eh?”
Sarah, who’d been walking past, stopped. “Who’s a wine aficionado?”
“Nina.” Joe nodded in her direction. “Apparently she likes a drop of 1997 Barbaresco.”
