Uniformly Hot! Volume 1 from Harlequin: Letters from HomeBreaking the RulesComing Up for Air

by Rhonda Nelson

  “What are you grinning about?” Adam asked suspiciously.

  Levi scowled as a flash of heat hit his cheeks. “Nothing.”

  “Doesn’t look like nothing, Remington,” Adam said, using his Ranger nickname.

  During jump school, Levi had taken one particularly daring jump, and Mick Chivers, one of his best friends, who had recently gotten married and become a father, had made the remark that he must have “balls of steel.” That had led to Remington Steele jokes and the nickname, which was eventually shortened to just Remington.

  “Looks like you’re thinking about her again. Ms. X, right? Was Tracy helpful today?”

  “Not particularly,” Levi told him.

  And he hadn’t been thinking about Ms. X—he’d been thinking about Natalie, but it was probably better if he didn’t share that little tidbit with Adam. In fact, since seeing her this afternoon he’d done little else but think about Natalie.

  Not good.

  And for the life of him, he didn’t understand it. Yes, he’d always had a thing for her, one that he’d admittedly, with increasing difficulty, managed to keep under control. Evidently that ability had gone by the wayside. Otherwise he wouldn’t have blurted out that offer to go beachcombing with her while her father was away.

  Levi had tried to tell himself that he’d made the suggestion out of ordinary kindness, that it was the “nice” thing to do…but he knew better. He’d offered because he wanted to spend some time with her. Because he’d seen a brief but memorable glimpse of haunted longing in her own eyes this afternoon when he’d stopped by. It had been a bit of a shock, but one he had to admit he found rather gratifying.

  And because he was a glutton for punishment and an opportunistic bastard, he had every intention of taking advantage of the situation. Despite every warning bell going off in his head, he wanted her.

  Still.

  Adam blew out a breath. “Well, damn. I was hoping she’d share a little information with you. I didn’t expect her to tell you who owned that post-office box, but I was hoping she’d point you in the right direction. Maybe drop a hint.”

  “She did say that the owner of the box checked mail around four.”

  Adam gazed at him thoughtfully. “Well, that’s a start. And it shouldn’t interfere with going to the beach with Natalie. She typically finishes up at the gallery around that time, then goes down to the shore.”

  In the process of lifting his drink to his lips, Levi paused. “You’re awfully familiar with her schedule for someone who’s just a friend.”

  “That’s beginning to wear thin, brother,” Adam said, staring at him in a way that was too close for comfort. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were sounding a little jealous.”

  Damn. “Then it’s a good thing you know better.”

  Adam merely smiled then looked away. “I know her damned schedule because she’s been coming by in between working at the gallery, working in her studio, beachcombing, going to her city council meetings, this meeting and that meeting.” He chuckled softly. “She’s got a finger in every friggin’ pie in Bethel Bay.”

  Levi had gathered that from various things Adam had already mentioned. Natalie had more than mere “ties” to the community. She was shackled to it. Out of love, he knew, but it nevertheless made him uncomfortable. The thought just reinforced his point that getting involved with her would be a bad idea. She was invested here. He was invested in his career. It was a no-win situation that had disaster written all over it.

  Pity it didn’t make him want her any less.

  “Anyway,” Adam continued, “we’ve played Tonk and hung out. It’s been nice. Nat’s easy company. She doesn’t ask a lot of questions I don’t want to answer, you know? She’s just…Natalie.”

  For someone who was so outgoing, Adam was intensely private, played his cards close to his vest and kept a tight circle of friends. No doubt Natalie understood that and treated him accordingly. She wouldn’t ask him a lot of prying questions, she’d just be there, which was, no doubt, exactly what his brother needed at the moment.

  “You know the minute John leaves she’s going to try and shake you, right?” Adam asked.

  Levi quirked a brow. “Why would she do that?”

  “Because she’s perfectly capable of going to the beach alone and will resent having a babysitter.”

  “I’m not a babysitter. I simply stepped in so her father would back off and go to his brother’s.”

  “Preachin’ to the choir. But I know her. She’s stubborn.”

  “I promised her father that I’d go with her.” And he would. The end.

  “What time are you supposed to meet her in the morning?”

  “Eight.”

  “I’d get there at seven-thirty.”

  Levi frowned. “You really think she’ll leave without me?” That seemed a little out of character, but admittedly, Adam knew Natalie better than he did.

  Adam merely shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me. So, what are you going to do? Start staking out the post office? Watch who’s going in and out around four?”

  “Something like that.”

  “And if it doesn’t work?”

  “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Maybe see if Louis will help me out.”

  Louis Johnson had been their mail carrier for years and had always had a soft spot for their mother, who never failed to tuck a little something extra into the box for him on holidays. He might not be willing to find out for Levi, but Levi knew it’d be damned hard for Louis to tell his mother no.

  Adam whistled low. “You’re going to enlist Mom’s help? Wow.”

  Naturally, he’d rather not. Telling his mother about the sexy letters wasn’t on his top ten list of favorite things to do, but it wouldn’t come to that. If push came to shove, he’d ask his mother to ask Louis about the post-office box, and she would do it, much as Natalie would do things for Adam, without prying. Furthermore, the fact that he was interested in a woman would undoubtedly make his mother dance a little jig of happiness. She’d been delicately laying hints about him “settling down” and “giving her some grandchildren.” Come to think of it, those hadn’t been delicate hints at all, Levi realized, smiling to himself.

  He laughed softly. “You think I’ve lost my mind, don’t you?”

  “No.” Adam smiled and released a slow sigh. “But this chick must be able to write one helluva letter.”

  “Little brother, you don’t know the half of it.”

  “Oh, I think I know more than you think I do,” Adam said, his voice low, and with that enigmatic statement, he stood, gathered his crutches and made his way into the house.

  Levi waited until he’d gone, then withdrew his wallet and selected the first letter. There had to be a clue in here somewhere. Something he was missing. A faint citrus scent wafted from the paper as his mind soaked up her words, now committed to memory. Something nagged at him, but he batted the elusive notion away, lost in her letter once more.

  Dear Levi,

  If I close my eyes I can see you so clearly. The lean slope of your cheek, the achingly familiar curve of your smile. I look at you and my soul recognizes yours. If only yours would do the same….

  6

  Dear Levi,

  Sometimes I dream of just resting my head against your chest and listening to you breathe….

  SO MUCH for going to the post office this morning, Natalie thought as she hurried through her shower. After talking to Winnie last night and turning her friend’s advice over and over in her head, she hadn’t been able to sleep. Rather than lie there in the dark, tossing and turning, she’d done what she normally did when insomnia occasionally struck. A grin stole over her lips.

  She’d worked.

  The stag was coming along nicely. Though she didn’t know precisely why, this piece of art was quickly becoming her favorite. She was more driven, had a clearer vision of what he was supposed to look like than any other project up to this point. There was a grace,
a masculinity and an energy about him that was curiously familiar, and yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on where that sense of recognition was coming from. The more she worked, the closer she came to figuring it out, and were it not for Levi going with her to the beach this morning, she’d much rather stay home and work on the stag a bit more. As it was…

  She quickly lathered and rinsed her hair, then squeezed a bit of her favorite bath gel—Hawaiian Ginger—into her loofah. The scent was fresh and a touch exotic and came from a shop right here in Bethel Bay. She’d been so enchanted with it, she’d bought the lotion and body spray as well. Though her hair could use a bit of conditioner, Natalie decided she’d settle for the spray-in variety this morning. She didn’t have time for the traditional method.

  Because—she glanced at the clock on her vanity—Levi would be here in exactly thirty-two minutes. Eek, Natalie thought. Though she ordinarily didn’t put on makeup and fix her hair to go beachcombing—hell, half the time she only managed to brush her teeth and throw on a ball cap—today she’d decided to make an exception.

  If by some bizarre, exceedingly rare chance Levi had been flirting with her yesterday, she didn’t want to blow it by looking like a troll. The outfit couldn’t change—combing was dirty work—but at the very least she could look presentable and she was just vain enough to want to try.

  Natalie turned the water off, grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower.

  It was at that precise moment that she heard her doorbell ring. Panicked, she glanced at the digital clock again. Seven-thirty on the dot. What the—surely he wasn’t early, she thought, wrapping the towel around herself. Her heart rate kicked into a swifter rhythm and the toast and jam she’d had for breakfast gave a threatening churn in her belly.

  “Hold on!” Natalie called, frantically searching for her robe. Shit. Where had she put it? She darted around her room, kicking yesterday’s clothes out of the way, and finally found the worn chenille robe stuffed at the foot of her bed. She dropped the towel, shoved her arms into the garment and belted the sash, then made her way to the front door. A quick view through the privacy hole revealed that it was indeed Levi.

  Thirty minutes early.

  Pasting a smile on her face, Natalie finally opened the door. “Good morning,” she said, a bit breathlessly.

  Levi bared his teeth in a grin. “I’m going to kill him,” he said.

  She blinked. “Kill who?”

  “Adam. He told me last night that you’d try to shake me. That I’d better get here early and, fool that I am, I listened to his advice.” Looking adorably self-conscious, he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I can come back. Or you can pick me up, as you’d originally suggested. I’ll just—”

  “Nonsense,” Natalie said. She opened the door wider so that he could come in. “You’re here now. I’ll only be a few more minutes and we can head out.”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a sheepish smile. He wore cargo shorts paired with a brown T-shirt that pulled out the darker flecks in those amazing eyes. A pair of trendy sandals rounded out the outfit. Strangely, he still looked every bit a soldier. A veritable badass. Her belly gave a little flutter and it suddenly occurred to her that she was naked beneath her robe.

  Which was the exact moment her nipples pebbled.

  His gaze dropped and darkened, before jumping back up and tangling with hers. Levi cleared his throat. “Are you sure?”

  The tops of her thighs burned. “Certainly. Come on in.”

  She moved aside, allowing him over the threshold. Two steps later, he paused, sniffing the air. Something shifted in those toffee-colored eyes. “You smell nice.”

  “Thanks. It’s a fragrance from Bayside Soap Company. I try to buy from our local vendors and I happen to really like this scent.”

  His gaze sharpened. “Local, you say?”

  It seemed an odd question, but she answered anyway. “Yes. The Wintermans have operated the company for the past three generations. They’ve recently added candles to their stock.” She gestured to the one sitting on her coffee table.

  He smiled, but it seemed a bit awkward and left her with the impression that she was missing something. “I, uh…I should pick up one for Mom.”

  “I’m sure she’d like that. Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Coffee?”

  Levi shook his head. “No thanks. I’m good.” He glanced around her ground floor. “You’ve got a beautiful place here.”

  A blush of pleasure moved through her. “Thanks. It suits my purposes.”

  “Do you mind if I look around while you finish getting ready? I’d really like to see that studio Adam mentioned.”

  “Not at all. Make yourself at home.”

  Exactly seven minutes later, after aiming the hair dryer at her head for a couple of minutes and an obligatory swipe of the mascara wand, Natalie found him in her studio, admiring the stag. Seeing him next to the piece—the angle of his head, the breadth of his shoulders, the very way he stood—felt strangely like déjà vu, and when he looked up, recognition bolted through her.

  He was the stag.

  Sweet Lord, how could she have missed it? How could she—

  “Natalie, this is beyond amazing,” he said, an unbelievably beautiful smile sliding over those sinfully crafted lips. Morning light spilled in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing him in a golden glow, glinting off that light brown—almost fawn-like—hair. Desire and longing broadsided her, making her knees go weak and her breath go shallow. Every depraved scenario she’d written to him flitted rapid-fire through her mind, a little mini-porn show of her own desires. Them naked and tangled in her sheets, him taking her against her front door, her sliding her hands over his perfect flesh, his fingers threaded through hers…

  Without warning, Winnie’s advice came back to her. What if this is it? What if this is your only chance? Are you going to waste it trying to intercept a letter?

  Natalie swallowed hard. No, she wasn’t.

  “Thank you,” she finally managed to say, though it was damned difficult. Struggling to gather her composure, she strolled over to join him and pretended to admire the way the stag was coming together. “I worked on him until three this morning.”

  A line formed between Levi’s brows and he looked confused. “This is going to sound crazy, but there’s something familiar about him.” He glanced at the doe. “Her, too.” He shook his head. “But the stag…It’s strange. I get the feeling that I should recognize him.”

  It was all she could do to keep her lips from twitching. “I’m glad. The true measure of all art isn’t just that we appreciate it, but that we can identify with it as well.”

  He arched a skeptical brow. “You mean I’m identifying with your deer?”

  She grinned. “In a manner of speaking. It’s making you feel, right?”

  “Gets me right in the chest,” he murmured, putting a fist against his.

  Her, too, Natalie thought. Every time she looked at him. Or more importantly, at Levi.

  A sheepish smile slid over his lips and he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…but I had no idea you were this talented. It was really a shock yesterday to see all those things in your gallery.”

  A bark of laughter broke from her throat and she rolled her eyes. “Thank you. I think.”

  “No, no,” he said, as though he were making a mess of things. “Damn, I’m not good at this. It was—is—a compliment. You’ve truly got a gift.”

  Natalie nodded, moved beyond words. She’d been lauded in various magazines and art circles, had participated in gallery showings from L.A. to New York, and had been blessed with more than a few celebrity clients, but curiously, Levi’s backhanded compliment meant more to her than any of those things ever could.

  He glanced around the room and gestured toward the various bins stacked with driftwood. A hint of a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “And no shortage of your material, either.”r />
  No doubt he was wondering why she liked to go to the beach every day, Natalie thought. She smiled, a bit self-consciously. “It would seem so, but I’m always afraid I’m going to miss that special piece, that perfect part I’m going to need to make something come together.”

  He nodded knowingly and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, I see.” He grinned. “Sort of.”

  Natalie chuckled. “It’s a quirk, I’ll admit. But…” She shrugged helplessly. “It’s the method to my madness.”

  Admiration along with something else, something less easily defined, sparked in that golden gaze. “It’s obviously working.” He straightened. “Speaking of which, we should probably get going.”

  Right, Natalie thought. It was time to get going…on a relationship that could go nowhere.

  But, perversely, she looked forward to the ride.

  WHILE Natalie paused to chat with a couple on the beach, Levi took the opportunity to call his brother and ream his ass.

  “Lying bastard,” he hissed into the phone.

  Adam chuckled. “What? Is there a problem?”

  “She was home, dickweed,” Levi said. “Just like you knew she would be.”

  Home and naked and moist, and my God, she’d smelled like heaven. Had been floating in the same citrusly scent that accompanied each and every one of his letters from Ms. X. A local product, one that could be used by any of Bethel Bay’s residents, and yet…

  Levi let his gaze drift over Natalie. Damn, she was gorgeous. Lean and lightly tanned. He loved the pert angle of her nose, the adorable stubborn tilt to her chin. And that mouth. Absolutely the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

  This morning when she’d opened the door, it had been all he could do not to walk right in and devour her, take her hard and fast against her door, just like the description in his most recent letter from his hometown admirer. Natalie had been the one he’d been thinking of when he’d read the letter in the first place, so seeing her this morning was just heaping temptation on an already tempting situation. Between those deep-brown eyes—eyes that seemed to see right through him, know him—and that luscious mouth…