Rick gazed down at her, worn out. She wrung him out. He grinned. Twice. That first time she’d been as tight as a virgin. But she knew how to move. Man, did she know how to move.
“Harmony.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze and he kissed her forehead. “That was… Mmm.”
She moved away, just a couple of inches, but he felt it.
He braced his hands on the dock and lifted off of her. He thought about that cozy bed in her cabin. “We can’t stay out here all night.”
That got a smile. She brushed a long wet strand of hair off her cheek. “I should get to bed.”
“Bed.” He rolled to his side and sat. “Sounds good.”
She pulled away, damn it. Instead of laughing and falling into his arms, she pulled away. Fine. He’d play it her way.
“Rick, I… ”
He grabbed his shorts and put them on. “Hey, it’s late.” He handed over her clothes and pulled on his boots. “I’ll let you get some sleep.”
She kept her eyes down as she quickly dressed. “I haven’t… It’s been a long time.”
That stilled him. He stared at her. “How long?”
She lifted her head. Was that a tear on her cheek? No. Not brave, spunky Harmony.
“Does it matter how long?” she asked.
Yes. He didn’t want to think of anyone else with her. He shook his head. “No.” He shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”
She grabbed his hand. “You have to understand. I haven’t dated much. Not since college.”
He suspected there was something else. Some jackass had hurt her. He couldn’t ask her about it. He wasn’t any good at this closeness stuff women seemed to want. That was why he never got involved with someone like Harmony. Someone who would want him to stay after the sex. Someone who could make him want to stay. He grunted an answer.
She slipped on her boots and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but—”
“What?” He wouldn’t get angry. Not tonight. He felt too damn good after the greatest sex he’d ever experienced. Twice. Maybe that was why his head was so cloudy. It couldn’t be that it happened with Harmony. But it wasn’t like she didn’t matter at all.
“This meant something to me, Harmony,” he said.
She gave a quick shake of her head and came to her feet. “Please don’t say something you don’t mean, Rick. I’ve heard it before.”
“Wait.” He stood. “Some jerk in college hurt you, I’m guessing. I’m not him.”
She seemed to weigh his words before giving an almost imperceptible nod. “No, you’re not.” She faced him. “And I’m not that girl anymore.”
Neither one said anything for a long moment. He could hardly think, his body wanting her again. Forcing himself to relax, he stroked her cheek. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
She visibly relaxed. He picked up the rest of his clothes and followed her as she walked to the tent-cabin.
“Good night, Harmony,” he said.
They kissed and he felt a connection. This was so much more than sex. Their lips clung for a moment and he lifted his head.
“Good night,” she said.
He stood out there in the dark as she flicked on a light inside. Against the canvas he could see her figure, that body that fit him like nobody else’s. He walked to the SUV and threw the rest of his clothes on the seat.
“It’s none of my business,” he told himself.
He’d only wanted a diversion. He hadn’t thought he’d find one to fill his mind after his body was satisfied. She didn’t want tender words after, which should have been a relief. But he’d almost said it, something sappy that would make her melt. Or smack him in the face if by chance he’d read her wrong.
But there was more to Harmony. More than the fabulous sex and the electric connection. Way more than he’d bargained for. He shrugged into his shirt and started the engine. He’d get this job finished and get back to Boston. Then he wouldn’t have to think about her.
Or the way he felt when he was with her.
***
Harmony stretched out on the bed the next morning, her muscles aching. Rick was an incredible lover. She could still see him leaning over her, coming inside her. Would she see him again? Did she want to? She’d almost told him about Adam. Sheesh. That’s just what every guy wants to hear about after he sleeps with a girl: the last guy who slept with the girl.
“Idiot.” She rose and readied for her day. A yawn caught her by surprise and she laughed softly. “At least I didn’t need lavender to sleep last night.”
She left her camp and threw herself back into her work. She wouldn’t think about Rick. About what he was doing. If he was thinking about her. As her day went on, it seemed he made it easy enough to avoid him. There was no sign of him in the village when she went to the Institute to upload photos and drop off some samples that afternoon.
On her way out of the lab she stopped in the reception area. “Is Dr. Robbins in?” she asked Becky. “I didn’t see him.”
The girl shook her head. “He had a meeting with the developers. I think it’s about the new construction.”
With Rick too, then. He’d keep on both the developers and the Institute to see to Chapman’s interests. Good. It served as a reminder of what he was here for. That wasn’t for her.
“I left some notes in his inbox,” Harmony said. “Tell him I stopped by?”
Becky nodded and Harmony left. The developers were probably leaning on Dr. Robbins. No doubt with Chapman Financial’s encouragement. She’d just have to redouble her efforts and find more of the scrub buckwheat, that’s all. That would solve everyone’s problems and Rick could get back to work. Back to Boston. She tamped down the ache that thought gave her. It was sex. Just sex. He didn’t want her love any more than Adam had. She wouldn’t give it. No. She wouldn’t feel that pain again.
On her way past the coffee shop she spied Lettie waving from her usual spot. She waved in answer, parked the scooter and walked toward the railing in front of her table.
“Hi, Lettie.”
Lettie opened her mouth to speak then let out a low whistle. Her eyes sparkled. “Harmony, what have you been up to? Girl, you look like you—”
Harmony’s gasp cut her off mid-sentence, thank goodness. “Lettie, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lettie laughed gaily and threw up her hands. “I say it’s about time.”
Harmony’s cheeks flamed as she looked around at the crowded tables. No one seemed to be paying them much attention at the moment, but if Lettie didn’t cut it out…
She came closer to Lettie’s table. “I’m a woman, Lettie. I’m single.” She leaned in to whisper. “I can handle a fling if I choose to.”
“A fling? Ha.” Lettie pulled back, her eyes narrowed as if she suddenly noticed something. “Oh, it’s like that.”
Harmony’s heart tripped. “Like what?”
“I’ve seen you with that handsome Chapman fella. Wouldn’t mind handling him myself.”
“Lettie!”
“Go on.” Lettie waved a hand. “I won’t tease you. Are you and he an item, then?”
Were they? “Not in the least.”
Lettie reached out to place her hand over hers. All teasing was absent from her gaze. “Careful, girl. Where the body leads the heart sometimes follows.”
“Oh, now you sound like my mother.” She pulled her hand away, closing it in a fist to keep from trembling. “All cryptic warnings and clouded advice.”
Lettie grinned. “Your mother is a smart cookie, Harmony. Maybe you should listen to her.”
“What, about crossroads?”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, she said that Rick is at a crossroads. That I’m at one, too.”
“I don’t know anything about any crossroads, dear. But if she senses something. And I sense something…” She ended with a shrug.
“Oh, don’t be silly.” Harmony returned to her scooter and waved at Lettie. “See you soon.”
Lettie just watched her, her eyes as piercing as her mother’s ever could be. Harmony turned away and headed back to her camp.
Lettie was wrong. Her heart wouldn’t follow her body anywhere. Rick was just a diversion. Was he using their attraction to distract as well? To get her to lower her guard where her work was concerned?
“Focus, Harmony,” she chided herself. “Don’t be a fool again.”
***
Poring over her notes that night, she knew she’d found more soil able to support the buckwheat. Excitement running through her, she reviewed the PH levels and density once again. The root patterns and leaf matter indicated the plant had grown in several places over the past few years. If this were true, and she had no reason to doubt the findings, she’d have proof that the plant wasn’t endangered. That would do more than allow the recreation café’s construction. It could change the plant’s status.
She’d ride out first thing in the morning and take more photos. Compile a report. Do what she was paid to do. If the Endangered Plant Advisory Council saw this, she could make a difference and secure her job at Cypress Corners. Earn that money she put into an account for Ariel and Max every two weeks since starting this job.
Riding out past the golf course the next morning, she spotted a familiar figure. Standing out on the green, Rick leaned on his putter as he waited for one of the other players to putt. It was too late to turn around and escape. Not once he saw her, darn it. He raised his hand and she quickly waved. She wouldn’t stop. Why engage him in small talk in front of the developers? Concentrate, Harmony. Don’t think about how yummy he looked in those shorts. How long and lean his body looked in his relaxation. Get past the course and onto the other side of the property.
Her heart began to beat normally as she rounded The Clubhouse. Just past the Welcome Center she turned down the sandy path that wrapped around the lake. Of course she thought about that dinner with Rick, when she’d seen flashes of the charming, seductive man inside the corporate smoothness. She swiped at the beads of sweat on her upper lip. Seductive, all right. What they’d shared on her dock would stick in her memory for a long time to come.
Under the shade of a cypress, she popped the top of her water bottle and drank. It was November. She shouldn’t be this hot. Or this tingly. Well, that had nothing to do with the weather. Just that man leaning gracefully on his golf club as she’d driven past. Just a wave of that hand that had moved over her body with skilled determination.
“Oh, boy,” she muttered.
She switched the scooter on again and rode around to a spot she hadn’t yet checked. She’d avoided this side of the property until now, and it was lucky Dr. Robbins hadn’t been in the last time she stopped by the Institute. She had no excuse for neglecting it. It wasn’t far from the residential area where Tammy had put Rick. Separated by a copse of trees and protected from foot traffic, the area was still a little too close for her comfort. She couldn’t tell the director she didn’t want to risk seeing her… ? What was Rick, anyway? Her boyfriend? Ha, she didn’t think so. Her lover? Did one time—okay, two times—make a man her lover?
Stopping the scooter not far from the edge of the rough road, she pulled off her helmet. Blowing a damp curl out of her face, she set the helmet on the handlebar and took her supplies out of the trunk. Digital camera, notebook, sample bags, a small spade.
“All right, then.” She walked through the brush, her eyes scanning for the scraggly plant. “Where are you?”
This was good. Concentrate on finding the buckwheat and not on Rick. No more thinking about Rick, darn it. Find the darn plant. Let the developers get on with the café. Let Chapman get its money. Let Rick get back to Boston.
“Ow!” She slapped at her ankle. Fire ants! Son-of-a… “Watch where you’re walking, Harmony. You’re not some city girl who can’t recognize the little buggers.”
Fire ants. Of course they made her think of Rick again. Of that first day she’d met him at the work site.
Then she saw it. The plant she sought. The scrub buckwheat that was endangered and, all right, a little ugly. Taking out the camera, she snapped photos of it, and the others she soon found dotting the field.
She lowered the camera, a grin on her face. “Oh, you beautiful thing! Wait till Dr. Robbins sees these pictures.”
She took sample leaves near the bottom of the plants, careful not to disturb the young sprouts, and stowed them in the scooter’s trunk. Scribbling in her notebook, she recorded the findings. She hopped back on the scooter and followed the road further. More weeds appeared as she rode by. Wow. It grew all over the place!
Rick wasn’t on her mind as she rounded the turn at the golf course on her way back to the Institute. Her parents’ debts were. Dr. Robbins’ faith in her was. She’d earned her pay today, and hopefully managed to get a plant off the endangered list.
“Score!” she shouted.
Still smiling, she parked in front of the Institute and ran right into Rick. All thought seemed to fall out of her head as she gazed up at him. So much for keeping her focus.
“Harmony.” He ran his eyes over her as she pulled off her helmet.
She wouldn’t fix her hair. Let it curl all over the stinkin’ place. “Hi, Rick.”
It was so strange to stand here on the brick walk, calmly talking to him when last time they were together they’d been naked.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
She walked around to the trunk. “Research.”
He stared at her, one corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re excited about something. Tell me you found something.”
She couldn’t help it. She let out a sound like a laugh and a sigh. “I did. I found the plant. The weed, you called it.”
“Harmony, that was—”
She held up one hand. “It’s all right. I know it’s not the prettiest thing out here.”
His gray eyes ran over her again. “No.”
She felt that familiar dip in her belly. Focus. “It’s growing all over the place, Rick. Down near the path around the lake.”
“Your lake?”
She ignored how cozy that sounded. “No. The main lake, not far from the second residential area.”
He threw back his head and let out a whoop. “Hot damn! Harmony, this is great news.”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I have to get this information to Dr. Robbins and he’ll interpret it.”
“But they can build, right? Tell me they can build.”
His questions sobered her. Chapman Financial and its interests. That was his focus. Okay, then. “If the plant isn’t endangered, I don’t see why not.”
“Wait. Your discovery can help the plant, too.”
“That’s what I do, Rick.” She closed the trunk lid with a loud click. “I care about the plants. I don’t worry about construction or investors.”
He reached for her but she took a step back. “I… I know your work is important to the developers.”
“The developers,” she repeated. “Yeah, I’m only thinking of the developers.”
“Look. I didn’t mean anything by it. I have interests here, too.”
She brushed back her hair and nodded. “I know you do. I know where your interests lie. In your wallet.”
He fisted his hands, something like pain flickering in his eyes for a moment. “That’s not true.” He looked her over, his gaze holding masculine appreciation now. “And I seem to recall your interests lying somewhere south of that gifted scientific brain of yours.”
She flushed hot and looked down at her boots. “Some interests are better left denied.”
He snorted. “That’s not the message you sent the other night.”
No. She’d been a fool to let her body dictate her actions. Today her actions were clear and focused on her work for the Institute.
Cramming her notes and stuff into a canvas bag, she stepped past him. “I have work to do.”
He reached out and stopped her. He was so close she could smell that scent that was uniquely Rick. She looked at his face and read the hunger there. Then he kissed her, right there on the walk in the middle of the Village Center. After a brief hesitation of shock, she kissed him back. Their tongues touched and she felt her knees go as soft as the sand at the bottom of her lake.
He brought his mouth to the side of her neck. “Sweet and hot,” he rasped. “Just like you.”
She pulled back and looked up at him. “That wasn’t fair,” she whispered.
“‘Fair’ is negotiable.” His voice was low, rough. Then he seemed to collect himself as he shrugged. “Everything is negotiable.”
Just like that, a chill washed over her. She darted a look around, relieved to see that no one was staring at them. Thank goodness they were nowhere near the coffee shop. Lettie would never let her live this mistake down.
She straightened and fixed a glare at him. “And everything is a business deal to you.”
With that, she went into the Institute. Thank goodness the walk was a short one. If she’d had to spend another minute in his sight she wouldn’t have been able to keep her trembling hands from his view. His kiss!
Oh, she was a fool. There was no denying it now.