by Coleen Kwan
“You’re a special case.”
“I’m glad I’m special.”
Her stomach tingled again. Uh-oh. The buzz Joe was giving her was bad news. Just moments ago they’d agreed not to act on the attraction between them, but then immediately she couldn’t help flirting with him. And he was flirting with her, too, no mistaking that.
“I’m going to bed,” she said, backing away from him.
Joe nodded. “Good night, then. You should have an easier day tomorrow. Mondays the restaurant and bar are closed, and we don’t have any guests booked for the night. After you’ve cleaned the rooms, you can take the rest of the day off and relax.”
I definitely need a break, Nina thought as she made her way back to her bedroom. But if Joe was going to be around, she doubted she’d be able to relax.
…
Heat flushed through Joe, raising a light sweat on the back of his neck. His heart rate quickened as if he were jogging, but all he’d done was catch sight of Nina sunbathing in the courtyard next to the bar. The weather was unexpectedly warm, and she wore a loose orange T-shirt and tight black leggings. Stretched out on a wooden bench, she exuded a feline grace that had Joe’s attention shackled.
Earlier, he’d tried to do some paperwork in his office, but his concentration had evaporated as soon as he’d sat at his desk and been reminded in vivid detail what he and Nina had done on that slab of wood. His memories had refused to subside, along with the bulge in his groin that throbbed insistently as he remembered the hot, silky feel of Nina’s body writhing beneath him. Distracted and frustrated, he’d gone to the bar to get himself a can of Coke, but only succeeded in fanning the fire when he spotted Nina outside.
As he watched, Nina arched her toes. The curve of her bare feet transfixed him; he wanted to run his fingers over her delicate ankles, then wrap her legs around his hips before burying… His palm burned against the cool Coke can. Before he could reconsider, he grabbed a second soda can from behind the bar and walked out into the courtyard.
Nina sat up, her expression edgy as he approached.
“Want a soda?” He offered one of the cans to her.
“Uh, sure.” She took it gingerly, as if afraid to make physical contact with him.
The kinetic buzz between them clearly wasn’t one-sided. Maybe she also couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Drawing her knees up, she motioned to him to sit beside her. He perched on the edge of the bench and popped the tab of his drink, not able to relax with her slender, Lycra-clad legs so close to him.
Tension hummed from Nina as she circled the top of her soda can with her fingertip. She darted a glance at him, opened her mouth as if about to say something, then closed it.
The inn was deserted, and a vine-covered trellis screened the courtyard from the street. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.
Joe cleared his throat. “Nice weather we’re having.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s beautiful today.”
Christ. They’d been reduced to discussing the weather, and all because of what had happened. He turned to face her.
“Look, about last night. We have to put it behind us. We both did some stupid things—you dropping your towel, and me reacting like a…” He groped for the right description of the tremendous force that had gripped him last night, which was still heaving just beneath the surface. “A caveman.”
Yeah, as soon as he’d clapped eyes on Nina’s naked body, a primitive urge to ravish her had all but overpowered him. Only by stomping out of the room had he managed to control himself, but when she’d followed him to his office, he hadn’t been able to help himself kissing her, caressing her, and only a minor miracle had stopped him from taking her right there on his office desk.
“A caveman.” Nina’s lips curved into a small, delicious smile.
His groin stirred. He shook his head. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“You’ve got to stop this”—he flicked a finger between them—“this flirting.”
“I’m not flirting with you.” Indignation flared in her vivid blue eyes.
“You just gave me a coy smile and said ‘caveman’ in a breathy voice. That’s flirting.”
She swung her legs to the ground and sat up, her spine ramrod straight. “Sounds like wishful thinking on your part. I know when I’m flirting with a guy, and I damn well was not flirting with you. If I smiled at all when I said ‘caveman,’ it’s only because I was thinking what a good caveman you’d make, what with all that lovely, thick hair of yours and your broad shoulders and your big, muscly arms…” Her voice trailed off. She sucked in her lower lip, looking guilty. “Okay, I admit that last part was a bit flirty.”
Joe let out a groan. “For Christ’s sakes, woman. Can you please stop? I’m not made of stone, you know.”
Chuckling, she lined her legs together. “I promise to behave. As long as you do.” She took a sip of Coke.
He stared at her moistened lips, and the ache to suck the soda off her mouth corkscrewed his insides. “You’re bad for me, Nina. You make me want to do stupid things.”
“And you always do the smart thing?”
“I thought I did.” Dating Deanne had seemed like the smart thing to do at the time. He’d known her since high school, and she knew his family, his responsibilities. He’d assumed they were well matched, but look how wrong he’d been there.
Nina shifted on the bench. “For the record, I wanted to kiss you the moment I laid eyes on you.” Color glowed in her cheeks as she peeped at him through her eyelashes.
“Yeah?” He was ashamed at how much her confession gratified him.
“Uh-huh.” She smiled again. “There’s something about you that’s so dark and irresistible. Plus, you do have a gorgeous body, what I’ve seen of it, and those lips of yours, oh, mama!”
Heaven help him, but there was only so much a man could withstand.
I’m going to regret this, but what the hell…
Leaning forward, he captured her hand and pressed his mouth into her palm, keeping his gaze on hers. She gasped, the blue in her eyes deepening, challenging him. When he flicked the tip of his tongue against her hand, her entire body shivered. Coke cans clattered to the ground as he pulled her closer, his animal hunger breaking free. He laid a trail of quick kisses across her palm before transferring his attention to her neck. Nina arched her back to accommodate him, her little moans guiding him to all her delightful, sensitive spots.
Her mouth lured him, but he held himself back, wanting to spin out the anticipation, to tease them both a little, knowing that when he finally kissed her lips, fireworks would explode.
But just as he couldn’t hold out any longer, a beeping cell phone interrupted them. He hesitated, cursing the interruption and wanting to ignore it. But Nina was already stretching away from him as she picked up her phone from the bench.
Her expression was half dazed, but when she answered the call, she instantly snapped to attention, the bliss wiped off her face.
“Dad? Oh my God, is it really you?” She scrambled away from Joe, tugging at the hem of her T-shirt. “I, um, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
Goddammit. Why hadn’t he kissed her while he had the chance? Seconds ago Nina’s body had been soft and supple, but now she was stiff, her rising tension palpable. She took a few steps away from the bench as the conversation continued. Joe’s body cooled fast. Nothing like an unexpected call from her father to ruin the fun.
Nina sounded agitated on the phone. She paused a long while, listening intently. After a few minutes she muttered good-bye and slipped the phone into the pocket of her T-shirt.
“That was my dad,” she said unnecessarily, dragging her fingers through her mussed-up hair. She seemed at a loss for words, and Joe recalled something she’d mentioned a couple of days ago.
“Is he the family problem you touched on earlier?”
Nina chewed on her lower lip, clearly debating whether to confide in him, and
he found himself hoping she would.
“Um, yes.” She hesitated again. “Can I tell you something?”
Joe nodded. “Of course.”
“I came to Hartley to get away from my father.”
“Why?” His fists clenched as he jerked upright. “Is he abusing you or something?”
“No, nothing like that.” She shook her head quickly. “We just don’t see eye to eye. He’s controlling, and I… Well, I don’t take kindly to his interference.” She paused to swallow, and he could have sworn he caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes before she looked away. “Something happened the other day, and it was the last straw. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I left.”
Joe frowned as he digested Nina’s confession. “You left? Caught the first bus out of San Francisco?”
She pursed her lips and nodded.
Suspicion rose as the truth dawned on him. “Hang on. You weren’t the person I was waiting for that day you arrived, were you?”
Nina lifted her shoulders in admission. “No.”
He pushed to his feet. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You didn’t give me a chance. You rushed me inside and shoved a mop and bucket at me before I could say anything.”
“Don’t give me that. You had plenty of time to tell me the truth, but you didn’t. You deliberately misled me.”
“No, not really. My intention was to find a job here. It just so happened that I walked into one completely by accident, and the person who was meant to show up never arrived. Why are you mad at me? You needed a maid, and I turned up. What’s wrong with that? It’s a win-win situation.”
“It’s anything but.” He glared at her, not exactly sure why he was so riled. Maybe because he hated being duped. Maybe because within five minutes of meeting Nina, he’d wanted her. Still wanted her, even now. That made him more annoyed. “If you lied to get this job, what else have you lied about? What else should I know about you?”
A beat of silence passed. Something flickered in her eyes. Was it guilt or anxiety?
Then she drew herself upright, hair gleaming in the sunlight. “You know all you have to know. I don’t owe you my entire life history.”
Hell. One minute she was melting in his arms and the next she was proud and uppity. And goddammit if that didn’t make her even hotter. He burned to bend her over his arm and silence that pouty mouth of hers with his. Lust flared in him, and for a moment he teetered on the edge of giving in, before he pulled back.
“Fine,” he conceded, muscles tensed against the temptation to grab her. “As long as you don’t lie anymore. From now on, you have to be honest with me. Got it?”
…
Nina gulped hard. Joe’s gaze was so penetrating she had an irrational fear he could see what was milling in her head. Should she tell him who her dad was and what he’d done? But if she did, then that would negate her whole reason for being here. She couldn’t tell him she was Carson Beaumont’s daughter, that on her recent twenty-fifth birthday she’d come into a trust fund worth millions, and that, despite all her privileges and advantages, she couldn’t command the respect of her colleagues. She couldn’t tell him. Not until she’d achieved what she’d come here to prove to herself. The minute Joe knew her true identity, this life experiment of hers would bust. She needed to see it through, even if that meant lying about not lying.
“Got it,” she said.
They looked at each other, and the heat between them began to build again. Her lips quivered as she relived how close Joe had come to kissing her before her dad’s call had interrupted them. God, how she wanted to feel his mouth on hers again. Even when they were arguing, she couldn’t stop wanting him. Joe’s brand of aggravation was somehow arousing.
His mocha eyes reflected the fire leaping between them, his lids dropping to half-mast as he focused on her lips. But then he seemed to come to his senses and took a step back, his stance relaxing.
He angled his head in the direction of the street. “Want to go for a drive?”
She started at his non sequitur. “Excuse me?”
“There’re some beautiful spots around these parts, and you haven’t seen much since you arrived.”
“You honestly want to take me sightseeing?”
He let out a small sigh, his lips quirking at the corners. “Don’t overthink it, Nina.”
What was there to think about? He wasn’t pushing her away. He still wanted to be with her. “I’d love to.” She smiled back at him.
A short while later, she was sitting in Joe’s blue pickup truck while he drove them along a narrow road that hugged the coastline. Sunshine glinted on the nearby ocean and lifted Nina’s spirits. It was a beautiful day, and she was spending it with a gorgeous man. What could be better?
Joe eased back in his seat, hands relaxed on the steering wheel, and glanced at her. “So. Care to tell me about that phone call from your father?”
Tension flowed back, but she did owe Joe some sort of explanation. Preferably one as close to the truth as possible. “He was checking up on me, as usual.”
Her father had wanted to talk about her promotion, but she’d stalled him. He and that promotion weren’t subjects dear to her heart. “He’s probably just being protective,” Joe said.
“There’s more. He reminded me that my stepsister’s wedding is coming up in three weeks.”
“I see. And you’re going to be a bridesmaid?”
Nina choked. “Hell, no. I look awful in frilly dresses, and Brooke wouldn’t want me in her bridal party.”
“So…no love lost between you two, huh?”
“Nope. Brooke and I are complete opposites.”
Meaning Brooke was the spotless, perfect daughter her dad had always wanted. Nina was fifteen when her dad had married Ellen, a well-connected socialite who never had a hair out of place, and brought her and her daughter, Brooke, to live with him and Nina. Ellen had lost no time waving her decorating wand over the entire house, eradicating every sign of Nina’s late mother. Nina was quite happy to hate her new stepmother.
And then there was Brooke, one year her senior and superior to her in every way that mattered to her dad. Brooke was a straight-A student, class president, captain of the debating team, and she never cursed, drank, smoked, or cut class. Or, if she did, she was way better at hiding it than Nina. Her father doted on Brooke, and when he adopted her and gave her the Beaumont surname, to Nina it felt as if he’d finally gotten the daughter he’d always wanted.
With Brooke set to marry the son of a senator, Nina was more than happy to fade into the background, hoping even to skip the event, which had been billed the party of the decade. Lavish society weddings were so not her, especially with the memory of her two-faced ex-boyfriend still fresh in her mind.
“I really don’t want to go,” she said to Joe.
“But they’re your family. You have to.”
“Humph. You don’t know my family.”
“What’s so special about your family?”
Trepidation danced down her spine. She wasn’t ready to confess to Joe she was a Beaumont. She felt bad lying to him, but she’d feel even worse if she told him the truth and saw his attitude toward her alter. People always treated her differently, once they knew who she was and how much money she had.
“They’re difficult,” she said. “And not just my dad, but also my stepmom and my stepsister.”
“You mentioned earlier your mom passed away.” He offered a sympathetic look. “How long ago was that again?”
“She died when I was thirteen. Dad remarried two years later.”
“Can’t have been easy for you. But you’re no cakewalk either.” His voice held a teasing smile. “I’d say you gave as much as you got.”
“Or more,” Nina admitted.
“Families aren’t always easy, are they?”
Minutes later, Joe pulled off the road and parked the truck in a small clearing. She followed him through the scrub until they came to a rocky cove, where glistenin
g dark rocks tumbled down to a deep cerulean ocean.
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, gazing down at the seawater that swirled and crashed against the boulders.
“I used to come here all the time when I was a teenager. When the winter storms hit it’s amazing to see the waves crashing against the cliffs.”
“Look over there.” Nina pointed farther below at a ledge of rock jutting out high over the water. Three teenage boys stood on the platform, and as she watched, one of them leaped off the edge, whooping as he disappeared. “Are they insane?”
“I’ve done that plenty of times,” Joe assured her. “It’s safe as long as the sea’s not too rough. Come on, let’s take a closer look.”
As he led her down to the ledge, the two other boys jumped off, too, hollering and cackling. When they reached the rock platform, Nina peeped over the edge. Wow, the ocean was a long way down, at least thirty feet or more. Below, the three teenagers swam for the water’s edge, whooping and high-fiving.
Nina turned back to Joe. “Well? Are you game?”
“What?” he said before comprehension dawned on his face. “Oh… No, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“I only brought you here for the view. I haven’t jumped off that cliff in ages.”
“Okay, old man. I’ll go on my own.” She started kicking off her Crocs.
Joe stared at her. “You’re serious?”
“If those boys can do it, so can I.” She rolled off her black leggings, pausing when she caught Joe’s eye. “What? I’m not taking everything off, and besides, it’s not as if you haven’t seen the full buffet already.”
He muttered something under his breath. It might have been a curse word. She turned away from him and edged toward the precipice. Her heart revved in her chest. She was nervous about the jump, but she wanted to have some fun. Needed some pure, mindless joy in her life. If Joe didn’t want to make out with her, then jumping off a cliff was the next best thing. She shuffled forward, filling her lungs with the fresh, briny air as her body tingled with excitement.
“Wait,” Joe ordered. There was a faint clink of a belt being unbuckled, and when she turned she almost swooned at the sight of Joe standing in just his black boxer briefs, his jeans, T-shirt, and shoes discarded.