Like the instant detonation of a bomb, heat erupted inside her. It spread to every finger and toe and seared the roots of her hair. Kissing him of her own volition was one thing. But now he’d turned the tables and she was withering, clinging helplessly to the erotic magic his lips were creating on hers.
The slow yielding of her body and the parting of her lips were all the silent invitation Adam needed. He crushed her closer and thrust his tongue between her teeth.
A tiny moan sounded in Maureen’s throat, and then Adam felt the two of them slowly sinking, drowning in each other and the water. Only the burning need for oxygen forced them to break free and kick to the surface. Maureen seized the moment to escape from him and swim across the pool.
As she climbed the ladder and stepped out onto the tile, Adam called to her. “Where are you going?”
Unable to look at him, she continued making her way toward the house. “In. Before you drown the both of us!”
Adam watched her go, her long, wet hair swaying to the rhythm of her hips. Desire, hot and fierce, throbbed inside him, and he had to concede that she’d been right. She wasn’t like any of the young women he’d flirted and dallied with in the past. She was something else altogether. And he needed to keep his hands off before she burned them and a few other pieces of his anatomy to a crisp.
But even with the warning echoing in his head, it was all Adam could do to keep from climbing out of the pool and going after her.
Chapter Four
The next morning, Maureen declined Chloe’s invitation to join the family for breakfast. Instead, she had coffee in her room, then stopped on her way to work and picked up a couple of pastries.
She realized avoiding breakfast with the Sanderses was cowardly of her. But after what took place between her and Adam in the pool the night before, she hadn’t been ready to face him across the dining table.
Thoughts of being in his strong arms, kissing his hard lips, still had the power to curl her toes. She knew she was running scared, but she couldn’t help herself. Since David had been out of her life, no man had turned her head. No man had even gotten close enough to touch her in an intimate way. So what on earth had possessed her to kiss Adam as though she was some sort of wanton hussy?
The question had her groaning as she entered the small laboratory at the back of the Sanders building. She didn’t know what had come over her. But she was certain of one thing; she wasn’t going to let it happen again.
And with that determined thought, she went to the filing cabinets and pulled out the work she’d started yesterday.
Adam placed the telephone back on its cradle, then let out a long sigh. He’d been at work two hours. So far, he’d been too tied up with important calls to head back to the lab to see Maureen. Which was probably all for the best. He didn’t have a clue as to what to say to her. He wasn’t even sure he should bring up their...well, whatever it was that had happened between the two of them last night.
Leaning back in the big leather chair, Adam scraped his fingers through the lank of hair pestering his brow. Dear heaven, he’d never had any woman set him on fire as she had. And he refused to think what might have happened if she hadn’t put a halt to things.
He couldn’t have an affair with Maureen York. He had to work with the woman! With that thought in mind, he left his office and headed for the lab.
When footsteps passed near the back of her chair, Maureen was hunched over her work and deep in thought. Thinking it was one of the men with soil samples, she didn’t bother glancing over her shoulder.
“If they’re labeled, just put them anywhere,” she said. “I’ll find them.”
“I’m not the delivery boy.”
The sound of his voice jerked Maureen’s head up and around. With her heart going like a jackhammer in her chest, it was hard to keep her expression cool as she looked at him, but she managed it somehow. “Good morning, Adam. Is there something I can do for you?”
He silently groaned. She was being cool and professional, and all he could think about was tossing her down on the worktable and ravishing every inch of her. Well, if she could act as though nothing had ever happened between them, then Adam could, too.
He folded his arms against his chest. “Maybe. I need to know something definite about well fifty-five. Have you had a chance to look over the information I gave you on it yesterday?”
Nodding, she rose to her feet and carefully stepped around him. Across the room, she picked up a manila folder from a cabinet counter and carried it back to where he stood.
“It’s all in here. I’ve studied everything thoroughly and my advice to you is to forget the whole thing.”
“Forget it? Are you mad? Do you realize how much money Sanders has sunk into that hole? We need to reach that gas and you’re the one who’s supposed to know how to do it.”
Her brows arched and her shoulders straightened to an even more rigid line. Maureen might be uncertain of herself as a woman but not as a geologist.
“I’m very aware of how much money the company’s already spent on fifty-five. It’s right here in the report. That’s one of the reasons I’m advising against drilling in at another angle. There just isn’t enough gas there to warrant the expense.”
Adam was hearing every word she was saying, and even though a part of his mind was registering her opinion, the other part was shocked at how much he simply wanted to touch her, taste her.
“Our last geologist assured us there was plenty of gas to be found along that particular mountain ridge.”
Her smile was anything but warm. “Maybe that’s why he doesn’t work here anymore.”
Adam’s nostrils flared as he fought with not only what she was telling him, but also his desire to reach out and clamp his hand around her chin and drag her lips up to his.
“Show me,” he clipped.
She stared at him. “Show you what?”
Frustration tightened his features. “How you can be so certain of all this.”
“It’s a scientific deduction. Even if I laid it all out in front of you, I don’t think you’d understand.”
That jolted him, and the smile that suddenly exposed his straight white teeth was a dare in itself.
“Really?”
She grimaced at his cockiness. “I thought you were an engineer.”
“I am. But I have another degree in geophysics.”
Maureen unconsciously gripped the manila folder as she studied his smug face. It didn’t bother her that he was also a scientist. In fact, she admired him for acquiring the knowledge. It was the personal side of him that was making her grit her teeth and wonder why she’d ever agreed to this job. She couldn’t let last night repeat itself. She couldn’t let this crazy attraction she had for this man get out of control.
“Then why did your father bother hiring me?” she asked.
His answering grin was as phony as the sweetness in her voice. “Because I’m not nearly as qualified as you are...in the geology field. Besides, I’m needed as a company man.”
Maureen stepped past him and marched over to the long worktable sitting in the middle of the room. As she laid out the contents of the folders, she said, “I can certainly understand that. You have the perfect attitude for it.”
He sauntered over to the table and stopped a step away from her left shoulder. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
To look at him was like being given a dose of heaven and hell, so she kept her gaze on the tabletop. “Your father could search several states and not find anyone with your brashness.”
If she was trying to get his hackles up, she was succeeding wonderfully, Adam thought as he tried to unclamp his jaw. “It’s a necessary trait. In case you’re not aware of it, rig workers are usually a rough breed of men.”
From the corner of her eye, she slanted him a mocking glance. “You wouldn’t have a gas and oil company without them.”
He made a sound of disgust. “I know that better than anyone. And don’t think I take their
hard work for granted. It’s just that you can’t treat them the same way you would a group of ballet dancers.”
“In other words, they have to know you’re even tougher than they are.”
He inclined his head toward her. “That’s about the size of it. If they don’t fear me enough to take pride in their work, then we have a problem.”
Well, Maureen could admit to herself that she feared Adam Murdock Sanders. Not where her job was concerned, but in the matter of her heart, where she could be hurt the very most.
Releasing a long breath, she turned her attention back to the papers she’d lined meticulously on the tabletop and tapped her forefinger against one of the seismograph tests. “This is enough to tell me there’s very little gas there. And this—” she pointed to the paper lying next in line “—tells me you’d have to drill through a great depth of rock to get to it. And this—”
Her words broke off as his hand suddenly came down over hers, and her shocked gaze flew up to his face.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. “If you think I’m going to play office games with you, you’re very much mistaken. I realize last night—”
“Damn it, Maureen, I’m not trying to play anything,” he interrupted gruffly. “I’m just trying to get your attention. Your real attention.”
From the moment she’d realized he was in the room, every fiber in her body had come to his attention. Thank God he didn’t know that, Maureen thought miserably.
“Why?” she asked warily.
He heaved out a frustrated breath. “Because I don’t like the way we are right now.”
Maureen tried to still the rapid thumping of her heart, but with him standing so near, it refused to obey. She could only hope he didn’t look down and see the faint movement of her shirt.
“How...are we?” she wanted to know.
He grimaced. “Treating each other like two strangers. No, I take that back. Two strangers would probably be nicer to each other.”
“I don’t think...” The touch of his hand on hers made it impossible for Maureen to go on. She pulled away from his grasp and turned her back to him. “I don’t believe we can be nice to each other, Adam,” she said quietly.
“Why? You dislike me that much?”
His question made her wince inwardly. She liked him too much. That was the whole problem. A problem she had to keep to herself.
“No. I don’t dislike you. But...” She forced herself to turn back around to him. “Last night—”
“Should never have happened,” he finished for her.
Her gaze dropped to his boots. Instantly, she noticed the gap he’d slit in the instep of the ostrich leather. She realized the Jeep accident had dealt him a host of miseries and she regretted that. But she had also thanked God over and over for not taking his life that day. She couldn’t bear to imagine what the world would be like without this vibrant man in it.
“I agree. It was reckless and foolish behavior on my part,” she said.
And she regretted it completely. He could see it all over her downcast face.
“I don’t know about all that,” he said, trying not to sound as deflated as he felt. “I’d say we were...well, the whole thing was dangerous more than anything else.”
Dangerous. Oh, yes, Maureen thought, the kisses they’d shared had been all that and more. “You’re right,” she murmured.
He swallowed as the urge to reach out and touch her surged through him like an overwhelming thirst for water. “I won’t let it happen again.”
She ordered her head to lift. When her eyes met his, she felt a jolt right down to her toes. “Neither will I.”
Adam should have been shouting with joyous relief. She wasn’t blaming him for what happened. Nor was she wanting to pick up where they’d left off. Everything was fine, except that he felt hollow with disappointment. He could only hope in a few days’ time the feeling would pass and he’d realize the wisdom of the pact to keep things between them impersonal.
“Then we can put this behind us?” he asked.
One corner of her lips tilted upward. “We’re adults. Surely we can behave in a grown-up manner.”
“We have to work together, Maureen. I don’t want our time on the job to be miserable.”
He was right. At times, the two of them would have to work closely together. One way or the other, they would have to get along. But how could she look at him as just a co-worker when he’d already been more? She’d just have to forget, she supposed. Forget he’d kissed her with a hunger that still had the power to burn her memory.
“Neither do I,” she agreed. “And you’re right. We have to—make sure last night never repeats itself.”
An agreeable woman had never annoyed Adam before. But hearing Maureen calmly allow that the two of them should never lay their hands on one another again was not exactly good for his ego. Or any other part of him.
“Good,” he finally managed to say. “I’m glad we’ve got this all settled.”
In Maureen’s mind, nothing was settled, but during the past ten years, she’d gotten good at pretending and hiding her true feelings. She had to do it now.
“Now, about well fifty-five,” she said, determined to get back to business. “If you think my decision is wrong, just say so. I’ll be glad to go over the report again. But I won’t promise it will change my opinion.”
He leaned over and gathered up the papers Maureen had carefully laid out for him to see. Once he had them all back inside the manila folder, he said, “That won’t be necessary. I’m going to tell Dad to pull the plug.”
Maureen’s mouth fell open as her eyes searched his face. “But you—you were just arguing.” Her mouth snapped shut and she shook her head at him. “You were questioning my judgment.”
A wry grin twisted his lips. “Not really. I just wanted to see if you were really sure of yourself. You are. So I’m satisfied.”
She wanted to slap his face and kick his shins until he howled in pain. Instead, her expression turned icy. “I’m so glad you’re satisfied. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Maureen didn’t wait for a reply—she just turned and walked away from him. She was at the filing cabinet, pretending to search for a folder, when she heard his footsteps leaving the room. Once the door closed behind him with a soft click, she sagged against the metal drawers and let out a long breath.
Dealing with Adam Murdock Sanders was going to be much harder than she’d thought. Much harder.
“Have you eaten a bucket of nails or something?”
Adam glanced up from the saddle he was cleaning. His twin sister, Anna, was striding up the alleyway of the horse barn, tugging a reluctant sorrel yearling behind her. At the moment, the animal’s ears lay pinned against his head, his nostrils were flared and the whites of his eyes were showing. Apparently, his mood wasn’t any better than Adam’s.
“I haven’t eaten anything since lunch. What’ve you done to him?” he asked, nodding toward the colt.
“Nothing yet. He just knows something is about to happen and he’s afraid he isn’t going to like it.”
Adam knew the feeling. It hit him every time he walked into the same room with Maureen York. Not that he’d had any more confrontations with the woman. Quite the contrary, in fact. Not one cross word had passed between them. Whenever the two of them had anything to discuss, she was cool, polite and professional. He should be pleased about their newfound relationship, but in truth, he despised her indifference and his phony reaction to it.
By now, Anna had reached his workplace, a little secluded area just off the tack room. Pausing, she gave her brother a puzzled frown. “What’s your problem?” Anna persisted.
Adam turned his attention back to the saddle resting on the hitching rail. The task was mundane, but bringing the leather back to life was something he enjoyed. Especially when he was out of sorts and needed time to ponder things. For the past hour, he’d been asking himself why he’d not been content to be just a ranch
er. He loved the life. The outdoors, the livestock, the hard manual labor of it all. But something had driven him on to be an oilman just like his father. And he wondered what had driven Maureen to be a geologist. Even more, what had really called her out here to New Mexico. And him.
“I don’t have one.”
“It’s not normal for you to come home early to work in the stables. Your lunch must have been sour.”
“If it was sour, the acid in my stomach took care of it.”
“I don’t doubt that. You must be full of the stuff.”
He jammed the polishing cloth into the back pocket of his jeans and turned to face his sister. “Are you trying to tell me I’m not the charming man I usually am?”
The redhead laughed heartily. “You look like you could commit murder. I don’t know why you came down here in such a mood.”
“Where would you have me go? A bar, so I could drown the acid with alcohol?”
She made a face at him and he frowned back at her. No one knew him like his twin. The two of them had always shared a closeness that superseded the normal bonds between siblings. If Anna was hurting, he sensed it. If he was in pain, Anna knew it.
“No, I don’t want you in a nasty ole bar,” she said. The colt began to jig nervously away from her. She tugged on the lead rope and forced him back to her side. “What’s the matter anyway? Are you having it out with the new geologist Daddy hired?”
Adam cocked a wary brow at her. “Having it out?”
She frowned at him. “You know what I mean. Daddy said you two had a row the first moment you laid eyes on each other.”
“Humph,” he snorted. “We got that all straightened out. I’ve forgiven her for breaking my ankle.” He just couldn’t forgive her for being so beautiful, so damn tempting.
“How generous of you,” Anna said sweetly, then motioned for him to follow her. “I need some help with this little devil. Will you hold him while I clip his mane?”
Adam groaned. “Why do you want to get me killed?”
Anna laughed. “You look like you need to be put out of your misery. Come on.”
Millionaire on Her Doorstep Page 6