STORY EXCERPT

Missy Blue stopped dead in her tracks and watched him.

Sam Rodgers, the constant caretaker of the compound, was pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with mulch toward the back patio of the main house. He stopped, parking his load beside a flower bed, and pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket.

Missy stepped off the path and melted into the tree line. She didn’t want Sam to catch her watching him. Not this time, anyway. She placed the palm of her hand on the rough bark of the tree she was hiding behind and caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

He stood so she had a view of his profile, and when he lifted the cloth to wipe the sweat from his brow, Missy’s heart skipped a beat. Time slowed down, it seemed, as Missy focused on the play of his muscles beneath the tan skin of his upper arm. Today he wore a white tank top and a pair of faded jeans that fit like they were tailored just for him. Sam didn’t dress this way often. He would never let any of the members of the firm see him in anything less than slacks and a polo.

Unless, of course, he was participating in a bonding camp session.

Thinking of him in that way—totally naked, his body glistening with the exertion it took to convey his passion—caused Missy to dig her fingernails into the bark of the tree. Pain flared beneath the nail of her index finger on her right hand. She jerked her hand away from the tree and sucked in a breath. There was a splinter shoved beneath her nail, which was already beginning to throb.

“Dammit.” She shook her hand and stepped back onto the path. She would need tweezers to remove the chunk of wood from her nailbed. And the closest place to find a pair of tweezers was in the main house kitchen first-aid kit. That meant she was going to have to pass by Sam to get there.

Missy looked at him again. He shoved the handkerchief into his back pocket and reached for a spade that was lying on top of the wheelbarrow full of mulch.

Fantasy-time over. She had to get this sliver out before she got an infection. Shaking her head, she started down the path toward the house. It had been stupid of her to dig her nails into a tree like that. She couldn’t afford to injure her hands. Missy was the company masseuse. She had to have full use of every part of her body, especially her hands, to be able to do her job.

Missy could smell him before she could hear his movements. Sam smelled like pine trees, musk, and a hint of hard-working man. She almost closed her eyes, savoring his scent.

“Hey, Missy. How are you?” He turned toward her with a smile and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

Missy’s heart did a little stutter then regained its rhythm. Every day it was getting harder to conceal her attraction to him. “I’m good.” She stopped beside him and raised her injured hand. “Except for somehow managing to ram a log underneath my fingernail.”

Sam’s smile was replaced with a frown. He tossed the spade back into the wheelbarrow and wiped his palms on the front of his shirt before taking her hand in his and turning it palm up. “Let me see.” He moved closer to her, turning her hand for a better view. “Ouch,” he said with a wince. “We need to get that taken care of and fast.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and started toward the kitchen door, pulling her behind him.

“Sam, really, I can take care of this myself.” She didn’t want him to think she was a wimp, but she couldn’t just jerk her arm out of his grasp, either.

“Stop arguing.”

“I’m not arguing.”

“Yes, you are.” He opened the kitchen door and drew her into the coolness of the air-conditioned house. He closed the door behind her then turned her so they were face-to-face. He looked her straight in the eye. “And you know it won’t do you any good to fuss with me because I will always win.” A smile bloomed on his lips. His ocean-blue eyes sparkled with mirth, the corners of them crinkling with laugh lines.

Missy couldn’t help but smile back. He’s so easy on the eyes. When he smiles, it warms my heart.

ADULT EXCERPT

She leaned into him. His hands moved from her waist around her back to cup the roundness of her ass in his palms. Missy slid her hands up his chest, to the back of his neck. She brushed the palm of her right hand over the short-cropped hair at the nape of his neck. It was soft, tickling her skin.

“I want this to be slow,” he said, his gaze locked on hers. “We’ve never really had the chance to enjoy each other.”

Missy drew in his breath through her parted lips, bringing the small, warm essence of him into her being. “I want to know every inch of you,” she said, then tentatively ran her tongue slowly over his bottom lips. “Breathe into me,” she requested, leaning her forehead against his and forming her lips into an O.

She heard him suck in a sharp breath, his hands squeezing her ass through her shorts. Then his breath washed over her lips as he blew into her waiting mouth. She sucked him in, deep into her lungs, her chest expanding to accommodate as much of his essence as possible. When it felt as if her chest was going to explode, Missy released their mingled breaths, only to have him capture her mouth beneath his.

Missy moaned, threading her tongue into his hungry mouth between his lips. She felt his mouth curve up in a smile, then he thrust his tongue against hers, dueling.

Heavy breaths became groans. Hands slid over curves and muscle. Their teeth bumped against each other harshly, but it only added fuel to the building fire.

Missy’s nipples were so tight it was painful, and her panties were wet with the juices of her growing need for him. “Sam,” she said, almost breathless. “Please.”

“Shh.” He brushed a strand of hair back from her forehead. “Slow. We’ve got all night. And more.”

Missy sucked in a breath and took a step back. He was right. What was her hurry? This was something to savor, this time alone with only her and Sam. She took one more step back, straightened her spine, and tilted her chin up.

Sam smiled at her. “What are you up to?”

Her body still tingling from their brief encounter, Missy locked eyes with him. Taking the bottom edge of her sports bra in her hands, in one slow, smooth movement, she lifted it up over her head. Her full breasts, the nipples hard little pebbles, sprang free. Missy tossed the bra aside, noticing how quickly Sam’s eyes dropped to gaze at her chest.

She saw his Adam’s apple move up, then down his neck when he swallowed hard. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, his gaze meeting hers again.

It was Missy’s turn to swallow hard. She took a step toward him, resting her hands on his knees. “This is more than just having one-on-one sex, isn’t it?” Her insides were trembling and she was doing her best to hide it. She was nervous, and the only reason for it was because she had an inkling that her relationship with Sam was about to change. It was like a sense of something large hanging in the air, something life-changing.

Sam raised his hand to cup her cheek. His palm was warm against her skin. He ran his thumb over her cheek softly. “I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I don’t think you could disappoint me.” She wrapped her fingers around the wrist of his hand that was so lovingly cupping her cheek. “I don’t think you realize just how much I’ve wanted this. Sam, my attraction to you is more than physical. I feel a connection with you I’ve never felt with anyone before. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve become so close lately or if it’s because you are such an interesting man, but even if you don’t feel the same way, it doesn’t matter. I want to be even closer to you. I want our connection to go to the next level. I think if we begin to enjoy each other sexually, with tenderness, something will happen between us. I don’t know what, but I want to find out. How do you feel about this? You haven’t really said.”

Sam dropped his hand from her face and covered both of her hands that were resting on his knees with his own. “This is serious business. That’s what I think. I don’t want to ruin what we already have, but with you standing here in front of me looking so luscious, I can’t help myself from thinking how it will be when we finally connect sexually. I want you, Missy. I have for a long time. I didn’t know how to tell you. Whether this turns into something more or not, let’s let fate determine what happens. Us being together so much lately since Rachel has focused on Joe just may be a sign of something bigger. I’m not sure. I don’t want to commit to anything at this point, but I think you and I are close enough, and adult enough, to take this to the next level and not get hurt. Can we agree to that?” He raised one eyebrow. “Are we strong enough to not hurt each other?”

The closeness of him, the warmth emanating from his body, was pulling her toward him. She wanted to wrap herself in that heat, let it swirl around her to warm her heart. But what if after they experienced each other, her heart got the better of her and she fell in love with Sam? Would she be able to handle it if he didn’t feel the same way about her? Would she be hurt and heartbroken or could she be an adult about it and continue on with their relationship as it was? A tiny voice inside her head said, If you don’t do this, you’ll regret it. Just enjoy yourself for once, let yourself just feel.