Awakened in August (Spring River Valley Book 8) (5 page)

“They say it’s not so much your equipment but your skill in using what you have.” She met his gaze and raised a gracefully arched brow.

Damn. He was hooked. How come he’d never noticed it years ago when they saw each other almost every day? Her eyes were almond-shaped, her lashes thick and tapered. She had a freckle just below the corner of her mouth, the perfect spot for a butterfly kiss. The highlights in her hair ranged from deep gold to silvery blond, and there was a miniscule dimple above her left eyebrow that intrigued him to no end.

“Do you have time for a nature walk?” he asked, his voice rough.

She stepped back, shaded her eyes with her hand, and glanced up at the Long House. “Sure. I’m not scheduled for any activities until after lunch.”

“So I have you all morning?”

She met his gaze steadily, with an expression that had him desperate to get in touch with that elusive root chakra she’d mentioned yesterday. “Yes, you can have me all morning.”

*

What had she just said? Heat flared through Lydia’s body like a wildfire driven by the wind. She wanted to throw herself into the lake to cool the sizzle. Why had she sought Riley out this morning? Right, because as annoyed as she’d been with him yesterday, he’d once again been on her mind all night.

Thankfully he’d taken off and was walking a few steps ahead of her along the trail that led around the lake. She hung back until the burning in her cheeks subsided, then allowed herself to catch up.

“Did you know there’s a little waterfall over here?” he asked, gesturing through the trees. “It’s not as spectacular as Gossamer Falls, but it’s pretty cool.”

“I lead seven tours a week along these trails.”

“Oh. Well…so it’s cool, right?”

“It is.” She grinned. He lumbered ahead of her, and she found him crouched on a rock taking aim at the spot where a stream cascaded down a tumble of boulders into a pond that fed into the lake. His camera clicked away.

“Aren’t you Mr. National Geographic? Maybe you’ve found a new vocation.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m that good. But I definitely found myself a new hobby. Stand over there. I want you in the shot.”

“Me? I thought you wanted nature photographs.”

“And you’re a woodland sprite. Go ahead.”

She obeyed, smiling stiffly while his camera whirred.

“Come on, act like you like it here,” he coaxed. “Give me a real smile.”

She worked her facial muscles a bit and grinned once more as he vaulted from rock to rock, shooting her from different angles. “Do you really need a dozen shots of me?”

“I only need one, if you smile properly. Come on, Miss Granola, show me the love.”

Lydia made a face, and Riley snapped a picture. “Good! Oh, yes, that’s great. Now give me anger!”

She growled and showed him her claws. He snapped more shots.

“That’s it? What else have you got?”

She posed and pranced, hiding behind a slim tree, then draping herself over a rock. He took photo after photo, directing her movements with a running commentary until finally she collapsed, laughing.

“I’m not cut out for modeling. It’s too much work.”

He offered his hand to help her up. “You’re a natural. I love the mean kitty look.”

Lydia regained her feet, and they stood together on a flat rock, the mist from the nearby falls cooling their heated skin.

It wasn’t supposed to happen. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t let this thing she felt for Riley go any farther, but at the moment, her brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders. So when he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her to him, capturing her mouth with his, she didn’t pull away.

Instinctively, her arms went around him, and she let him in, tasting the country air and the hot flavor of his desire in his kiss. Her knees trembled, and she gave in to it, letting him take some of her weight, leaning into the hard planes of his body.

She let out a whimper of bewilderment, and he groaned in response, his possessive hand moving down her spine. She knew if he reached his destination, she’d be completely and utterly lost.

And she welcomed it.

Then the intrusive notes of a cell phone ring tone broke the spell they’d fallen under. The sound was like glass breaking. A bird flew off, startled, and Lydia’s heart wanted to follow it. The fluttering in her chest made her jittery enough to need to step off the rock before she fell.

Riley cursed and retrieved his phone from his pocket. “Sorry,” he said before flipping it open. “I have to take this.”

She nodded and backed up a few steps. He stood on the rock above her, phone to his ear. “It’s okay, Brenda. It’s fine. What’s up? Yeah, I worked on that case with Mitzi…she should be able to… Oh? Really? That’s not like her. Okay. Sure… Mr. Sanchez’s lawyer’s name is Delvecchio. The number is in my e-mail contacts. Okay. No problem…”

The conversation continued for a few more minutes, but Riley’s voice faded into the sounds of the rushing water and the crunch of old leaves under Lydia’s feet as she headed back up the trail. Lesson learned. Riley would never have time for a real life. Once his firm got their claws into him as a fully fledged lawyer, he’d never come up for air again.

Riley hated himself for taking that call from the office. He should have turned his phone off, but it hadn’t occurred to him to do so. Being out of touch with the people he worked with actually made him less relaxed, not more. He would have explained that to Lydia, but when he’d turned around by the waterfall to look for her, she was gone.

His first instinct had been to follow her, apologize, and kiss her again. He wanted that feeling so badly. The last time he’d lost himself in a kiss, in the feel of a warm, supple body in his arms, had been…years ago, before he’d taken the job with Esterhause, Brady and Danziger. Since that day, he hadn’t had time for dating, or even for noticing women, like the gorgeous brunette Brenda who’d harbored a crush on him that Riley didn’t even know about until some other, more deserving guy had come along and snapped her up.

Riley wasn’t pining for Brenda, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t envy Chase Turner, that more deserving guy, for his ability to have a life outside of work.

After spending the rest of the day watching Lydia avoid him, Riley’d had enough of feeling like pond scum. At twilight, after dinner in the Long House, during which Dale monopolized Lydia at a distant table, Riley hiked over to her cabin. The walk nearly wore him out. All this fresh air seemed to have the opposite effect than it was supposed to have. Instead of being energized, he was finding at the end of the day, he was exhausted. He hoped he wouldn’t fall asleep standing up before he said his piece and begged her forgiveness.

A dim light burned in the front window of the tiny bungalow she stayed in during resort weeks. The cabins of other Green Solutions staff members were clustered nearby, creating a village-like atmosphere. Fortunately, at the moment, all the other cabins were dark since there was a group dance on the veranda overlooking the pool.

He’d seen Lydia sneak off and decided now was the time to throw himself on her mercy. If only for the fact that he’d thought of nothing but that kiss for a day and a half.

He knocked softly and waited, his heart pounding, until she came to the door.

A rich cascade of golden hair fell to her shoulders, backlit by the warm glow from the cabin. She must have just taken the braid out of her hair and left it loose in sexy waves. Barefoot and wearing only a thin shift dress, she embodied the image of the woodland sprite he’d been talking about. Riley wondered how he could find it so hard to breathe with all this fresh air around him.

He expected her to scowl, slam the door in his face, or start yelling, but she only stood there, her skin pink in the dwindling light from the setting sun.

Rather than launch into what he’d rehearsed as his opening argument, he realized this scene called for action more than words. He held up his cell phone, which he’d purposely left on, pressed the off switch and handed it to her as it powered down. “Hide that somewhere.”

She bowed her head and looked at the phone. “You can’t last a day without this.”

“Wrong. I can’t last another day without seeing you. Go for a walk with me?”

She shook her head, and his heart dropped. What else could he do to convince her that if he couldn’t spend time with her, he had no reason to care if his phone rang or not? Before he could sputter a response, she held out her hand.

“Come inside.”

The familiar tightness gripped his chest again, and this time he welcomed it.

*

A very small voice in the back of Lydia’s mind warned her this was a mistake. She ignored it. The moment Riley stepped over the threshold of her little cabin, her ability to reason fled.

In the small room, with the bed only steps away and his broad shoulders within arms’ reach, she was putty. All her determination to keep her wits about her in his presence fled. Avoiding him since the kiss by the waterfall yesterday morning had been hell, and she was done with it. What good was protecting her heart if she had to force herself not to feel?

She wanted him, and she couldn’t pretend she didn’t.

“I’m sorry about—”

A finger against his lips silenced his apology. He was here. That was all she needed. She stepped up to him and put her arms around his neck. When she drew him toward her for a kiss, she felt him shiver.

Their lips met in a frenzy, a battle that left them both breathless. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, reveling in the sensual slide of her thin dress between them. All he had to do was turn around and take a step, and they were next to the bed. He lowered her onto the narrow mattress, not breaking the kiss that had her heart jack-hammering.

“It’s…been a while since I—”

“You’ll do fine,” she cut him off again, and dragged his body over hers. In a second she was moaning his name as he slipped a hand up under the hem of her shift and found the tiny panties she wore to sleep. She gasped when he tugged at the waistband and slid his fingers beneath the thin cotton. Arching toward his touch, she helped him slide them off.

“Riley, take off your clothes.”

“Hmm…you’re always ordering me to strip.”

“Are you complaining?”

“God, no.” He complied with her request, his hands moving with more skill than she’d expected. Maybe it had been a while, but he hadn’t forgotten any of the moves.

“I don’t have a condom with me,” he said before joining her in the bed. Their legs tangled, and he gathered her to him, planting kisses above the plunging neckline of her dress.

“We’ll get some tomorrow. I’m on the pill.” She met his gaze. “Stop now if that’s not okay.”

“It’s fine. It’s great.” He filled his hands with her hips and moved above her. Her breath caught, and she held it while he entered her, afraid if she let out a sound, even one of satisfaction, that she’d realize this was all a dream.

“Is this okay? Did I—”

“It’s good,” she whispered as she began to move beneath him. “It’s so good.”

“Lydia…” He sighed against her ear, sending an electric current through her body that triggered a climax she hadn’t expected. She shuddered with it, shocked by how ready she’d been, and clutched him while her muscles contracted to the staccato of her heartbeat.

His lips spread in a smile she could feel. “I guess I’m not so rusty after all.”

“No,” she whispered, her eyes drifting closed in ecstasy. “You’ve still got it, counselor. I just hope you can hold up under cross-examination.”

“I’ll have to wing it without my briefs…”

Before she could laugh at his response, he kissed her, silencing any rebuttal and stilling all her thoughts. Only this moment mattered, how she felt and the way he touched her. All of her worries faded replaced by sensations she hadn’t felt in ages. How could she doubt what her body knew was right?

Lydia woke with the weight of Riley’s arm across her hip. She smiled and rolled over, careful to avoid falling off the small bed. Sharing the twin mattress certainly made for a romantic night, but not a very comfortable morning.

“Hey, it’s time for meditation class,” she whispered, brushing tousled hair from his forehead. At the moment, he looked nothing like an aspiring corporate lawyer.  Gianna’s remark about Adonis came to mind as she studied him. The circles under his eyes had disappeared, and a few days in the sun had given his pale skin a golden cast. Chlorine in the pool had already lightened a few streaks in his hair, and his shoulders were slightly pink where he’d neglected to reapply sunscreen.

He looked ten times healthier than he had when he’d boarded the Green Solutions bus, and judging from the energetic night they’d spent, his heart was certainly in good condition. The knot of tension she’d felt every time she thought of him working himself to a state of collapse finally loosened. Maybe there was hope for him. When he saw himself in the mirror this morning, he’d have to admit he’d begun to reap the benefits of a long-deserved rest.