Finding Harmony (8 page)

He glanced at Harmony and swallowed. “Tofu?”

Her mother handed him the package, which he took after only
a slight hesitation.

“Of course,” she said.

He held it gingerly as he nodded his head again. “Well,
I’ll let you have your visit.” He turned to Harmony. “Enjoy your dinner.”

He smiled and again that charm poured off of him as he
walked away from them. She mentally patted herself on the back for surviving
their first encounter since getting nearly-naked with him on the dock.

Her mother clicked her tongue. “He’s unfocused, Harmony. His
aura is cloudy.”

“Don’t worry about Rick’s aura,” she said. “He knows what
he’s doing.”

Ariel’s head shook emphatically, her earrings swaying. “No.
He’s at a crossroads. But he doesn’t know it.” She crossed her arms. “And he
doesn’t know what he wants.”

Harmony thought about that night on the dock, of his kisses
and caresses that almost made her give up the safety she’d guarded since Adam
hurt her and her parents.

Rick’s not the only one who doesn’t know what he wants.

Rick turned to watch as Harmony climbed up the narrow steps
and into the RV. Her parents followed behind and he stared at the closed door. Ariel
and Max Brooks were nothing like his father’s colleagues in Boston. They were a
little strange. But they were open and genuine too, like his mother had been. Harmony’s
mother had creeped him out a little. What was that about dinner in December? When
she’d held his hand she’d stared at him so long he wondered if she could read
his mind. Man, he hoped not. Not with naked pictures of her daughter floating
around in there.

He got into his SUV and drove through the development. Back
at his rented house, he set the questionable cheesecake down on the granite
countertop and stared at it. It looked okay, if a little pale. Graham cracker
crust, maybe. He sniffed it. Or wheat germ. He turned his back on it and
grabbed up the remote, flicking on the TV. Golf was on. Again.

“There must be fifteen golf channels on satellite here,” he
muttered.

Well, vacationing business men and retirees needed
something to do when it rained too hard or was too friggin’ hot to actually
play. For himself, he could think of several indoor activities he’d prefer to
watching TV.

He sat on the brown leather couch and put his feet on the
coffee table. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at the cheesecake again. What
the hell?

He grabbed it and peeled off the wrap. He took a bite. It had
an odd texture, a little bit gummy, but the taste… Not too bad. Probably made
with real vanilla, too. He thought about the recreation café their investors
were eagerly awaiting. Maybe something like this cake would go with the rain
forest coffee they already served in The Clubhouse. He ate the rest of the
dessert and licked his fingers.

“First alligator and now tofu.” He threw away the wrapping.
“It wasn’t chateau Briand and tiramisu. But not half bad.”

His stomach growled for something more. Five stars didn’t
draw him tonight. He ordered a pizza and sat back down, flipping through the
channels until he found a rerun of a sitcom that still managed to make him
laugh. A bunch of friends who were nothing like real people, sitting around
drinking coffee. He smiled. No tofu cheesecake for this bunch. He studied the
female stars of the show. One of the girls had hair the color of Harmony’s, but
not the thick curls. Another one had a nice rack, but he doubted her breasts
were as soft and firm as Harmony’s. The third girl’s eyes were almost…

“Forget it,” he said. He rubbed the heels of his hands over
his eyes. “Harmony’s damn near perfect.”

The pizza arrived and he dug in. Hot and spicy, with
pepperoni slices all over real cheese. Nice. As he chewed he thought about that
afternoon again. When Harmony’s parents invited him to dinner he almost
accepted. But what would they talk about? He knew nothing about organic
anything. The way they’d hugged and kissed their daughter told him they loved
her. Their openness scared him almost as much as it made him jealous. He’d
always wanted that. Ever since his mother died.

Even with Jake and Cassie he didn’t feel free enough to hug
and tease them. It seemed he’d picked up a bit of his father’s cool detachment
over the years. He nearly lost his appetite at that revelation. He closed the
pizza box on the two remaining slices and slid it into the fridge.

Harmony had that openness, too. One look at her face and he
knew what she was feeling. She was pissed off at him right now, that was for
sure. He couldn’t blame her. He’d been a jerk. But she still wanted him. He
hadn’t missed the interest in her eyes. He’d been crude that night on the dock,
but he’d been right. By every sound, every touch, every taste he knew she
wanted him. She still did. Would she ever admit it?

He grinned. “Only one way to find out.”

If he had the chance to apologize for the other night, and
maybe taste her again, he’d take it. What the hell? He’d eaten tofu cheesecake,
hadn’t he? He had nothing to lose by trying something new and different. And
Harmony was both compared to the usual women he pursued.

The drive to her camp felt way too short tonight. He was on
edge, his nerves humming as he parked the SUV. He was just horny, right? It
couldn’t be that he wanted to see her face in the moonlight. That he wanted to
hear her laugh. Or smell her skin.

Like last time, she wasn’t in the cabin. He looked for her
on the dock, but she wasn’t there either. Walking closer down the planks, he
saw something there. A couple of somethings discarded in a pile. Oh, man. He
recognized that tiny top, those worn shorts. A little pair of pink panties were
off to the side, trimmed with lace. A feminine touch beneath her more
serviceable wardrobe. He glimpsed another layer the girl kept hidden. String
bikini panties. Strings. He’d wanted no strings attached. But these were his kind
of strings.

He heard a splash and stepped to the edge of the dock. There
she was. In the water. He glanced back at the little pile of clothes. Naked. He
closed his eyes. She drove him wild fully clothed. He’d combust if he saw her
naked. Wet. Her legs kicking, her arms reaching… He turned away.  

“Harmony?” His voice didn’t crack. Amazing.

She gasped. He wouldn’t think about her covering those
beautiful breasts with her hands, brushing that long wet hair over one creamy
shoulder. He’d think about… she was in the lake!

“What are you doing in there?” he called down to her. “What
about gators, for Christ’s sake?”

She laughed. He felt a splash of water on his boots and he
turned slightly. He couldn’t help it. She grinned up at him and splashed again.

“I checked for gators, Rick,” she said. “See, you shine a
flashlight over the water and… Well, I know what to look for.”

He looked over the lake, at the moonlight shining over the
ripples, and shrugged. “I just came to… I wanted to apologize.”

She held herself still in water that came to her shoulders,
her hair floating around her as she looked up at him. “Apologize? No. You have
nothing to apologize for.”

“I would have said something this afternoon, but your
parents—  Wait. I have nothing to apologize for? Why?”

She apparently didn’t want to explain, for she gave a shake
of her head. “Come swim with me,” she said. “This is so much better than the
pool at the Swim Club.”

He stood there, one boot wet and one dry stuck to the dock.
“I… ” 

She splashed him again. “Come join me for a swim. You’re
not scared, are you?”

He was scared as hell, but not of anything in the water other
than her. She was dangerous, all playful and sexy in the water. This was a
whole other side of her and damn if he didn’t want to play along.

“I hope the water’s cold,” he muttered.

“What?”

He stripped off his clothes in an instant. “Never mind.”

He jumped in.

***

Harmony had watched him, eyed that gorgeous body as he stripped.
Mmm. What was she was doing, flirting and leading him on? Oh, she knew all
right. She wanted him to want her. Again. Like he had the other night. She
wanted to be free to experience what they could be together.

She swam away from him and he followed her. They splashed
and laughed and he reached out and grabbed her ankle.

“Hey!” She let him tug her back to him. “That’s not fair.”

He whooped in triumph, looking much younger now. Free, even.
Her heart began to pound in rhythm to her body. Oh, this was
not
good. She
pushed off his chest and kicked away. When she was safely out of arm’s reach,
she sank her toes into the soft sand on the bottom and smiled.

“Well?” she asked. “What do you think of my lake?”

Rick looked around and stood, the water coming up to his
chest. What a chest! Muscled and wet, hair that swirled over tanned skin. Her
pulse raced as he stepped closer.

“I like your lake,” he said softly. He touched her shoulder
and played with a strand of her hair. “It looks good on you.”

He leaned closer and she kissed him. Why not? Kissing Rick
was even better than she’d remembered. His tongue was on her throat, her neck. He
nibbled on her ear.

“Harmony,” he whispered.

He cupped her breast, stroked her, and she bit her lip. It
felt so good. Lifting her by her waist, he closed his mouth over her breast. Pleasure
shot through her and she leaned back, her hair trailing behind her in the water.
His cheeks were rough and they teased her flesh. His tongue was magic, his lips
amazing. His fingers, those long, strong fingers that knew what she wanted
before she did.

“Oh!” She wrapped her legs around his waist as he teased
her below the water. “Rick!”

“This was a great idea,” he rasped as he nipped her skin. He
let out a little growl, playful and sexy. “Back to nature.”

She couldn’t say a word, just let him rub those big hands
over her backside as she pressed against his hard belly. The water churned
around them and she felt him there. Right where she wanted him to be.

For an instant she thought he’d enter her, he was so hot and
big and hard in the cool water. The friction and heat between them made her
almost crazy. She shifted and lowered herself on him. His hands gripped her hips
and he held her still.

“No,” he said. She looked at him in question and he smiled.
“Protection.”

Oh! At least one of them was thinking straight.

He helped her up onto the dock and she turned as he joined
her, edging closer with a wicked grin on his face. “You’re wet, Harmony.”

His words did as much to her as his fingers had. She was
wet. Achy and hot. He slid a finger inside her as he brought his mouth to hers.
It was like the past three days never happened. Like they’d taken up right
where they’d left off that night. Yes! She wouldn’t stop him tonight. She
wouldn’t push him away. She couldn’t bear it if he left her again. She wanted
him. Right here. Right now.

 She kissed him, arching closer as he stroked her. Deep. Fast.
Slow. Perfect. His thumb circled her and she let her legs fall apart. It felt
so good.

His breath was harsh as he pulled away. “Are you sure?”

His eyes glittered in the dark and she knew he wanted this
as much as she did. But he gave her the power to refuse. Her passion swelled at
that realization. She wouldn’t refuse. No stinkin’ way. Not tonight.

She licked her lips and nodded. “I’m sure.”

He kissed her hard. “Gimme a minute.”

He reached for his shorts and went through the pockets. She
watched as he put on a condom.
Oh, my.

Spreading her legs wide, he eased into her. “God, yes… ”

She couldn’t speak, her breath gone. He pushed. All the way
in. Deeper than she thought possible. Then out again. He caught her face with
his hands and stared down at her as he began to move faster. Driving into her
until she thought she’d burst.

“Rick,” she moaned.

Stars behind her lids, moonlight pouring into her. Here was
everything she needed. She held on tight. In the next instant she climaxed,
hard and fast and sweet as he held her. He joined her, letting out a shout as
he came with a deep shudder.

Wrapped in his arms, she felt the tension slowly leave his
body. He stroked her cheek but she couldn’t look at him. Her body still tingled
but her heart ached.Why did she suddenly feel like crying?

She felt scared. Scared of what she felt for him. Of what
she could feel for him. Tears pricked at her eyes and she turned her face away
as he tried to kiss her.

“What’s the matter?” he whispered. “Did I do something
wrong?”

“You know you didn’t,” she said. “It’s just… Never mind.”

He brought his face to hers and kissed her, tenderly. Like
a lover. Why was she acting like such a fool? They’d had sex. Wonderful,
heart-pounding sex. She didn’t love him. Sometimes she didn’t even like him.
Liar.

“You’re so beautiful, Harmony,” he said in her ear. “And so
sweet.”

Those hands moved over her again, stroking and teasing. His
voice was low in her ear, his body hard against her.

She gave in to it and they made love again.