PASSIONATE ENCOUNTERS (13 page)

Emma had the ingredients to drive him crazy. She had a lot
of traits that until now Mike hadn’t known he was looking for in a woman. Most
of the time he let his male urges rule his taste in mates, causing him to fall
for the overzealous, shallow types who quickly revealed their true colors when
he took them home for the first time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d
been interested in a woman with wholesome qualities.

“Thank you,” she breathed in that smoky voice of hers,
putting her small hand in his.

Her light touch sent an electrical sensation up the length
of Mike’s arm, but he forced himself to ignore it and gently tugged her to her
feet. Underestimating the distance, he yanked too hard, causing her to slam
into him. His hat became crushed between them. Only it wasn’t his hat he
noticed but Emma’s soft, round breast against his chest.

His gaze shot down to where the material was parted at her
throat and below, to the deep cleavage where a button had come undone. Her
scent assaulted his senses and for the second time Mike was close enough to
breathe in the fresh mint on her breath. It angered him that his body was so
quick to react to her nearness.

“I’m sorry, Mike.” Emma laughed, and pulled his hat out from
between their bodies.

“That’s okay.” He reshaped it before slapping it down on his
head.

He stepped back out of necessity, and watched her brush off
the back of her jeans. There were leaves in her disheveled hair. Without
thinking, he reached forward and began plucking them out. Their eyes met and
held and suddenly his hand halted.

Her tongue came out, gliding over her bottom lip. Mike felt
like he’d been sucker punched. “It’s not going to happen again,” he said in a
low, rigid voice as he lowered his arm. The best thing he could do was turn
around and walk away. Better yet, move out of the whole damn state.

“What’s not going to happen?” Emma questioned innocently,
the warmth of a light blush spreading across her cheeks.

“We’re not going to happen,” he said with stronger
conviction, trying to convince himself as much as her. She was not going to get
to him.

He’d had it with women and relationships that went nowhere
once they realized he came with a kid. Mike wasn’t going to hurt Melissa that
way again, no matter how horny he got. Even as he thought it, he figured he
wasn’t being fair, lumping Emma in with the whole female race. He stepped back
even further, squaring his shoulders as if that alone gave him the power to
remain strong.

“I have…”

“There he is, Officer!”

The sound of panic in a voice always drew Mike’s attention
and he swung around, not surprised to see Elliot and a cop in uniform striding
directly toward them. He’d been expecting it. As he made eye contact with Pete,
who was following close behind Elliot, his mouth twitched with wry amusement at
the completely different expressions on the two men’s faces. Pete raised his
eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders in question. Elliot’s face was pink, the
indignation in his eyes visible only because he had backup with him.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Elliot gave Mike a dirty look,
walking straight to Emma.

It shouldn’t have, but the sound of a another man calling
Emma sweetie rubbed Mike the wrong way, making him want to reach out and pop
Elliot in the mouth. He doubted it would take much to wipe that pompous look
off his face and shut him up. If there was one thing Mike didn’t have the patience
for, it was a gushing pretty boy out to make himself look good in front of a
woman.

When Elliot put his hands on Emma and pulled her behind him
as though to protect her, Mike literally saw red. Where the hell did he come
off? A few minutes ago he’d gone running from there with his tail tucked
between his legs, leaving her in a cloud of dust.

His concern for her came a little too late as far as he was
concerned. His gaze skipped over Elliot’s shoulder, meeting Emma’s eyes,
scowling at the humor he saw lurking in their pretty depths. That she was
thoroughly enjoying the situation was evident on her pleased expression.

“Arrest him, Officer,” Elliot insisted, giving Mike a look
he would have probably thought twice about had it just been the two of them.

“Elliot, I’m okay, it’s not what you…”

“Arrest me for what, frightening you?” Mike returned, having
the satisfaction of seeing Elliot’s face pale. “Maybe I’ll arrest you for striking
Emma or at the very least for abandoning her when you saw me coming.”

“I-I went for help,” he stammered in defense, actually
taking a step back so that Emma was between him and Mike.

“For yourself. It’s a little late for chivalry,” Mike
snarled, disgusted at Elliot’s chickenhearted move.

“Boys…”

Boys?
It had been a damn long time since anyone,
including his mother, had referred to him as a boy. Crossing his arms, he
narrowed his gaze on Emma long enough to make her visibly uncomfortable.

“Is that a challenge?” he asked softly. He watched her
cheeks turning crimson when his gaze lowered to her mouth.

Mike discovered he enjoyed making Emma blush. She had an
innocence about her that made her seem years younger. Furthermore, he knew it
wasn’t a come on to get him to notice her, unlike some women who could turn
their emotions on and off as easy as a faucet. With her it came natural. She
lowered her face, breaking eye contact with him for a moment, before peering up
at him from beneath the heavy sweep of thick lashes. The hunger in her eyes
couldn’t be disguised.

“That sounds like a threat, Officer,” Elliot stated, quickly
stepping in front of Emma as though offering his slight weight as a shield.
“It’s a good thing you got here when you did too. Emma has a hand print on her
cheek,” he remarked, forgetting he’d been the one to put it there.

A chuckle escaped her. “Elliot…”

“She also has a bruise on her neck,” Mike pointed out with
deep meaning in his eyes, watching as her hand automatically went up to where
the Band-Aid should have been, only to discover it was gone. Her eyes widened
expressively.

“What?” Elliot swung around so he could get a better look at
what Mike was referring to. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out
what the purple mark on her neck meant and he glanced back at Mike with wild
anger in his eyes. “You-you molested her!” he accused.

Mike burst out laughing; he couldn’t help it. And he was
sure he heard Pete release a low snicker before cutting it short when Elliot’s
eyes shot his way.

“Elliot…stop it,” Emma said, trying to suppress her own
giggle. She grabbed his arm to get his attention. “Mike didn’t do anything to
me; this whole thing has been a great big misunderstanding.”

That was putting it mildly. Mike brought his laughter under
control, barely. It didn’t help when he caught the gleam of humor in Emma’s
eyes, realizing she was struggling with her own lack of restraint.

“What’s going on, Mike?” Pete finally injected, making an
obvious effort not to grin again.

Mike took a deep breath, quickly giving Pete a brief rundown.
He glanced at Elliot long enough to see dawning fill his eyes. Mike wondered if
there was more going on between him and Emma than just rehearsing for some
play; it certainly seemed a possibility if he was reading the other man right.
It was none of his business if she liked younger men. Yet what could she see in
a pretty boy like Elliot?

Pete nodded, turning his attention back to Emma. “Sorry for
all the confusion, ma’am.”

Her grin was split from ear-to-ear, the familiarity in her
tone indicating she recognized Pete. “That’s okay, Officer, it’s not every day
I have two men fighting over me,” she teased with a wink.

“Well, if that’s the case, maybe you’d better pick one so
the other will know where he stands. That way I can leave here and not worry
about being called back.”

“Don’t forget we have to rehearse,” Elliot was quick to
point out, making sure everyone present knew he had a legitimate reason for staying.

“That’s okay, Pete, I’ll make it easy for the lady. I’ve got
some fishing to do.” Mike forced a smile for everyone’s benefit. It wasn’t easy
to do when his gut was churning with something akin to dread at leaving Emma
and Elliot alone together. Not normally a jealous man, he knew the feeling
enveloping him could only be the green-eyed beast.

“Thank you again for coming to my defense.”

She had no idea how sensuous her voice sounded. “My
pleasure.” He began to back up. “See ya around.” It was the same phrase he’d
murmured the night before.

As he walked away, Mike could hear Pete saying that he’d be
on his way too.

Since he hadn’t taken the time to tie his boat to the dock,
Mike was forced to wade into the cold water for it. He mumbled beneath his
breath, soaked to the waist before he was able to climb aboard. As he began to
row away from shore, his gaze shot to where Emma and Elliot were watching Pete
disappear around the corner of the building.

And then Emma turned and directed those hard-to-forget eyes
at him. Even from his distance he could see the look of disappointment on her
pretty face.

Damn! I’m hooked.

Chapter 11

“Oh god, shoot me now and put me out of my misery!” Emma
gasped, collapsing ungracefully onto the blue mat and closing her eyes in
agony. She released a loud groan, throwing her arms out with exhaustion and
praying no one stepped on them. She hadn’t realized how out of shape she was.
An hour on the treadmill, half-hour on the bicycle, but it was the twenty long
minutes on the stair master that had finally done her in. They’d been the
longest minutes of her life.

“It will get easier,” Amanda promised, keeping in step with
the aerobics instructor.

Emma could detect the grin in Amanda’s voice but was too
tired to return it. “That’s what you said last week about the bicycle,” she reminded
her. “Wake me in a few hundred years.”

She was hotter than heck, and plucked the clinging spandex
away from her body in order to let in a small gratifying amount of cool air.
She moaned in absolute misery, thankful the music booming through the room was
loud enough to drown her out.

“You look great in that outfit,” Amanda commented, sounding
pleased.

Having serious doubts about Amanda’s statement, Emma curved
her mouth into a frown. She’d finally given in, letting Amanda talk her into
shopping for a new gym outfit. The rose color looked good on her but she wasn’t
sure it was the look she was going for, in spite of Amanda’s enthusiasm. The
material was too clingy for her tastes, outlining every curve and not leaving
much to the imagination, although it covered her from her shoulders to knees.

“What kind of exercise is that?”

“I’m exercising my brain,” Emma responded with a half-smile,
recognizing Troy’s voice above her. She was too tired to open her eyes.

“Mom used the stairmaster for the first time today,” Amanda
explained, stopping long enough to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Do I need to find someone to give her mouth-to-mouth?” he
teased. “Or do I call for an ambulance?”

Emma opened one eye to glare at Amanda’s future husband. He
was apparently serious about his workouts and was drenched in sweat, his blond
hair darker where it was plastered to his head. He was smiling down at her,
deep dimples apparent at both sides of his mouth. “Cute. All I need is a little
break.”

“Why don’t you get into the hot tub? That’s the perfect
thing for those sore muscles.”

The hot tub, now why hadn’t she thought of that? It sounded
like heaven. Emma hadn’t been in it since joining the gym, opting for the steam
room instead. Maybe Troy was on to something. She made a half-hearted attempt
at getting up, grunting with exhaustion before falling back onto the mat.

“Here, let me help you.” Troy laughed, holding out his hand.
“Do I need to walk you to the tub and help you in, too?” He continued in a
joking voice, giving Amanda a wink.

Emma glared threateningly at him after letting him tug her
to her feet. “Keep it up, son, and you’ll need help,” she snorted, turning her
back to them. “I’ll meet you in the steam room in a few minutes,” she added,
making it clear to Amanda that she was done for the day.

* * *
*

Mike quietly watched Emma leave the room, then picked up
speed until he was at a full run on the treadmill. He’d spied her the minute he
walked into the room, unable to stop himself from running his eyes along the
shapely length of her as she lay panting on the mat.

A grin covered his face before he remembered she was the
last woman he wanted to see, much less be near. She was too damn appealing. And
if it wasn’t bad enough that fate seemed to be constantly throwing them
together, he was dreaming about her now.

Dreams that had gotten out of control the night before, turning
into one steamy fantasy that caused him to wake with a full-blown hard-on.
Hell, he’d lain there for a good hour, trying to cool down the fire in his
blood. The fact that Emma seemed just as attracted to him didn’t help.

The sweat began to run down his scalp toward his eyes. He
wiped it off with the towel around his neck, cursing himself for letting his
mind wander. But it was hard not to whenever Emma was around, and all he could
think about was how good it felt fucking her.

Setting the treadmill as fast as he could run, he forced
himself to think about something else. The play Melissa had talked him into
going with her to that evening was as good a subject as any. The local schools
in the area had joined the historic society and were on a hell-bent mission to
save the old theater building on the edge of town. Their solution to bringing
it back to life was putting on a series of plays, which would bring in the
extra money they needed to pay for the refurbishing.