Page 35 of Serenity Harbor

THEONLYTHINGthey were proving by this kiss was that they were both out of their freaking minds.

Katrina knew it even as she kissed Bowie, as his hard mouth on hers tangled the breath in her lungs and scattered her thoughts like October leaves in a hard wind.

They shouldnotbe doing this. It would now be that much harder not to kiss him again. How would she possibly be able to live in his house and share the same space when she was afraid she would constantly be remembering the delicious way he smelled, masculine and earthy and outdoorsy?

Or that he tasted even better, like chocolate cake and heaven?

She was vaguely aware of the slow, sluggish churn of her blood, the heady excitement, the butterflies twirling in her stomach. She wanted to stand here all night and savor every second—or, better still, to tug him over to those chaise lounges, where they could bothreallyprove there was nothing between them.

All night long, if that was what it took.

She swallowed a moan. No. That was the sort of thing the old Katrina would do, let her decisions be ruled by something—okay, someone—she wanted in the moment.

She was trying to become more than that, a woman of substance and strength and determination.

The only thing she needed to prove here was that she had the strength to walk away from something she wanted with every single aching beat of her heart.

It required every ounce of strength inside her to slide her mouth away from his and suck in a greedy breath. That gave her a little more clarity and strengthened her resolve enough that she could lower her hands from around his neck—oh, he smelled so good—and step back a pace.

“Okay. There,” she said, her voice raspy in the quiet night. “Now we both have that out of our systems.”

“Do we?” he murmured. His eyes were heavy-lidded, aroused, and the corner of his mouth quirked up into a sexy half smile that made her want to grab his shirtfront, yank him toward her and explore that hard, delicious mouth again.

She drew in a shaky breath, reminding herself of all the reasons why kissing him was disastrous. “Yes. Like you said, there’s nothing between us. We have a business arrangement, one that has worked out well for both of us up to now. You want me to continue helping you with Milo, and I need the outrageous amount of money you’re willing to pay me. Let’s not complicate things unnecessarily.”

She tried to sound casual, unaffected, though it was a serious struggle when she felt as if she had just been kicked in the head—when her entire being wanted nothing more than to stretch and purr like a cat in a sunbeam and keep on kissing him forever.

Her words had the intended effect. As he gazed at her, she could almost see his control click back into place, inch by slow inch. After a long, charged moment, he nodded. “Sound advice. Neither of us needs unnecessary complications.”

“Right?!” Her hands shook a little as she tucked her hair behind her ear, but she hoped it was too dark for him to notice. “You want me to stay here. I get that. It’s not a bad idea, and I can’t say I want to turn down an increase in salary. I’ll do it, but only if we both agree there won’t be more of this kind of nonsense.”

He arched an eyebrow, eyes still blazing with heat and hunger. “Definenonsense.”

How about kissing me until I can’t think straight, throwing all my plans and intentions into Lake Haven while you do?

She released a shaky breath. “I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“Thanks for that, at least,” he said.

He spoke in such a deadpan voice, it took her a moment to realize he was making a joke.

The last few moments left her disoriented, as if she had fallen asleep in one location and awakened somewhere completely different. He had a subtle, sly sense of humor—a fairly acute one, by all indications. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know that. Somehow it seemed easier to think of him as the serious—albeit gorgeous—one-dimensional computer geek.

She liked him. It was a rather surprising discovery. He was devoted to his brother, he was passionate about his work, he was clever and funny.

She was aware of the vague, unsettling sensation that something significant had shifted and her life would never be the same. As soon as it registered, Katrina pushed the strange feeling away.

It was just a kiss, for heaven’s sake, no different from all the others she had known.

The assurance rang hollow, somehow. She sensed this man saw her as no one else did, that he could devastate her in ways she hadn’t begun to imagine.

“I really do need to go,” she said. That was the absolute truth. She needed to get away from him, where she could breathe and think again. So what was stopping her? Only her own inaction. With a deep breath, she forced herself to slide into her car.

“Good night.”

He leaned into the vehicle, one hand on the frame, the other on the door. “Thank you again for helping me out tonight with Milo.”

“You’re welcome.”

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