“There’s no reason we’d have to come out of the hiring process enemies, right?” he said. “Fair competition wouldn’t hurt a personal relationship.”

  “The competition wouldn’t, but one of us will end up settling here.”

  He stood there, his expression blank. He obviously hadn’t put two and two together.

  “And the other one won’t,” she said.

  His face fell. “I see your point.”

  “Henderson is the only big outfit around here. One of us will have to go back to our current job or at least find something in another part of the country.”

  “That’s a problem.”

  “A pretty big one, I think,” she said.

  He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “What say . . . well . . . if I were to get the job at Henderson—”

  “Oh no.” She held up a hand as if warding off a curse. “Don’t even say it.”

  “Couples work this kind of problem out all the time.”

  Good Lord, the son of a bitch was really going there. He was going to suggest she give up her job so they could set up housekeeping. “The next words out of your mouth had better be to change the subject, Ethan Gould.”

  “Would it be so horrible?”

  “I am not giving up my career to play house with you.” Damn it. If she didn’t pace for a while, she’d have to kill him. So she paced. “I can’t believe you’d ask. I can’t believe you’d even imagine it.”

  “Calm down. I was just thinking outside of the box.”

  “I’ll put you in that box and six feet under if you ever . . . ever! . . . suggest such a thing again.”

  “It’s just because I care about you, okay?”

  He did appear upset, and he normally faked nonchalance. That didn’t change the fact that, when push came to shove, he assumed she’d make the sacrifice of her career and not the other way around.

  “We’re both creative,” he said. “We’ll think of a way.”

  “After this, I don’t think I trust your ways.”

  “Laura, see reason.”

  “No, you see reason. I thought a lot of things about you, but I never suspected you’re the kind of man who’d make assumptions about a woman ‘assuming the role.’ ”

  He threw his hands in the air again. “What in hell does that mean?”

  “That I’d act like the ladies auxiliary society. Play on the fringes. Act as your support system so that you could pursue a career while I look on from the sidelines.”

  “I didn’t ask any such thing,” he said. “I just want us to be together. Is that such a crime?”

  “But it never occurred to you to give up your job to be with me.”

  “Of course, it did,” he said. “Or it would have. I would have thought of that.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. Stupid man. They’d had world-class sex with each other for days. That was all this time together was supposed to be, and he had to go and spoil it.

  A knock came at the door. Followed by a male voice. “Halloo, anyone home?”

  “Go away,” Ethan yelled back.

  “You want your driveway plowed?” the voice called.

  Plow. The obvious finally penetrated. The plows had come through. They could leave. She’d been so wrapped up in Ethan’s stupidity she hadn’t realized what the knock had meant.

  “Yes, we want the driveway plowed,” she called back as she headed to the doorway. When she opened it, she found a small man standing on the stoop. He was so bundled up, she could make out only blue eyes above a scarf. Behind him stood a huge pickup truck with a plow attached to the front. Farther away, the road had been cleared, probably during the night while they’d slept.

  “I saw your truck in the carport and figured someone was here,” the man said.

  “We are. We’d very much appreciate you clearing the driveway so that we can leave.”

  Chapter Six

  ETHAN WENT BACK into the cabin after stashing his bag in the back of the cab of his pick-up. Laura pointedly didn’t look at him as she finished drying their dishes and putting the pans away. She’d pretty much avoided interaction after that ridiculous argument they’d had. Now, she expected to leave without working out how they could have a relationship. Clearly, she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did about her. Didn’t that just figure? He’d found a woman he wanted more from, and she had no interest in him.

  She finally couldn’t pretend he didn’t exist any longer, but she still didn’t look him in the eye when she turned. “Do you think there’s enough hot water for me to take a shower now?”

  “Should be.”

  She pointed toward the plastic bag that held their garbage. “We’ll need to take this with us.”

  “I’ll put it in the truck,” he said. “You go ahead.”

  She did glance at him, briefly, before averting her gaze. He might have caught a tiny glimmer or regret or even guilt. She sure as hell didn’t spit in his face as she’d done earlier. She wasn’t all that happy to be kissing him off, it seemed.

  Finally, she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. He got the garbage and headed toward the front of the cabin. When he got there, he stood with his feet rooted to the spot. Behind him, Laura would be shucking out of her robe. Getting naked. For the last time before their honeymoon-that-wasn’t ended. Only an idiot would fail to take advantage of that situation.

  He set the plastic bag down and turned. As he made his way to the bathroom, he stripped out of his jacket and shirt. A few steps farther, he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his fly. Before he could get rid of his jeans and shorts, he had to bend a little to take off his boots and socks, but he’d removed every stitch of clothing by the time he went into the bathroom.

  The shower had already filled the tiny room with steam, but he could still make out the image of her figure behind the glass door. She hadn’t noticed him, though, so he took a moment just to look at her, memorizing her every curve and movement. His cock did its thing, of course. He went from semiflaccid to fully erect in only seconds. It almost seemed to know that this would be its last treat for a while. After Laura, it would take him a long time to find another woman who interested him.

  Damn her, anyway. How could she be so blind not to see that they had something irreplaceable?

  Now ready for anything, even her resistance, he opened the shower door and climbed in with her. She jumped and gasped, and her hand went to her chest.

  “It’s only me,” he said.

  “Sorry. You just surprised me.”

  “I wouldn’t let the guy with the plow in here to molest you,” he said.

  “I said I was sorry.”

  “Maybe I’m just being touchy.”

  She stared down at his hard-on, gazing at it almost wistfully, as if she missed it already.

  “We don’t have to leave this minute,” he said. “Our deal isn’t over yet.”

  “Was the deal until we left or until the plows showed up?”

  “For the love of God, Laura, does it matter?”

  She smiled at him. Finally, a sign that she hadn’t erased him from her heart yet. The expression shouldn’t have warmed his insides, but it did.

  “Let me wash you,” he said. “Then, you decide where we go from there.”

  She handed him the washcloth. “Do your damnedest.”

  He tossed the cloth to the floor. “I’ll use my hands.”

  Extending her arms, she offered herself to whatever he wanted to do, and that particular subject covered a lot. First, he took her in his arms and kissed her. She’d already lathered herself, so her body felt slick against his. She fit against him perfectly, his cock snuggled against her belly.

  After a few moments of sampling her lips, he could scarcely get the moist air into his lungs. She was breathing hard too, when he released her mouth and held her head against him. They stood that way for a bit, not saying anything, while her heart beat against his.

  “I’m going to miss this,” he said finally.

  “Ethan, don’t start.”

  “Okay, I’m done trying to convince you. I’m going to show you what you’ll be missing.”

  She didn’t push him away. She didn’t even stiffen. She just stood there, not fighting but not encouraging him either. All the permission he needed.

  Dipping his head, he placed his mouth against her ear and circled his tongue around the edge. Of course, his breath slipped inside, and she let out a tiny moan.

  “I want you to remember that. And this.” He sampled the length of her throat, running his lips and tongue downward and even nipping here and there. That got him a sigh. So far, so good. Pulling her against him, he pressed his erection into her belly. He didn’t even have to ask her to remember that. Let her try to forget.

  In fact, she tried to reach between them to touch him, but he stopped her hand. “Not yet. I’m not through giving you memories to take away.”

  “I want it.”

  “Coward. You mean you want me.”

  She hesitated. “I want you.”

  “You’ll have me. No worries there.”

  Now, he bent lower and licked the underside of her breast. A trace of soap remained, but it made her all the more delicious. The spray of the shower pounded in droplets over his face as he moved to the nipple and took it into his mouth. He sucked until it hardened into a pebble. With her fingers in his hair, she swayed backward.

  “Remember that too.” He moved to the other breast and loved that too, until the sound of her breathing bounced off the walls to fill the small enclosure. So responsive, so passionate. She might use iron willpower to walk away from him, but she’d suffer from missing him. He’d miss her like hell too, but at least, he’d have the satisfaction of knowing that he’d tried to go with her into the future.

  Now on to the ultimate. Kissing every inch of her flesh that he could reach, he sank to his knees in front of her. When he eased her legs apart, she touched his face.

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “You want me to stop?” He hadn’t meant to make that sound hurt. But it would hurt if she denied him the ultimate taste of her before he had to say good-bye. He wouldn’t back off, though. He stayed right where he was with water running down his face and landing on his shoulders.

  “No, go on,” she said as she moved her hand to the back of his head to urge him forward.

  Thank heaven. She moved her feet, opening herself for his kiss. Taking what she offered with the reverence it deserved, he placed his mouth over her sex and stroked the lips with his tongue. Already, she’d become aroused enough to release her honey onto his face. Sweet and herbal, it tasted of her the way he’d remember her—excited and wanting him.

  Now, he parted the petals and licked the inside, searching for her clit. It wasn’t hard to find as it had stiffened into a tight bud. When he stroked it with his tongue, she trembled and gasped. Somehow, she continued to act surprised when she should have realized what he could do for her. But then, making love with this woman felt different every time.

  She always had some new gift for him, and that made him feel like the greatest lover in the world. Good. Let her remember that too, when she lay alone in her bed and thought about him. She would. She might talk a good game about not needing him, but they both knew better.

  He continued caressing her most sensitive flesh, using different rhythms and pressures, until she wobbled. Catching her hips in his hands to support her, he kept right on driving her wild until the rising inflection of her moans told him her orgasm was near. He could make her come this way, but he could also bring her to completion with his member embedded inside her. And that’s what he’d have to torture himself with in the months and years ahead.

  He released her hips and rose. “Grab onto the shower head.”

  For a moment, she didn’t seem to understand his words, and no wonder. He’d brought her so close to the edge. When his meaning registered, she turned and reached upward to grip the faucet. Parting her legs, she offered her ass for his admiration. He could have gone down on his knees again to cover it with kisses, but she needed him inside her, and honestly, he’d go crazy himself in another few minutes.

  He had to spread her thighs farther apart and squat to get the head of his member between her lips, but when he did, the reward more than paid off the effort. She seemed tighter than usual, clasping him firmly as he straightened and buried himself in her pussy. Tilting her head back, she let out a long “ahhh.” The sort of sound that told a whole story in one syllable. Lust that could turn to love, if she’d let it. If only she’d admit the truth to herself.

  He couldn’t straighten completely without lifting her feet off the floor, but he could stay in this position for as long as he had to, to satisfy them both. Honestly, it wouldn’t take long to finish her, and her orgasm would trigger his own, as it always did. He thrust slowly for a while, letting her feel the passage of his flesh inside hers. He wouldn’t rush their last encounter but would savor it.

  “I want you to remember this too,” he whispered into her ear as he moved and moved.

  “I won’t forget,” she whispered back. Something of an admission. He’d take it.

  “I want you so much, Laura.” He couldn’t use the l word. It would only scare her. “I want to feel you like this always.”

  This time, she didn’t answer, unless you counted her little cries. Poor baby. He’d made her really hot, and now he wanted promises. Instead, he kept giving her what her body craved. All of him from the base of his cock to the head. His body wouldn’t let him go slowly now. It demanded release. Soon, he’d have no choice but to come. Damn, but life sucked sometimes. In a perfect world, he could keep at this for hours. No, in a perfect world, he’d never have to let this woman out of reaching distance.

  She shuddered and let out a little cry of need. Enough. He couldn’t deny her—or himself—any longer. After reaching an arm around her, he buried his fingers into her pussy hairs and found her distended clit. When he touched it, she nearly floated off the floor, and her shout filled the tiny space. He rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, and she snapped. Crying out, she gripped him as her orgasm claimed her. Powerful contractions along the length of his cock. As he’d known would happen, his body burst into orgasm as the tension built and then broke free. He gritted his teeth as his lust spilled from him in waves.

  Eventually, it ended, of course, and he returned to reality—more or less. He was still inside her, after all. But the sound and feel of spraying water returned, and his heart started to slow down to something approaching normal. His legs trembled from being crouched for so long, so he removed himself from her body and turned her so that she rested against his chest.

  Neither of them spoke. What would they say? He’d laid out his feelings. He’d made a bad mistake at even hinting that she quit her job to stay with him, but she couldn’t hate him for wanting her. She’d come to want him too. No way could she have shared herself with him as she had without some emotion. As stubborn and self-controlled as she was, though, she’d force herself to get over him. Shit.

  He held her until the water turned cold. When she pushed away from him to turn it off, he left the shower without saying another word.

  LAURA STARED AT the cursor on the screen of her laptop. She shouldn’t have to sweat so much over this e-mail. Executives moved around all the time. Her boss, Joe Sampson, would make all the usual noises—offer more money, tell her how valuable she was to the company—and then, he’d go find someone perfectly capable of filling her position. Why wouldn’t the words come?

  Hell, she didn’t have a problem with this e-mail. She had a problem with everything since she’d left a certain cabin up in the mountains. She and Ethan had scarcely spoken ten words after he’d left the shower, but his expression had spoken for him. Loud and clear. She’d hurt him. He wasn’t faking it, wasn’t manipulating her to get his way. He really did have feelings for her, and she’d pushed him away.

  Ethan Gould, drop-dead handsome charmer-of-women and glad-hander-of-all. Most likely to succeed while making it look easy. Mr. Popularity. That man had fallen for her. How could she have anticipated that happening? She couldn’t, of course, and she’d had no way of handling it when it did happen. With her quiet nature and relative inexperience with men, how could she comprehend such a thing happening?

  What if? What if she’d given the possibility some thought? Might they have worked something out? Might she be in his arms right now?

  More important, what if she’d been wrong? Could she really leave the forbidden parts of herself behind? She’d still have all those longings, perhaps even stronger now that she’d experienced her hidden desires and recognized their power. She’d had a man she could trust to keep what happened between them private. The same man who’d do anything she wanted and put his whole heart into it. How could she have rejected a man like that?

  “I’m an idiot,” she said to the computer screen. “A stupid, fucking idiot.”

  He’d had one thing right. She’d remember everything, not just from their last encounter in the shower but from the moment when he’d climbed into the loft and rolled his body onto hers. She’d remember his touch, his scent, the taste of his mouth. She’d remember his smile, his laughter, even his cooking. Any lover she might allow in her bed would fall short in so many categories.

  She powered down the laptop and closed it. Resting her fist on the desk, she closed her eyes and tipped her head back. She’d have a mammoth headache if she kept thinking of this. She’d get on with her life. She had all the craziness of a new job and a move across country. She wouldn’t have time to moon over a man.

  A knock came on the door, followed by a muffled male voice with a heavy accent she couldn’t place. “Room service.”