The Reluctant Nude - Meg Maguire [83]
Her smile faded slightly. “I moved in after my dad got hurt. Before that I just came down on weekends. But I needed to be on-site so I could help Ciro.”
“Does your mom come down to help you out sometimes?”
Her smile disappeared entirely. “My mom doesn’t like wine.”
“Must have made for interesting dinner conversation.” He picked up his soda.
“Oh, it did that.” Her lips stayed flat. “Like I told you, my folks are separated. Not legally, but practically.”
“Where do they live?”
“Austin. My mom’s there full-time. My dad was there in a rehab facility, getting his leg back in shape. My mom let him move back in when they released him, so maybe some good came out of the whole wretched mess. Maybe they’ll work out their differences. What about your folks?”
Erik frowned, not sure what she was asking. “They’re still in Iowa.”
“Are they thinking of moving down since all of you are here?”
“They threaten to every once in a while. We might be able to lure them down for the winter, but my mom’s not big on heat.”
A moment of silence stretched between them. He tried to think of something to fill it. “Remembered anything else about what happened on the hill?”
She gave him a dry smile. “No. In fact, I’m looking forward to forgetting the whole thing.”
Not as great a smile as before, but he’d take what he could get. He mentally told his nether regions to cool it. “I’ll try to get back up there tomorrow to see if I can find the tracks you talked about.”
“Good idea. At least I’ll know I didn’t imagine them.” She leaned on the counter next to him, letting the scoop neck of her tank slide down a little more. “So what were you doing up on that ridge this afternoon when you so kindly saved my butt?”
Erik gave up trying to calm his unruly body. As long as she was leaning against the counter like that it was a lost cause. “I was looking at the stock tank. Rancher who owns the land had some sick goats. Claimed it was because somebody poisoned his tank. We need to have the water tested.”
Her head snapped up. “Oh shit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think the situation was good, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”
“It is if we’re thinking of planting a vineyard there.” Morgan rubbed her hand across her forehead. She looked like her headache was back. “Ciro is going to freak. And I told him I’d pitch the vineyard to Dad.”
“Take it easy. We don’t know what’s wrong up there yet. The water could be bad, but it could just be something that was dumped in the stock tank. Particularly since somebody also pushed you down that hill.”
He put his hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. At least he thought it was reassuring. A moment later, he wasn’t so sure. His hand rested on smooth bare skin, silky and warm. He smelled lavender and rose and hints of wine. And she was watching him with those eyes—rich, dark brown, like chocolate kisses.
All of a sudden, he felt a little dizzy. He leaned forward, almost without thinking. She rose slightly to meet him.
Her lips were soft, warm. He inhaled her sigh, tasting wine, then angled his mouth against hers. Her mouth opened beneath his lips, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. This was just a quick kiss, an intro as it were. Nothing serious yet.
And then it was.
Morgan’s mouth opened wider and his tongue plunged deep, tasting, sensing. Warmth and smooth deep wetness. Without thinking, he raised his hand to her breast and felt the hard pebble of her nipple against his palm. Heat flashed again at his groin.
Somewhere his brain went on red alert. Danger, danger, Will Robinson. His body surged right ahead, hardening almost instantly. The warm weight of her breast filled one hand and he rubbed his palm against the other, her faint moan raising prickles on his scalp.
She held her hands at the sides of his chest, then smoothed them around his body, pulling herself tight against him. Erik heard a melodic chirping and wondered if it was him or her.
Until he realized it was his cell phone.
He stepped back, eyes closed, trying to catch his breath. His face was damp with sweat. “Sorry,