Body Heat Read Online Free PDF Page A

of those large hands.
    He glanced up. “Edger?”
    “Edger?” she echoed, the word not ringing any bells. Edger—presumably from “to edge.” Ah. “Oh, tools. We’ve got some.” She could haul the whole kit and kaboodle out to the garden, but she’d end up filthy. Better, on balance, to let him inside, under her supervision. “You’ll have to come look.”
    “Get the sprinkler going first,” he said. “Easier to dig when the ground’s damp.”
    That made sense, so she waited as he set up the sprinkler in one corner and attached the hose to a tap. Lazy sprays of water arced back and forth. It was pretty, the way the droplets sparkled in the sun. Caught in the simple spell, she watched, smiling.
    “Tools?”
    Damn him, he’d snuck up on her. The man walked like a panther: sleek and powerful and deadly silent. A black panther, in that muscle-hugging T-shirt. Lion eyes, panther movements. Dangerous beasts, both. “Right, tools. Come this way.”
    She felt clumsy as she minced along in her low-heeled pumps beside the smooth-strolling panther. It crossed her mind that, with a man as tall as Jesse, she might actually wear real heels. Ever since suffering beanpole jokes as a kid, when she’d been taller than all the boys in class, she’d dressed to minimize her height.
    As they passed a window, she caught a glimpse of her reflection and winced. In higher heels she’d be even more the beanpole.
    When the two of them passed the reception desk, Gracie called out a bright, “Good morning!”
    Jesse flashed her a sexy grin and said, “Mornin’.”
    Maura ground her teeth and wished Louise was there to deal with all of this. But no, if she wanted to be general manager, Maura had to be able to handle people situations as well as numbers. This was good experience.
    She and Jesse walked past a couple of curious seniors, then Jesse followed her into the storage room. The small room seemed to shrink.
    “Mph,” he said when he saw the tool collection.
    “Do we have what you need?” She leaned against the door frame, keeping her distance.
    “Edger, mattock, shovel, fork. Yup.” He separated out the tools as he spoke.
    She gazed dubiously at the collection of dangerous-looking implements. The one he called a mattock was particularly nasty. One blow would cave in someone’s head. Though she had trouble picturing Jesse Blue as a shoplifter, she sure hoped his crime was something equally nonviolent.
    “Need pruning shears,” he said. “Can buy those when we get the flowers.”
    She put on her glasses and turned to a new page in her book. Heading it “To Buy,” she said, “All right, pruning shears. And you said fertilizer, didn’t you? What else? Any particular kinds of flowers?”
    “Decide when I see them.”
    “I can leave the list with you today. You can add anything you think of.”
    “No need.”
    Now what the heck did that mean? He wouldn’t be adding anything? Or he’d remember?
    He scrounged out a couple of metal spikes, a hammer, and a ball of thick cord.
    “What are those for?” she asked nervously, half in and half out of the door.
    “Straight lines.”
    Oh, right. That was supposed to make perfect sense, was it?
    She followed him back to the courtyard to make sure he didn’t take any detours, like to steal anything or to flirt with Gracie. He dropped the tools and studied the sprinkler. His thumbs were hooked in belt loops and his hands hung downward, pointing toward the tantalizing bulge at the juncture of his thighs.
    She clicked her pen in frustration—mostly at herself for noticing such things. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
    He glanced up as if he’d forgotten her existence. “Sure.”
     
    Jesse watched his new boss walk away, her back ramrod straight. Her hips swayed just a little, sexy but not trashy. Jesus, when she first put those glasses on, it had been his lingerie fantasy come to life. Now, if she’d only unbutton a couple of buttons at her neck. Not too many. He