Secrets and Seductions Read Online Free PDF Page B

spine, every inch of her aware of the hard body against hers, the warmth it offered…and the comfort.
    Cold comfort.
    She backed up a fraction, shivering.
    From shock? Or was it from lust?
    She wouldn’t go there. The man shouldn’t be here. And she shouldn’t be doing this. She shouldn’t be kissing him, kissing any man. And certainly not…liking it.
    She needed him gone. “You can’t work here. You know nothing about this life. My life.”
    He didn’t move but remained cool and calm, which only deepened her irritation. His jaw set, and the cold, hard businessman returned. “Who says? I’m not afraid of hard work. I know what’s involved. I always check out my opposition. Don’t you?”
    Oh, dear God. She had to get rid of Mac Grainger, not think about his kisses. Definitely not those. And allowing him to work here, live here? She’d be nuts to agree.
    “A little hard work never hurt anyone.” His gaze drifted down the path that led through the grove, then returned to her. Leah wished he wouldn’t look at her like that, because the moment he did, her body heated beyond boiling point, and despite her all her willpower not to let him affect her like that, she failed miserably.
    “I’ve worked in worse places. I can learn, Leah. Teach me.”
     
     
    After that day, Leah made sure Mac kept his distance. Each time he came close, she backed away. It didn’t stop the awareness, though she made sure she thrust that back to where it belonged, which was nowhere.
    She didn’t want to teach Mac anything other than that she didn’t need him around, but she also realized the futility of arguing with this imposing stranger.
    Because he was a stranger.
    Oh, he’d kissed her…and to her shame and annoyance, she’d actually kissed him right back, but that didn’t mean she liked having him there. It had been a mistake, a temporary lapse of judgment, and no part of her admitting that she liked his kiss would make it right. It had been a bad move, very bad. One she was determined she wouldn’t repeat.
    Several days later, Leah woke to a beautiful sunrise, and despite herself, she smiled. As she worked in the grove, she found herself singing.
    Mac came up beside her and emptied his sack of cuttings into the bin several meters away. “You sound happy.”
    “It’s a beautiful day,” she answered with a lightness in her voice that surprised her.
    “And all is right with the world?”
    “Soon will be.” As she stood in the grove, the sky cloudless, the sun a burnished gold high over the valley, everything seemed perfect. Beside her, Mac rested his hands on his hips, a broad smile on his face. Leah couldn’t help but admire the strength of him. He was sexy, muscled perfection. And so far, she’d managed to hold in check those pesky emotions that stirred big-time whenever he came close. She felt safer now…safer from her own wayward reactions.
    Besides, she had to admit he worked hard, which in turn cut her workload down. And for that she had to be grateful.
    She smiled up at him. Trouble was, he smiled right back, and an instantaneous jolt of heat galloped up and down her spine. Oops, and here she had been thinking she was in control. Apparently the wall she’d erected between them wasn’t as solid as she’d hoped.
    She had to try harder. Had to keep her distance.
    She stepped away, hugging her arms across her middle, as if a physical barrier might work better. “I’ve…got to get going.” Without looking back, because she so didn’t want to witness what was on Mac’s face or mirrored in those dark eyes of his, she hurried down to the far end of the row they’d been working in. This…this lust wasn’t allowed to happen. She wouldn’t let it. She couldn’t let her guard down. Or kiss him. Not again.
    At different ends of the aisle, they worked in silence beneath the heat of a burgeoning summer. The fronds on the Pohutukawa trees brushed by the slight breeze lay scattered in a scarlet carpet around