Cypress Corners Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Read online

  “Rick!” She flicked a long wet strand of black hair over one bare shoulder. “If I’d known you were here I’d have waited for my steam.”

  He easily deflected her flirting today. It hadn’t been difficult the first time and grew easier the longer he stayed at Cypress Corners.

  “Hello, Tammy,” he said. “I just worked out and need a steam.”

  Her eyes glinted as she ran her gaze over him. “Pity. Doesn’t it seem so odd that we Floridians take a steam when all we have to do is step outside.”

  He smiled. “When does it cool down around here?”

  “You should be here in July, Rick.” She pouted. “It’s really not so bad, is it? Especially out by the lake?”

  He shook his head. “The lake’s too crowded for my taste. Families, kids.”

  Tammy shrugged and adjusted her towel, which showed more cleavage for the effort. “There’s always the other lakeshore. The one we’re developing next year.”

  He recalled seeing nothing more than a notation on the site map he’d been given. With the trouble the recreation café was causing him, he hadn’t given more than a passing thought to next year’s big project.

  “I didn’t think anyone was allowed out there,” he said. “It’s pretty primitive, right?”

  “Not really. There’s electricity and running water but only one tent-cabin. That girl from the Institute lives out there.”

  His senses sharpened at the unexpected information. “Harmony?”

  Tammy shrugged. “I guess that’s her name. She has the place all to herself. For now.”

  His mind quickly processed Tammy’s disclosure. Harmony lived out there alone? No wonder riding her scooter at night didn’t faze her. Man, that girl never ceased to surprise him. Maybe he’d take a ride out there.

  “Rick?”

  He glanced at Tammy to find her regarding him closely. “Hmm?”

  She smiled. “I lost you there.”

  He ducked past her. “My steam awaits. See you later, Tammy.”

  He entered the first available steam room and peeled off his sticky shirt and shorts. Naked, he settled back on the contoured bench, draped his towel over his waist and closed his eyes. He went over what he’d learned from Tammy and what he’d guessed so far. Harmony lived alone, out by the far lake. She was capable and self-sufficient despite the fact that her name sounded a little flaky. She was intelligent, though her knowledge didn’t seem to extend to finances and the bottom line like most of the women he dated. God, she was gorgeous. Quirky and spirited. He thought of that near-kiss again. What would she taste like?

  He pictured her wrapped in just a towel, like Tammy had been. Her skin glistening with sweat, her citrus and floral scent coming off of her.

  The room grew hotter and he let out a breath. Sweat trickled down his chest to pool in his navel before making its way to the towel. He had trouble breathing and drank some of the lavender water. It certainly didn’t help him relax.

  The rest of his body seemed to think blood was only needed in one part right now, the one under the damp towel. Thankfully each steam room was outfitted with a cool water spigot. He splashed some water on his face and cupped his hands to drink. It felt like ice compared to the air. To his skin. To his thoughts.

  Maybe he’d ride out to Harmony’s camp. He had to know how the Institute was progressing, right? He didn’t need to see her flushed cheeks or her sparkling eyes. He didn’t need to hear her husky voice or throaty laugh. No. He only needed to see the job finished and to get the hell out of Cypress Corners.

  If the Institute wouldn’t give the information up, maybe she would.

  ***

  Why did she let him get to her?

  Harmony pulled on a pair of boxers and a tank top as she readied for bed. She sat and ran a brush through her hair, trying to wind down after a busy day. She’d ridden over the property, but could find no other sign of the buckwheat. The developers called the Institute almost every day, which could only mean that Rick Chapman called the developers just as often.

  She could find them another darn place for their snack bar. But she had to take her time if she wanted to do the job right. Identifying other habitats for the buckwheat was her prime objective. Well, not the only one. She thought of Ariel and Max. A lot more was riding on this assignment than one endangered scrub buckwheat.

  Adam and his slick words and sweet promises. She cringed as she recalled how easily he’d gotten her into his bed. She’d been such a fool. What did she know back then? She’d been just a stupid girl with no real girlfriends to ask about the snake. Only after, when she was brokenhearted and her parents were just broke, had she realized what an idiot she’d been. It was up to her to repay them. That goal wouldn’t change. She couldn’t let Rick get in her way.

  The night they had dinner he’d been almost relaxed. He’d nearly lost that sharp city edge that clung to his pressed and perfect clothes. When they’d looked up at the stars, when he’d nearly kissed her… Oh, she had to stop thinking about him. He didn’t matter. She certainly didn’t matter to him.

  He was here for his father, and he claimed to be just a lackey. His words had been tinged with sadness no matter the careless way he’d said that. Her parents might be quirky but they loved her. There was no question about that. But it seemed like Rick actually worked for his father, not with him. Maybe there was more there than she could guess. Maybe he wasn’t the driven one.

  She slipped her boots back on and left the cabin. It was a beautiful night, clear and damp with that hint of coolness that meant autumn was at last on its way. The animals around her—crickets, tree frogs and larger night creatures—sang into the moist air. She headed for the dock and sat on the edge. She felt no lure for swimming tonight, just a need to breathe. To relax. To puzzle through one problem at a time and get Rick Chapman out of her mind.

  Stretching out against the planking she arched her back and reached over her head. Tension pulled but she fought it, pressing until she began to feel her muscles lengthen. Her legs pulled downward, her rib cage opened and let in the fresh, fragrant air. She’d center her chi, as her parents had taught her. She trained her energy on regaining her own strength as she cleared her mind of everything but the breeze dancing over her flushed skin.

  Breathing in slowly through her nose, she began to focus. Blowing softy out through her mouth, she urged the tension and confusion to leave her. Her mind fought, but soon wound its own circles. With each beat of her heart thoughts came to her.

  Adam. Rick. The buckwheat. The Institute. Her parents. The money. Dr. Robbins. The money. Rick. Her parents. Rick. Rick. Rick. She gave up and let her mind focus on his easy grin, his deep eyes. His amazing body. Oh, what the heck.

  “Mmm… ” she murmured. “Rick.”

  ***

  Rick took the access road to Harmony’s camp and parked his SUV where it dead-ended. The walk wasn’t long to her place but the two bottles of beer he brought were sweaty by the time he reached it. The stars above his head lit the way, that and the moon glinting off the lake’s surface. The property around this lakeshore was yet untamed. Spanish moss dripped off the canopy of trees overhead. He came to her tent-cabin, smaller than he’d envisioned, and knocked on thin wooden door with his knuckles.

  “Harmony?” he called.

  No answer. He peered inside. It was austere, but with touches of hominess. A patchwork rug covered the floor and wind chimes hung in each corner, tinkling softly in the breeze coming through raised window flaps. A bed larger than the cot he’d expected was covered with a worn quilt, rumpled like she’d just gotten off of it. Her notes were spread on the small desk in one corner, pens and pencils scattered on the surface beneath the lone light left on. He sniffed the air. He recognized that smell. Flowers and earth and something more. That citrus smell that seemed to cling to Harmony’s skin.

  He stepped outside again and glanced around.

  “Rick.” The breeze seemed to carry his name.

  He spun
and looked toward the lake. Had he heard his name? Man, he was losing his mind. He supposed lack of sex would do that. He heard it again, soft and breathy. There was a figure on the dock. Slight and lithe. It hit him then. Like the scent in the cabin, it could only be Harmony.

  The sand beneath his boots muffled his footsteps as he approached the dock. She didn’t hear him, just kept reaching over her head and arching her body.

  “Rick,” he heard her sigh.

  Her incredible hair covered the wood, shining in the moonlight. She wore boxers and the tiniest tank top, her breasts pressing against the ribbed fabric. He watched her chest fall, hearing a soft breathy sigh on the exhalation. Her eyes were closed, her lashes dark on her cheekbones. A smile curved her mouth as she breathed in through her nose, pressing those gorgeous breasts back toward the stars.

  He'd suspected her body was nice when he'd seen her in her khaki shorts and a camp shirt. But seeing her now in those low-riding shorts and tiny tank top? Whoa.

  Her shirt rode up to show a flat, sculpted belly begging to be touched. Her arms and shoulders were as lean and strong as her legs. Her skin glistened in the moonlight, so smooth he longed to stroke his fingers over every delectable inch he could see. And several he couldn't.

  He got hard. He couldn’t help but picture her moving beneath him and the lust he’d felt in the steam room came screaming back to him. He sucked in a breath with each of hers, counting to ten as he willed his body to grow as relaxed as hers obviously was. It wasn’t working fast enough.

  “Harmony,” he said.

  She jerked and sat up, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she turned toward him. He could feel her apprehension and held up his hand in a slight wave.

  She blinked and then squinted in his direction. “Oh!” She seemed embarrassed as she fidgeted on her butt. “Rick. For a second I thought… What are you doing here?”

  He stepped closer, looking down at his feet to let her collect herself. He’d been a jerk to intrude on her solitude. He wouldn’t make her feel like he was some leering pervert now. He held back a smile. Okay, he’d leered a little.

  “I heard you lived out here and thought I’d stop by.” Lame. He held up the beer bottles. “You know. To have a drink and hear if the Institute had anything new.” He managed to smooth his expression. “May I join you?”

  He waited for her response, watching her face. If Harmony didn’t completely buy it she didn’t let on. When she blinked and inclined her head a notch, he knew he was in.

  Chapter 6

  Harmony folded her legs and sat cross-legged. She waved him over. “It’s a beautiful night but I suppose I could use a cold drink.”

  He handed her one of the bottles and sat, his chinos stretching as he mimicked her position. Nice and comfortable, these pants. He rested a hand against the dock. It wasn’t made of wood like he’d thought, but of some kind of recycled plastic planking. He’d seen benches and other things made of the stuff scattered throughout Cypress Corners. It was smooth against his palm. No wonder she didn’t mind lying on it.

  As he shifted his knee touched hers but he didn’t pull away. He noticed she didn’t, either. He wished he had shorts on, too. Even her knees were sexy.

  He focused on the night air and the sweet scent of the girl beside him. He shifted again and drank deeply. Looking out at the lake instead of staring at her seemed to help the need now stretching his comfortable pants.

  “Nice view.”

  His comment hung in the moist air.

  “I don’t know anything new, Rick,” she said at last.

  He shrugged away the tightness in his neck her words caused. “There’s still time,” he said, more to himself.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes. The lake seemed to stretch on forever, black at the edges far on the other side. Like that night at the dockside restaurant, he heard all sorts of sounds from the woods around them. There was a splash to the left and he glanced at Harmony.

  Her eyes sparkled for a moment as she sipped her beer. She lowered her bottle and smiled. “Gator.”

  He froze. He didn’t get up and run, which made him feel pretty good. She didn’t seem worried so he took his cue from her and drank more of his beer. “I hope he’s not related to last week’s dinner.”

  She laughed softly and he turned toward the lake again. Now was his chance. To get her on his side and push the Institute to make a decision. To set aside the lust and the unexpected comfort he felt being next to her and get her to work with him. He had to get the job done, and damn his own feelings for the girl standing in his way.

  He turned and flashed his most charming smile. “Tell me about your work at the Institute.”

  She visibly stilled, then took a sip of her beer. “You want to know about my work?” She gazed out at the lake for a long moment. “Okay.”

  He watched her, seeing irritation and relief as she obviously resigned herself to the conversation. He’d stepped in it now. “Yeah. I admit I don’t know much about conservation but there has to be a reason it means so much to you.”

  “I’ve always been drawn to nature. Ever since I was a little girl. I’m thrilled to be able to do my part to protect it.” She shrugged and faced him again. “I work for Dr. Robbins, mostly.”

  He nodded. “Nice guy. A little vague, maybe.”

  “I know he seems absentminded to most but I know better. He has a big property to oversee,” she said in his defense. “Cypress Corners sits on over ten thousand acres.”

  “I know. Only a piece of it is being developed.” He smiled. “I read the stuff at the Welcome Center. Even took the tour.”

  “The tour? With Tammy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She’s the expert at the Center. She seems so efficient and… polished.”

  He blinked, then thought about the plastic sheen to Tammy’s particular polish. “I guess.”

  Her brow furrowed and she ran a hand over that incredible hair. “I must look just fabulous right now.”

  Yeah, she did. But he doubted she’d believe him at the moment. He kept his mouth shut and ignored the moonlight catching in every wave and curl trailing down her back and shoulders.

  She took a breath. “Cypress Corners is home to me now. It has been since I graduated.”

  He stared out at the lake as he drank his beer, his eyes scanning for something. Another splash came from the lakeshore and he started. She smiled and he shakily returned the expression.

  “Once I got my Masters I didn’t want to crowd back in with my parents in their RV,” she added.

  He puzzled over that for a moment.

  Harmony smiled. “I know, it’s a little off. Your family probably lives in a mansion.”

  He thought about Bill’s monument to himself and stifled a shudder. “My father’s house is pretty big.” Big and cold.

  “My parents are a little different,” she said. “Their place is pretty mobile and she cooks at all hours of the day.”

  “She’s a chef?”

  “Sort of. She makes organic treats for her friends. She also sells them to gourmet shops near Orlando and on the coast.”

  “What are organic treats?”

  “I know it sounds like an oxymoron,” she said. “But my mother makes a tofu cheesecake that you’d swear came straight from New York.”

  He shook his head. “Alligator and tofu? Interesting.”

  “And turtle.”

  He laughed. “Yikes.” He placed his empty bottle on the dock beside him. “Any brothers or sisters?”

  She stilled again. “This conversation is getting a little personal, don’t you think?”

  He slanted her a look. “So?”

  “Okay, I admit it’s kind of nice. Sitting here in the near-dark, drinking beer and talking about something other than plants and conservation.”

  “Or specs or contracts,” he added.

  She nodded. “There’s just me. Ariel and Max had me late in life.”

  “Tofu and alligator and you
in an RV,” he said. “Where did you go to school?”

  “My mother taught me. An early home-schooler, I suppose. But I’ll bet I learned more from her than most kids did in the classroom. My mother has a thing about crystals and auras. The healing properties of being in balance.” She shrugged. “I guess that’s pretty different from a New England education.”

  He looked down as he ran his hands over his thighs. Home schooled and living in a trailer. But the way her eyes softened when she talked about her parents, he didn’t doubt her education beat the hell out of the cold prep schools he’d attended.

  “Not a lot of home-schoolers in Boston when I was growing up,” he said.

  She tilted her head to one side as she brushed a thick curl over her shoulder. It was an unconscious motion and way sexier than Tammy’s practiced moves that afternoon. The moonlight now danced over her silky skin, catching in the hollow of her throat, on her delicate collarbone. She stared at him, a question in her eyes.

  “Did you say something?” he asked.

  A smile came quickly. “I asked about your family.”

  He chose to take her question where he wanted to. “My brother Jake is off climbing mountains or jumping off bridges.” Her brows raised and he grinned. “He’s into extreme sports. He travels all over the world, setting up obstacle courses and other places you can push yourself, get your thrills and break your limbs. My little sister Cassie is off in Europe.”

  “Europe.” She ran a finger over the neck of her beer bottle. “I’ve never been out of Florida. What’s she doing there?”

  He didn’t want to guess what the wild girl was up to. Cassie was a handful and if Harmony hadn’t read of her recent exploits in the tabloids he wasn’t going to bring them up. “She’s going to school, supposedly. I get a letter once in a while.” Truth was, Cassie didn’t seem to want to confide in her big brother. Maybe Jake had heard something.