LITMIR.BIZ

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reluctantly, beggars couldn’t always be choosers. He probably knew people who worked in the mines; may even have asked them to pull a few strings in order to get him a job. But she couldn’t stop her imagination from conjuring up images of Cole, buried beneath hundreds of feet of earth. She shivered.

      Leaning forward, he thrust the door open, leaned in to flip on a light switch, and then stood back to allow her to enter.

      Lacey stepped past, unable to prevent herself from brushing against him in the confines of the door frame. She glanced up at him, and with the interior light slanting across his face, his eyes glowed with an intensity that caused a primal awareness to surge through her.

      As she stepped inside she had a general impression of soaring ceilings crisscrossed with massive beams, a stone fireplace that dominated one wall, and casually comfortable furnishings strewn with throw pillows and the odd quilt. The coffee table still bore the remnants of his morning coffee, and newspapers, books and paperwork littered the end tables. The natural wood of the floor and walls lent a warm, golden glow to the entire room and Lacey gave a soft exclamation of pleasure.

      “Wow,” she said. “This is nice.”

      “Thanks.” Striding to the coffee table, he began gathering up the loose papers and stuffing them into a folder. He glanced at her as he shoved the entire packet into a leather attaché case. “It’s probably a little rougher than you’re accustomed to, but it’s comfortable.”

      “Why would you say that?” she asked, genuinely surprised by his comment.

      Cole looked embarrassed. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess I just picture you in one of those expensive old brownstones in the city.”

      Lacey made a noncommittal sound, neither denying nor confirming his words. She didn’t want him to know the truth; that she still lived with her mother. After her father died—she made a mental correction—after the state declared her father dead, she and her mom had moved to New Hampshire and bought a small house near the coast. Right after college, Lacey had moved into an apartment with two other girls, and she’d loved the freedom. But her mother would frequently drop in unannounced, and then spend hours redecorating the small space, cleaning, or cooking enough food to keep them fed for a week.

      At first, her visits had been welcome, but it wasn’t long before Lacey’s roommates began to view them as intrusive. When Lacey had tried to talk to her mother about it, to insist that she really was okay on her own, her mother would become emotional, leaving Lacey racked with guilt for even suggesting that she not visit so often. Eventually, Lacey had acknowledged that living on her own wasn’t working, and she had moved back home.

      But now here she was, alone with a guy whom she found incredibly sexy, with nothing to prevent her from doing whatever she wanted. Knowing that he found her attractive, too, gave her added courage. The fact that he was a coal miner was a little disconcerting, but it wasn’t as if she was going to marry the guy, right? After what had happened to her father, and what she’d seen her mother go through following his death, she’d made a promise to herself never to get involved with a miner.

      She reminded herself again that she was only here for a few days. She would deliver the handheld GPS units to the search-and-rescue team, and then work with the owner of the local mines to test STAR. And then she would return to New England. End of story. So whatever developed between her and Cole would be limited to the time she was here.

      She allowed her gaze to drift over him, taking in the wide shoulders and lean hips. With her overnight bag and laptop slung over one shoulder, his T-shirt was pulled taut across a chest that was unmistakably muscular.

      “I like your house.” She gave him a meaningful look. “And everything in it.”

      The response was instantaneous as the heat smoldering in his eyes flared to life. A muscle worked in one lean cheek as he took a step toward her. His eyes raked her features.

      Lacey stopped breathing. He was going to touch her. This was it. The moment when she would either cross the line or step back.

      He stopped just short of her and his gaze held hers for a long moment. He was close enough that she could see the amazing striation of blues and greens in his irises, see the individual stubble of whiskers that shadowed his lean jaw and the small scar that bisected his upper lip and made her ache to trace her fingertip across it. His mouth fascinated her. It was a hedonistic mouth, capable of doing wicked things. She stared at it, mesmerized. As if time itself had slowed, he bent his head fractionally toward hers. Lacey’s eyes drifted closed and her lips parted slightly in anticipation.

      “I’ll show you to your room.”

      The words were like a dash of cold water, and her eyes flew open. He had stepped abruptly away from her and was now striding across the room.

      Lacey almost sagged in disappointment. She had been so certain he was going to kiss her; couldn’t believe she had misread him so completely. With a small huff of laughter, she turned to follow Cole.

      He made his way up a wide, open staircase to a loft area that overlooked the living room. There was a cozy sitting area complete with armchair, floor lamp and television. Cole pushed open an adjoining door to a darkened bedroom. She stood in the doorway and watched as he set her gear down, moved to a bedside table and switched on a small lamp, bathing the room in a soft glow. A large bed dominated the room. The vaulted ceiling was angled overhead, and through two enormous skylights, Lacey could see the stars against the velvet backdrop of the night sky.

      Cole turned to look at her, and there was a taut awareness about him that was almost palpable. She hovered in the doorway, unwilling to be deceived by what she was now certain was her own cranked up libido.

      “Thanks,” she said, forcing herself to smile. “It’s perfect, and just like you said—completely private.”

      “Yeah, well, the bathroom’s next door and you should find everything you need. Help yourself to whatever’s there.”

      “Okay, thanks.” Lacey stood back to let him pass, but he continued to stand there, watching her.

      COLE KNEW HE should leave. He should go back downstairs and leave her alone, but man, oh, man, all he could think about was this woman in his bathroom. Standing naked in his shower with water sluicing down that gorgeous body.

      It had taken every vestige of willpower and restraint he had not to kiss her earlier. He knew she had wanted him to, had seen the spark of heat in her eyes that said she would welcome the feel of his lips against hers. She had all but invited him free rein to that sweet, tempting mouth. He knew the attraction that smoldered between them wasn’t just in his imagination. He could practically feel her need and everything in him longed to satisfy it, but he had promised that she would be safe with him.

      But there was no denying the fact he wanted her. Wanted her with a fierce urgency he couldn’t recall feeling for another woman in a long time. It was with extreme difficulty that he managed to get a grip on his rampant imagination.

      “How about something cold to drink? A beer, maybe?”

      To his relief, she smiled. “That sounds great. But do you have anything nonalcoholic? I have to get up early tomorrow morning.”

      “No problem. How about some lemonade?”

      “Sounds good.”

      He indicated she should precede him back down the stairs, and he could have sworn that was a look of longing and regret she flicked between him and the bed before she turned away. With an inward groan, Cole followed her.

      In the kitchen, he watched her covertly as he mixed up a pitcher of lemonade and poured two glasses, taking a long swallow from his own. She was standing and looking at a display of framed photos on the nearby wall.

      “Is this your father, here?” She indicated a photo of him standing next to an older man, dangling a pair of freshly caught trout from a fishing line.

      “Yeah.”

      She slanted him a sidelong look

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