LITMIR.BIZ

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Buck’s, were upstairs. Cringing inside, Terri crept up the open staircase. What if Buck was here and he had company? If she heard telltale noises coming from his bedroom, she’d be out of the house faster than a scared jackrabbit.

      From the landing, she could see that the door to Buck’s room was partway open. Peeking around the door frame, she saw that the blinds were drawn, the room dim and quiet. Finally she could make out a solitary figure sprawled facedown in the rumpled king-size bed—sheets twisted around long, bare legs, a smudge of dark hair against the pillow. It was definitely Buck. But was he all right? It wasn’t like him to be in bed at this hour on a workday.

      Shedding her sandals in the hall, she tiptoed into the room. She could hear the deep rasp of his breathing. At least he was alive. Edging closer, she could see his shoes and work clothes scattered on the sheepskin rug, as if he’d just peeled everything off and collapsed into bed. He wasn’t even wearing...

      Heat rushed to Terri’s face as her gaze fixed on the twin moons of his rump, nicely framed by a fold of the twisted sheet. The man wasn’t wearing a stitch. What she could see of him looked damned good.

      But this was no time to ogle her boss’s scrumptious body. Something here wasn’t right. He was either sick or drugged, maybe both.

      His cell phone was on the nightstand, switched off. She also noticed an empty water glass and two plastic prescription bottles. Holding them to the light from the hall, she inspected the labels. One she recognized as a heavy-duty analgesic Buck took for his occasional migraines. The other was unfamiliar. But if Buck had taken them in combination, the side effects could have knocked him out—or worse.

      She was no doctor. But one thing was certain. She couldn’t just walk away and leave him like this. She needed to wake him up and make sure he was all right.

      Reluctant to startle him, she nudged his bare shoulder. “Buck, wake up,” she whispered.

      A quiver passed through his body. He groaned, the sound muffled by the pillow.

      “Wake up, Buck! Open your eyes!” She shook his shoulder again, harder this time. He moaned, twitched and rolled over onto his back. His stunning cobalt eyes were open, but they had a glazed, drowsy look.

      “Hullo, pretty lady,” he muttered. “You showed up just in time.”

      “In time for what?” Terri asked. Buck appeared to be half-asleep. He didn’t even seem to recognize her. “Pretty lady” was his usual term of endearment for his conquests—he’d never called her that before.

      “For this.” He clasped her wrist and trailed her hand down his belly under the tangled sheet. Gently but firmly he folded her fingers around a stallion-sized erection.

      Terri’s heart lurched. She was no virgin—she’d had a couple of relationships in college and a short-lived fling on a trip to Hawaii. But that had been a long time ago, and this was Buck, not only her boss, but her friend—and the man she’d secretly pined over for years.

      Clearly he wasn’t in his right mind. If she was smart, she’d slap him back to his senses and leave. But the heat was already pounding through her body. Even after he released her wrist, she couldn’t make her fingers let go of that warm, silky, amazing hardness.

      Heaven help her, she wanted him.

      “C’mere, you...” he said, while she was still trying to convince herself that she should, she must leave. Hand catching the back of her head, he pulled her down for a rough, possessive kiss that pushed every sensible logical thought out of her mind. His tongue invaded her mouth, stroking and teasing the sensitive surfaces. Desire blazed through her like the flame of a blowtorch. She could feel the wetness as her body prepared to welcome him. Common sense took flight. She wanted him so much. And it felt so incredible to believe, in this moment, that he wanted her, too.

      His hands, deft and practiced, unfastened her khakis and slid them down her legs, along with her panties. Shifting on the bed, he encouraged her to straddle him, positioning her body on top of his. He slid his hand between her legs, and she could feel his grin against her lips at the wetness he found.

      She leaned over him, clasped his hips with her knees and eased herself down onto his shaft. Her eyes closed as he slid upward, completely filling her. He groaned in satisfaction as her lips parted, her breath sucked inward. This was Buck inside her—the man she’d wanted from the time she’d learned what sex was all about. Even the thought was enough to trigger the delicious little spasm of her first climax.

      She began to move, taking the time at first to feel every inch of him gliding in and out of her. Then, for both of them, urgency took over. His breath deepened, hips arching to meet her as she pushed harder, faster, until with a groan he rolled her onto her back, moved on top of her and took charge.

      Her legs wound around his hips as he thrust into her, driving like a bull, until she burst with him, clenching around him in a climax that fulfilled fifteen years of fantasies.

      With a grunt of satisfaction, he rolled off her and lay back on the pillow. For a few seconds Terri was still, basking in the afterglow. Then reality fell on her with a crash. She’d just had mindless, gasket-blowing sex with her boss. Nothing would ever be the same between them again.

      Sitting up, she gazed down at him. Buck’s eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even. His face wore a contented little smirk.

      The man had gone back to sleep—if he’d ever actually been fully awake.

      Her face burned as the truth sank home. The earth might have moved for her. But what about him? He’d roused to find a woman in his bedroom and simply reacted. She could have been anyone. When he woke up later, the odds were he’d only barely remember this encounter. She wasn’t at all sure he’d remember that the woman had been her.

      That would be for the best, Terri told herself as she slipped off the bed and gathered her clothes without disturbing him. If Buck didn’t remember the identity of his mystery lover, there’d be no awkwardness, no embarrassing confrontations—and of course, she’d never tell him. They could go on as before, as if nothing had happened.

      Or...could this be the thing she’d been looking for, to shake up her life from the rut it was in?

      Dare she hope that this would change things between them? That he would look at her and see the warm, loving—and sexy, damn it—woman behind the loyal assistant who’d been at his side like a faithful hound for the past ten years?

      If not, maybe it really was time to move on.

      Before leaving the room, she switched on his cell phone and turned the ring volume all the way up. If Diane had something to discuss, or if there was an emergency at work, he was damned well fit to answer the call.

      In the hallway, she scrambled into her clothes, cramming her shirttail into her khakis and hooking the belt with shaking hands. The memory of her time in Buck’s bed already felt like some kind of crazy dream. It would be up to Buck to decide whether or not to make it real.

      Downstairs, she fed the dog and changed his water. Then she left. She was no longer worried about Buck’s condition. He’d given her ample proof that he was going to be fine. She would go back to work and let him sleep off whatever was in his system. Meanwhile, there were plenty of other things to demand her attention.

      Twenty minutes after leaving Buck’s place, she pulled into the hotel parking lot, switched off the Jeep’s ignition and took a moment to compose herself. Her pulse was still racing at the memory of the time she’d spent in his bed. When she’d driven to his canyon home, the last thing she’d expected was to sleep with the man. Getting back to normal was going to be a challenge. And she couldn’t repress the surge of excitement at the thought that they might be on the verge of a new normal.

      But until then, she had to pull herself together. Glancing down, she smoothed her khaki shirt with the Bucket List logo on the front pocket, then climbed out of the vehicle and strode across the parking lot to the hotel entrance.

      The hotel lobby was a showplace. Built in rustic style, like

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