her. Even if the land had been inherited numerous times since
within the same family, there should have been some mention of it. The other
line she was following was just conjecture until the private investigator she
often employed returned with information.
Was it
a landowner who didn’t want new people in his backyard? After making a few
phone calls to officials she had compiled a list of names for the investigator
to look into. Or was it someone in the village who opposed everything new just
on principle? It could be the local cultural heritage preservation society, for
example, though she found it difficult to believe that old ladies would go so
far as to forge land records.
Then
again, there were all those murders in Midsomer….
Ok,
that was TV and not real life. So maybe it was someone who wanted that piece of
land for himself … to prospect gold in the creek that ran through it. Okay,
that was a bit farfetched too, but maybe it was a fly-fisher protecting his
salmon rights.
She
didn’t think any of these scenarios were very plausible, but she went through
them like a mantra in her head to ward off the flush of excitement that went
through her every time she thought about Rafe. And that was just about all the
time. Thank heavens it was Friday. She wouldn’t have to pretend to be sane in
front of her colleagues for two whole days.
The
life-long habit of keeping her body in control finally came to her aid. First,
she managed to calm her mind, and then her body followed so that she was
perfectly composed when the doorbell rang, heralding Rafe’s arrival.
Then
she opened the door and her equilibrium shot to pieces.
His
size hit her first. She had managed to forget how big he was. He wasn’t even
standing straight but had propped a hand against the wall by the door and was
leaning a little towards her, and she still had to angle her neck to look up to
him.
The
strength in his blue-eyed gaze made the second blow to her self-control, and
before she even noticed, she had averted her eyes. She wanted to lift them back
up just to show she wasn’t cowed by him, but his body made her forget everything
else.
He was
dressed like a biker in boots, a jacket of worn black leather that hugged his
wide shoulders, and low-riding jeans that revealed interesting things about his
male anatomy. With his height and muscle structure, the getup was truly impressive
and it took a physical effort to force her eyes back up to his face. His thick
blond hair was even more tousled than usual, not at all flattened by the helmet
he was holding in his other hand.
Who
cared whether or not he was human when he looked this gorgeous? And she wasn’t
even into bikers.
Rafe
walked in as if she wasn’t standing there transfixed, blocking the doorway.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to check in with my brother in Epsom.”
She
could only nod as she watched him stalk across the vast room to the dining
table and place his helmet on it. He had buttocks that should be outlawed, or
preserved for private admiration and use. Like sinking her teeth into.
Shocked
by the uncharacteristic notion, she managed to douse her arousal, but then he
bent over to rub Bob’s ears, giving her a full view of the said derriere, and
her body failed her completely. She almost whimpered as she drank in his fine
form. The sound was barely audible, but he turned his head to shoot her a quick
glance. The smug look on his face made it clear that the bastard knew exactly
what kind of an effect he was having on her.
Charly
cleared her throat, determined to overcome her arousal. “You weren’t late. I
only just arrived myself.” She may have left work early, but she had eaten out and
had treated herself with a visit to a hair salon. Her waist-long hair didn’t
need much maintenance, but she liked to have it washed, and her skull massaged
regularly; it was a relaxing start for the weekend. She had asked the
hairdresser to comb her hair open and it was flowing down in a heavy
within the same family, there should have been some mention of it. The other
line she was following was just conjecture until the private investigator she
often employed returned with information.
Was it
a landowner who didn’t want new people in his backyard? After making a few
phone calls to officials she had compiled a list of names for the investigator
to look into. Or was it someone in the village who opposed everything new just
on principle? It could be the local cultural heritage preservation society, for
example, though she found it difficult to believe that old ladies would go so
far as to forge land records.
Then
again, there were all those murders in Midsomer….
Ok,
that was TV and not real life. So maybe it was someone who wanted that piece of
land for himself … to prospect gold in the creek that ran through it. Okay,
that was a bit farfetched too, but maybe it was a fly-fisher protecting his
salmon rights.
She
didn’t think any of these scenarios were very plausible, but she went through
them like a mantra in her head to ward off the flush of excitement that went
through her every time she thought about Rafe. And that was just about all the
time. Thank heavens it was Friday. She wouldn’t have to pretend to be sane in
front of her colleagues for two whole days.
The
life-long habit of keeping her body in control finally came to her aid. First,
she managed to calm her mind, and then her body followed so that she was
perfectly composed when the doorbell rang, heralding Rafe’s arrival.
Then
she opened the door and her equilibrium shot to pieces.
His
size hit her first. She had managed to forget how big he was. He wasn’t even
standing straight but had propped a hand against the wall by the door and was
leaning a little towards her, and she still had to angle her neck to look up to
him.
The
strength in his blue-eyed gaze made the second blow to her self-control, and
before she even noticed, she had averted her eyes. She wanted to lift them back
up just to show she wasn’t cowed by him, but his body made her forget everything
else.
He was
dressed like a biker in boots, a jacket of worn black leather that hugged his
wide shoulders, and low-riding jeans that revealed interesting things about his
male anatomy. With his height and muscle structure, the getup was truly impressive
and it took a physical effort to force her eyes back up to his face. His thick
blond hair was even more tousled than usual, not at all flattened by the helmet
he was holding in his other hand.
Who
cared whether or not he was human when he looked this gorgeous? And she wasn’t
even into bikers.
Rafe
walked in as if she wasn’t standing there transfixed, blocking the doorway.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to check in with my brother in Epsom.”
She
could only nod as she watched him stalk across the vast room to the dining
table and place his helmet on it. He had buttocks that should be outlawed, or
preserved for private admiration and use. Like sinking her teeth into.
Shocked
by the uncharacteristic notion, she managed to douse her arousal, but then he
bent over to rub Bob’s ears, giving her a full view of the said derriere, and
her body failed her completely. She almost whimpered as she drank in his fine
form. The sound was barely audible, but he turned his head to shoot her a quick
glance. The smug look on his face made it clear that the bastard knew exactly
what kind of an effect he was having on her.
Charly
cleared her throat, determined to overcome her arousal. “You weren’t late. I
only just arrived myself.” She may have left work early, but she had eaten out and
had treated herself with a visit to a hair salon. Her waist-long hair didn’t
need much maintenance, but she liked to have it washed, and her skull massaged
regularly; it was a relaxing start for the weekend. She had asked the
hairdresser to comb her hair open and it was flowing down in a heavy
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