The Bachelor's Bed

It’s going to be a scorcher of a day, Lani thought as she tugged and yanked at the heavy bucket in her trunk, panting a little under the weight of it. The mountain air was supposed to make a person strong, but Lani had lived here all her life and she was still on the puny side of petite.

Sierra Summit was located at the base of the Los Angeles Crest Mountains above the sprawling Los Angeles area, but still the July hot spell penetrated the altitude.

Lani swiped at her sticky forehead and hefted the bucket higher while Carmen watched, probably relieved she hadn’t been asked to carry anything. The bucket was filled with sponges and cleaners and Lani wrinkled her nose when the strong aroma of pine and lime caught in her throat.

She had nothing against cleaning—it was her livelihood. But if Colin wasn’t going to sweep her off her feet, which she had to admit was highly unlikely, then she might as well be back in her small but cozy office in town, working on her very-behind bookkeeping.

A sponge bounced from her bucket to the ground. Lani nearly killed herself in the juggling act she had to perform just to get it back in.

Carmen simply watched.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Silence met this dry statement, and Lani found herself yearning for someone, anyone, to speak to.

The blast of unexpected self-pity was startling. She never allowed it, so why was she wallowing in loneliness today? “Because I just had my twenty-sixth birthday,” she realized, speaking out loud.

Carmen watched her speak then snorted her opinion of that.

But, twenty years after losing the family that had been her entire life, Lani was just realizing something disturbing. Despite her inherent sunny disposition, despite her determination to live her life as though each day was precious, she had never again fully opened her heart to another. Guilt stabbed at her because she did have Great-Aunt Jennie, who’d taken in a traumatized six-year-old Lani instead of enjoying her retirement years. But still, Lani ached for something that continued to elude her.

Truth was, she wanted more from life. She wanted to follow Jennie’s advice and take a chance, lower her guard. Risk. And if, in the process, she managed to have a hot, wildly passionate love affair with a man as dreamy as Colin, then so much the better, because she had to face facts—orgasms were but a blissful figment of her imagination.

Cleaning bucket in tow, Lani followed Carmen up the long, bricked walk of the upscale home, the early morning sun beaming down on her. She should be used to waking up on one side of the tracks and working on the other, but she still stopped to gawk at the incredibly beautiful home.

Her own place was a tiny modest apartment in an older part of town. Not seedy or even dangerous, just…cheap. She lived there for nearly nothing because Jennie owned the building and never let Lani pay what she charged everyone else.

But Colin’s two-story, sprawling house took her breath away. The cedar siding had aged to the color of expensive whiskey. There were no less than three chimneys to conjure up the imagine of hot, crackling winter fires. Decking surrounded the bottom floor. Lani could close her eyes and imagine the swing she’d place where Colin would draw her down and whisper husky promises in her ear on warm summer nights. Then, beneath a sliver of a moon, he’d make good on those promises, using his hands, his tongue, his body until she was limp….

In the real world, she plowed into Carmen, who’d also stopped short to admire the house.

Icy liquid flowed down Lani’s front, cooling her off.

Carmen frowned down at her own splattered tennis shoes and worked her lips in what Lani was certain was a colorful Spanish oath.

“Sorry,” she muttered and, ignoring her wet shirt, kept moving, her gaze back on the fabulous house. She knew that Colin never used the fireplaces. He hadn’t placed a swing on the deck either. His work was his life, and while Lani appreciated and understood his dedication, she wondered if he didn’t sometimes yearn for more, the way she did.

As she came to the back door, she felt a strange thrill in her belly.

Would she see him? Would she catch a glimpse of his deep mysterious eyes? Would she hear his low, mesmerizing voice, the one that turned her inside out?

She hoped so because he was the highlight of her week. He was incredible. Okay, maybe a little dark and moody, but positively magnificent. Maybe he’d be wearing those soft, faded jeans again, the ones that fit him like a glove, emphasizing…

Carmen tsked deep in her throat and Lani jumped guiltily, knowing her thoughts had been plastered across her face. “Oh, like you don’t think it, too.”

Carmen made the equivalent of a grumpy old woman’s laugh and wagged her little finger at Lani. Then she wiggled her ample hips suggestively, pausing in her dance to shake her head. Lastly, she gestured to the cleaning supplies.

“Yes, yes, I know.” Lani rolled her eyes. “We’re here to clean. Clean, clean, clean. No hanky-panky. You know, it’s amazing how well you can communicate when you want to. Maybe while you’re in the mood, you can explain to me how you have the energy to make fun of me, but the minute we get inside you’ll suddenly tire and let me do all the hard work.”

Angelic now, Carmen smiled with a lift of one shoulder and a vague shake of her head. No comprende.

Right. Lani shook her head in disgust at the both of them. Every woman, young and old, within thirty miles sighed over the thought of Colin. He was rich, amazingly intelligent, gorgeous and, most importantly, he was single. That he kept his distance from people only fueled the constant rumors about his love life. It was said that he went through a different woman every day of the week—but that only made Lani all the more morbidly curious.

He invented things, for lack of a better term—electronic robotics. She knew nothing about that.

It didn’t matter. She didn’t need to understand to appreciate him. Colin worked hard, a good quality in anyone. He was driven and successful. His dark, dangerous fallen-angel looks didn’t hurt, either.

Too bad he was so involved in his work. But unlike some of her other clients, who preferred to pretend that their maid was invisible, Colin West always nodded politely to her, spoke easily, and never made her feel less than the woman she was. They’d had many pleasant conversations over the months, and she could remember every one of them.

Enough, she told herself firmly. Ignoring the overwhelming heat, she headed quickly up the steep walk to the kitchen entrance, leaving Carmen huffing far behind.

Just as she reached the door, it whipped open, sending blessedly cool air into her damp face. Standing there before her in all his somber glory was Colin, looking unexpectedly wild, rumpled and just a little desperate.

“Thank God it’s you.”

“Instead of?” she asked in surprise.

“One of your non-English-speaking employees or, God forbid, the older woman who can’t speak at all, the one who always sticks her tongue out at me.”

“Well…” She thought of Carmen making her way up the walk right this very moment.

“Come in,” he said a bit impatiently, his voice deep and rumbling. His dark, wavy, collar-length hair was more disheveled than usual and standing on end as if he’d been plowing his fingers through it. His eyes, so deep blue they looked black and fathomless, shimmered with what she might have suspected was nerves, if she didn’t know better.

From what she’d seen, Colin West never suffered from nerves.

So why was his tall, well-built frame—which she couldn’t help but notice was beautifully packed into a well-worn T-shirt and those snug old Levi’s she loved—so taut with tension?

Lani opened her mouth to speak, but it fell shut again when his huge, warm hand closed over the heavy bucket she held. He set it aside as though it weighed no more than a penny.

His mouth was grim.

“What’s the matter—” Lani squeaked in surprise when he pulled her the rest of the way into his kitchen, slammed the door and, with a gentle but inexorable force, pressed her back against it.

She should have spared a thankful thought for the deliciously cool house. She should have thought about Carmen, who was going to wonder why Lani hadn’t waited for her, but her attitude-ridden helper was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

“Mr. West!” she gasped, even as she closed her eyes to fully enjoy the sensation of his incredibly hard body against hers. After all, if this was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up. “Did I forget my money again?”

“No.”

Lord, she felt good against him. He felt good. “So…this is to thank me for the job I did last time?”

“No.” For a brief moment he pressed closer, and the almost-embrace spoke of a desperately needed comfort. She lifted her hands to his waist and squeezed reassuringly, trying to remember that he was a client.

“She’s not going to let up,” he said gruffly. “And I can’t take it, not now, not in the middle of this project. It’s too damn important.”

Reluctantly, Lani opened her eyes because a she definitely ruined the fantasy. “Who won’t let up?”

“It’s enough to drive me insane.” His voice was low, edgy and spine-tinglingly rough. “Only one way to stop her and—damn, you’re wet!” His dark brows came together in a sharp line as he jerked back, staring down at his T-shirt, now clinging damply to his broad chest.

“I spilled. I’m…sorry.”