Author: Laura Moore
Quotes of Author: Laura Moore
I'm surprised you're here." Her mouth curved upward."I warned you I'd be joining you." He ignored the heat that spread inside him at the sight of her smile."That's just it." Her smile grew wider. "A politician who keeps his word-what a remarkable aberration in the species.""How could I have forgotten that keen wit of yours?" he marveled. "Yeah, I'm full of surprises. Might want to remember that." Then, throwing caution to the wind, he let his eyes roam slowly over her, lingering. She'd have to be blind not to see the hunger in them.Which she clearly wasn't. She retreated a step. He followed, his longer legs closing the distance, until his body almost brushed hers.That cool composer of Lily's was unraveling, no matter how hard she struggled to pretend otherwise. The signs were there, in the fine trembling of her limbs, in the flush that stole over her porcelain smooth cheeks. Fierce satisfaction filled Sean at her involuntary reaction.He dipped his head until his lips hovered, a soft whisper away. "Lily?""Yes?" There was a husky catch to her voice.Sean's fingers reached up and traced the rosy bloom on her cheek. Was it the sweet flush of desire that made her skin so soft? he wondered, his eyes and fingers memorizing every detail, every sensation. God, he'd die for a taste of her. But Sean denied himself the pleasure. He raised his head, putting distance between himself and his greatest temptation, and forced himself to lower his hand.At the loss of contact, Lily's head jerked, as if coming out of a trance.Sean stepped back before she could flay him alive. "You're looking a little pink, Lily. I've got some zinc oxide in my bag. I'd be happy to put some on you. Especially on those hard to reach places." He gave her a casual smile and pulled his sunglasses from the breast pocket of his T-shirt, ignoring the violent thudding of his heart against the cotton fabric. His hands shook, too, racked with tremors of need. Somehow, he managed to settle his shades across the slightly crooked bridge of his nose, before shoving them deep into his pocket, out of sight., Lily swore silently. He had only to bestow the paltriest of caresses and she nearly swooned. Even more galling was the fact that she was equally helpless before Sean's verbal taunts. The thought of Sean's hands, slick with lotion, gliding over her body in long, sweeping caresses had her pulse racing.Lily's voice was filled with contempt-never mind that it was self-directed-as she spoke. "You know, you and John Granger should get to know each other. You could compare notes on really great pickup lines. By the way, Sean, your nose? Does it trouble you still? I hope so. book-quoteMonitoring Sean's progress with the towel, Hal gave a grunt of disgust. "Come on. I have an extra towel you can use in the office. No way you can drive home like that-you'll ruin the car's interior. 'Sides, we need to talk," Hal added heavily. Turning on his heel, he headed back toward his office.Sean swallowed with a decided lack of enthusiasm. They entered Hal's cramped cubicle of an office and Hal shut the door behind him. It closed with an ominous bang. He took a towel hanging from the hook on the door and tossed it at Sean, who grabbed it one-handed."Thanks," he said, as he bent to pat his khakis dry."I hope you know what the hell you're doing." The warning tone in Hal's voice had Sean pausing to glance up at his friend. He straightened, towel forgotten."Hey, I didn't plan what you saw back there, Hal. It just happened.""What'd she do? Pull you into the pool?" Whatever he saw in Sean's expression had Hal's face shifting into a lopsided grin. "Thought so. Serves you right, McDermott. You were being a total SOB. You knew it, so did she. Christ, you would never pull that kind of stunt with Dave." He gave a snort of disgust. "I was watching the two of you the entire workout. Don't think I didn't see when you finally took pity on her. Any slower, and you'd have been doing a dog paddle. Real shitty of you, McDermott." Sean admitted silently. "Right. If she ever agrees to swim with me again, I'll let her swim her arms off. She got her revenge anyway.""Good for her."Sean's gaze narrowed. Sometimes Hal was a pain in the ass. "Gee, thanks, Coach."Unfazed by Sean's sarcasm, Hal continued, "You know, I always suspected something would happen between you and Lily. Intense rivalry can't come without intense passion. I figured the attraction was there, just waiting for the right moment." He paused to glare at Sean, then said, "But I would have hoped you'd have a hell of a lot more smarts than to try to seduce a beautiful woman in pool! Anybody could have walked in on you!" His voice was at a near shout. book-quoteSean deliberately loitered on the patio with his grandmother and the other septuagenarians before going to the kitchen to pour May Ellen and Lily's drinks. He wanted to give them a bit of privacy. Sean thought-drawing deep drafts of the scented, heavy Florida night air into his lungs--Because it was happening already: the Lily Effect was at work on his brain.Why in God's name had he told her he'd be accompanying her and the team on some dives, when that was the last thing he wanted to do . . . especially if he intended to maintain his sanity?Unfortunately, as dumb as he was feeling, Sean had the answer to that one. It pained him to realize that he was still as hung up on Lily as ever-and just as susceptible to her disdain.It had taken her, what, two hours since she waltzed back into Coral Beach to accuse him of crooked politics? Did Lily have any idea of the high-wire act he was attempting by trying to get the reef accurately documented and assessed before he took a public stance on the marina development? No, of course not. Sean might have filled her in, if she hadn't made it clear she assumed his sole motivation was political gain. Stung, he'd retaliated in kind, implying that Lily might stoop so low as to manipulate the reef study-even though Sean knew the sun would set in the east before Lily Banyon committed an act of professional dishonesty. Her integrity had always been one of the things he admired most about her. That Lily actually fell for his bogus threat merely showed how profound her distrust, her dislike of him was.At the Rusted Keel, Dave had urged him to seize the opportunity to go on the research boat and work on charming Lily., Sean thought acidly, as he carried the cocktails toward the living room. He and Lily were off to their usual great start. book-quoteSean was already on his feet. He tossed a large tip on the bar. "Thanks again, Charlie. See you later, Dave.""See you," Dave echoed. With a glimmer of a smile, he nodded in the direction of the parking lot. "Catching a ride?""That's the idea.""Good luck.""Thanks. I'll need it."Sean had slipped his jacket off the back of the stool and was shrugging into it when one of the men seated at the corner spoke."Hey, McDermott, what's your opinion? Silicone for sure, huh?"Sean paused to glance their way. Ray and Frank were partners in a small-port fishing business. He knew them vaguely. Now he wished he didn't. He shook his head in contempt. "Think I'd tell you, Ray?"Ray's eyes narrowed. "Like you actually know, McDermott. You claiming you've handled the goods, Mayor?" His tone matched the sneer on his face. "If so, the lady sure don't seem to remember." He poked Frank with his elbow. "Looked right through him, didn't she, Frank?""Like a pane of glass."Sean ignored their snorts of laughter. "Let me give you some friendly advice," he said mildly. "I'd be real careful not to let the lady catch you staring at her like that."Ray pulled a comical face, pretending to look scared, then laughed even harder.Sean smiled in return. Yet when Ray opened his mouth to speak, he cut him off. "But if the one who catches you gawking, if I hear you talking about her that way again-" he paused, and his smile turned dangerous-"your sorry carcasses will be feeding the fish. book-quoteSean checked his watch, grimaced, and lengthened his stride down the hallway. He'd make it to the high school-but only if he skirted around town instead of cutting through. It was 12:40 p.m. and the downtown streets would be clogged with motorists battling for lunch hour parking.He was halfway down the granite steps when he spotted Dave and Evelyn standing beside his car in the lot reserved for official use. He raised an eyebrow at the twin smiles of angelic innocence on their faces. "What are you two doing, camped out here?""That should be obvious," his secretary replied. "You tipped your hand when you canceled your lunch with Ferrucci and the oh-so-friendly developers. So Dave and I decided we might as well share the ride. No point in taking separate cars when we can carpool."He made a show of looking at his watch. "You want a lift to the deli for sandwiches? Fine, hop on in."Evelyn made a clucking noise with her tongue. Her pink curls shook slightly. "Sean, we're your friends. If we're willing to admit to unholy curiosity, then you should, too."Dave merely nodded in agreement, wisely holding his tongue. A good thing, too. These days, Sean's temper had a real short fuse, wired to explode. He didn't want to throttle his best friend in the town hall parking lot. Sean had thought it would be easier not to see Lily, but he'd been wrong. Just knowing she was near had him craving even a glimpse of her. It was a gnawing hunger that nothing could appease . . . except her. book-quote
