Chapter Four
Nina stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her body, securing it under her arms. The water had been blissfully hot, and she felt clean and relaxed.
As she padded down the hallway, her footsteps echoed in the hush. The Sunday night crowd at the restaurant and bar had dispersed a while ago. Upstairs, only a handful of guests were staying the night, and they seemed like a quiet bunch.
As she entered her room, a cool breeze struck her damp skin. Earlier in the day, she’d opened the window to air out her room and had forgotten to close it. Now, brisk night air streamed in, raising goose bumps on her arms. She hurried to the sash window and grabbed the brass handles of the raised pane. It wouldn’t move. She tugged and wrestled, but the window only screeched down a few inches before jamming again.
“Come on, you stupid thing,” she muttered as she tried to wrench the window down.
The air around her swirled as a warm presence materialized behind her. “Here, let me get that for you.” Joe’s breath stirred the hairs on her nape.
She spun around. “Jesus, you scared me.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to.”
He was mere inches away from her. Too close for comfort, and once again he’d caught her with nothing but a towel on. She edged sideways, keeping her distance from him. “I didn’t realize you were still here.”
Joe gripped the stuck windowpane and wiggled it from side to side. “I had some paperwork to finish up.”
“You seem to spend your whole life here at the inn. Don’t you ever have some time off?”
He nudged the pane one more time and drew it closed. “I have time off,” he said. “I visit my nonna, sometimes my aunt and uncle, play soccer.”
“But you’re also here every day.”
He secured the window latch and turned back to her. “I built this business up from nothing. I’ve poured all my time, money, and effort into this place. Of course I’m here every day. I can’t afford not to be.”
Nina nodded. “I’ve only been here a few days, but I see how hard you work and how much you’ve accomplished. I’ve heard it from your staff, too, and people in town, and, well…I admire what you’ve achieved and how you’ve done it.”
He blinked, surprise showing in his expression. “Thanks. Didn’t think I’d hear you say something like that”—his gaze drifted over her—“let alone do it with nothing but a towel on.”
A lick of fire curled in her stomach, sending heat through her veins. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m not trying to seduce you or anything.”
His eyes widened, and the corner of his lips twitched. “I’m not against a woman seducing me per se, but in your case I would be worried.”
“Why?”
Joe shook his head. “You know why.” There was an edge to his voice, a warning in his eyes. Was this the same reason he hadn’t kissed her yesterday?
“No, I don’t.” She pinned him with a hard stare. “Come on. You can be honest with me. Am I not attractive enough for you? Is that it?”
He made a kind of choking noise, his eyes flaring. “I wish I could say that, but no. That’s not it.”
Exhilaration mixed with indignation coursed through her veins. “You sure know how to make a compliment sound like an insult.” Her mouth was running away from her again, and she couldn’t seem to stop it. Joe was being too provocative to ignore. “Well then? What’s your reason?”
“You can’t guess?” He paused a moment. “Getting personally involved with you would be…unwise.”
His studied deliberation made her feel immature, and she’d had enough of that from her father. She scowled at him. “I see. I’m not mature enough for you.”
“I didn’t say that—”
“Well, you implied it.”
He stared back at her for a few moments, his eyes black and inscrutable, before he riffled his fingers through his hair. He groaned. “Why the hell are we even discussing this? No one is going to seduce anyone. Got that?”
“What about yesterday? You almost kissed me—and don’t even try to deny it.”
“In case you didn’t notice, I stopped myself. I have self-control.”
His high-handed attitude only made her more reckless. “I see. So the mature and self-controlled Joe Farina has spoken, and that’s it. End of discussion, huh?”
His mouth flattened into a tight line. “Pretty much.”
Wildness ran through her, a fierce longing to shake him up and jolt him from his moorings.
“So, I guess if I do this—” She ripped off her towel and flung it aside to stand naked in front of Joe. “It won’t affect you, then?”
Joe swallowed, his entire body rigid, his dark, fiery gaze eating up every inch of her naked body.
Oh, God, what had she done? This was total madness. What if he reached for her, called her dare? She froze, caught between her impetuosity and Joe’s searing examination.
Joe didn’t say a word. He just hauled in a harsh breath, eyes black as coal, before he wheeled around and stalked out of her room.
Alone and naked, she felt her insides shrivel to ashes. She’d exposed herself, and Joe had reacted like she was a tantrum-throwing toddler.
Yet Joe was right. She was immature for mistaking the strength of his interest in her and thinking he might be overwhelmed with lust for her. She’d been too cocky and full of herself—more faults he’d add to her already lengthy list. Besides, she could hardly call herself an irresistible bombshell. She liked her body, but she wasn’t centerfold material, and Joe hadn’t had any trouble resisting her.
Her skin felt clammy, and a sharp ache tugged at her belly. Sick at heart, she pulled on clean sweatpants and a baggy sweater, then rumpled the towel over her damp hair while restlessly pacing the room. She’d never be able to fall asleep now. And when she came face-to-face with Joe tomorrow morning, she would die of shame for sure.
She couldn’t stand the idea of being tortured all night long. Before she could think twice, she hurried out of her bedroom and down the hall to Joe’s office. The door was ajar. Joe stood at the window of his office, looking out with hands on hips, his shoulders broad and stiff. The tension radiating off him was so intimidating Nina was tempted to turn and run before he noticed her. But one thing she’d never lacked was nerve. Better to face him now and get the worst of this messy embarrassment over with. It would still be awkward as hell working with Joe, but at least the initial mortification would be past.
She pushed through the door and walked up to him, her bare feet muffled by the carpet. She was only two feet away when he spun around, his expression freezing as he caught sight of her.
Whatever she was going to say expired in her brain. She spread her arms in a supplicating gesture. “Joe…I, um, wanted to apologize—”
Her words were cut off as he closed the gap between them in one stride and yanked her into his arms. As she landed against his chest, she gasped, all the air knocked out of her by his unexpected move.
“J-Joe?”
Nina barely got the syllable out before his head lowered and his mouth covered hers in a hard, bruising kiss that rocked her foundations. Disbelief stunned her, quickly followed by eager pleasure. His mouth demanded everything from her, and she found herself willingly submitting. The sensation of his hungry lips and his rasping stubble against her skin triggered an instant response. She moved her lips against his, parting them, encouraging him to deepen the kiss, and when his tongue curled into her mouth, she welcomed its possessive heat.
Joe loosened his grip slightly to rove his hands over the back of her sweater before moving down to the hem and slipping under. His wide, callused palms explored the contours of her waist and rib cage, sparking wave upon wave of pleasure across her skin, each one higher, until his hands closed over her bare breasts, and the wave became a tsunami. As he massaged her breasts, slowly and surely, she moaned her gratification against his mouth and arched her back, desire spiraling out of control, panting for more, encouraging him to do whatever he wanted with her.
Joe didn’t need a second invitation. He lifted the sweater and pulled it off her. Black eyes glittered in his flushed face as he paused to drink in the sight of her body.
“I can’t fight this,” he murmured, seemingly to himself, before he lifted her onto his desk, shoving a stack of files to one side.
He pushed her legs apart to fit his body against hers and leaned in to claim her mouth again. His kisses were less frenzied but more demanding, more commanding, and she gave herself up, circling her arms around his neck to pull him closer. While he feasted on her mouth and neck, he cupped her breasts and teased her nipples with his dexterous fingers, making her shudder with excitement and lust.
Heat surged through her. Nothing in the world mattered except this. Joe and his rough kisses and gentle hands. Joe devouring her mouth and teasing her breasts. He transferred his lips from her mouth to her breast, and when he sucked hard she couldn’t breathe for the exquisite pleasure he gave her. How could he know so perfectly how to turn her on? He grazed the edge of his teeth against her nipple, and a line of fire streaked from her breast straight to the throbbing ache between her thighs. She was already wet for him. If he kept on sucking her breasts she would orgasm right there and then.