Still, in her own defense, it was very easy to lust after a woman who looked so good in jeans and a faded denim shirt. Carter’s hair was nicely windblown and she looked ever so sexy. Rica couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sorry, we’re closed.”

Carter grinned. “Then my timing’s perfect.” She hefted the paper bag she held in the crook of one arm. “I brought lunch.”

“You’re always trying to feed me.”

“I’m trying to ingratiate myself, remember?”

Rica laughed.

“Besides,” Carter said, “this time we’re going to play tourist first, then have lunch.”

“Oh, are we? You’ve got it all planned.”

“Absolutely,” Carter said, lying with conviction. She hadn’t the slightest idea what she was doing, but she knew she wasn’t leaving town without seeing Rica again. Kevin had said the bosses wanted her back on the mainland, focusing her efforts on Rizzo and her inside connection. She hadn’t been exactly ordered to stay away from Rica, but she wouldn’t have much chance to see her either. So when she’d left the diner she didn’t think about what she was going to do next, she just acted. “We’ve got an outboard waiting for us at Flyer’s, and I’m taking you to Long Point for lunch on the beach. Have you got a jacket here? It’s going to be chilly on the boat.”

Rica stared. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s the middle of the day in the middle of the week. I’m running a business here.”

Carter hooked a thumb in the direction of the door. “Says closed to me.”

“I’m in heels, Carter, and this”…Rica indicated her royal blue silk blouse and slacks…“is not picnic wear.”

“We’ll swing by your place. You can change and grab a windbreaker.” Carter took a step closer and kissed Rica lightly on the mouth. “Please.”

Rica felt a warning flutter in her stomach, far far more than she should be feeling from just a simple kiss. “You have to stop doing that.”

“What?” Carter asked, her voice husky.

“Kissing me.”

“Please tell me you’re lying.”

“All right,” Rica said, easing her arms around Carter’s waist. “I’m lying.” She kept her eyes open as she slid her mouth slowly over Carter’s. With a soft sigh, she pressed closer and teased her tongue along the inner surface of Carter’s lip, tugging ever so gently with her teeth.

“Rica,” Carter gasped when Rica pulled away.

“Hmm?” Rica unbuttoned the first button on Carter’s shirt and skimmed her fingertips inside.

Carter, feeling as if she had been washed in fire, broke out into a full body sweat. Even her vision was red. “We’re crushing the sandwiches.”

Rica struggled to make sense of the words, because she was seconds away from dragging Carter down to the floor. The reality of her, the hard length of her thighs, the soft press of her breasts, the hot taste of her mouth, was so much better than the dreams that had brought her to the edge of orgasm more than once in the last few days. She’d never been so helpless to resist a woman in her life. “Well,” she gasped, putting her palms flat against Carter’s chest and pushing back a few inches. She searched Carter’s eyes and smiled, satisfied when she saw her own desire reflected there. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“You have no idea what I want.”

“Oh, I think I do.” Rica brushed a single fingertip along the edge of Carter’s lower lip and stepped away. “Let’s go for a boat ride and find out.”

Twenty minutes later, Rica had changed into casual tan slacks and a burgundy pullover. They’d collected some sunscreen, towels, and a blanket at Rica’s, and Carter was now steering the outboard away from the dock at Flyer’s boat rental.

“Cold?” Carter shouted above the wind and the roar of the motor.

Rica sat in the middle of the boat, facing Carter, her hands curled around the edge of the aluminum seat. She tilted her head back so that her hair streamed behind her in the breeze and the sun warmed her face. “Not at all. It’s great out here.”

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Rica said, meaning it. She’d heard it before, almost all her life. From boys and then men, and women. She rarely if ever believed them. It wasn’t their words she distrusted, but why they’d said them. Carter stood with her legs braced in the back of the boat, hips thrust forward, one arm stretched back behind her on the motor. Her shirt was wet from spray and plastered to her chest. When she wasn’t checking the water ahead for other boats, she was looking at Rica. Not just an idle glance, but an absorbing gaze that suggested she was trying to memorize everything about her. Rica shivered. “Watch where you’re going.”

The corner of Carter’s mouth flickered. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

Rica tilted her head back again and closed her eyes. She couldn’t keep looking at Carter because just the sight of her was making her excited. Her arousal was fast overtaking her common sense, and as much as she enjoyed the sensation, she needed to remember who she was, and more importantly, who Carter was. Sex was one thing. A very nice thing, to be sure. But what she was starting to feel when she looked at Carter felt dangerously like something else.

The motor quieted and alerted Rica to the fact that they were approaching the beach. It was still too early in the year for it to be crowded, and as she glanced toward the lighthouse at the very tip of Long Point, she could see that they were alone.

“Do you need me to get out and guide us in?” Rica asked.

Carter shook her head. “No. If you get wet, you’ll be too cold. I’ll just coast us up onto the beach.”

A minute later they grounded and Carter jumped out. She grabbed the bow of the boat and pulled it farther up onto the sand. “Toss me the gear.”

Rica did, and then climbed onto the small platform at the bow. Before she could jump off, Carter grasped her waist and swung her down. When she landed, they were body to body again, and it was the most natural thing in the world to wrap her arms around Carter’s neck and kiss her.

“Thanks,” Rica said when she finally broke the kiss. She skimmed her fingers through Carter’s damp hair. “It’s too cold to make love in the surf, so I’d suggest we take a walk instead.”

“Whatever you say,” Carter said, taking Rica’s hand and grabbing the gear with the other. Rica was in control and Carter knew it, and she didn’t know what to do about it. After leaving Kevin and knowing she was going to see Rica, regardless of anyone’s orders, she had finally stopped pretending that she was doing her job. Being with Rica had nothing to do with Rica’s father or Carter’s being an undercover investigator or Allen’s FBI sting operation. It had everything to do with the fact that Rica was an intriguing woman and just thinking about her made Carter ache to be close to her. Yes, she wanted her. Desperately, urgently. But just as much as she wanted to taste her again, to run her hands over the sleek lines of her body, she wanted to know what drove a young, intelligent, vibrant woman to leave everything in her life behind and seclude herself in a sleepy little town by the sea. Because that’s exactly what Rica had done. “You’re the boss.”

“Actually,” Rica said playfully, leaning close to brush a kiss along the edge of Carter’s jaw, “I’m not.”

It was the first time Rica had ever directly alluded to her father’s business, and Carter knew she should follow up on it. Instead, she swung their joined hands and pointed toward a natural cul-de-sac in the dunes where they would be shielded from the worst of the wind by the rising swells of sand on either side. “We can spread the blanket out in there and continue the conversation you started by the boat.”

“Not until I’ve had lunch and… did I see champagne in that gear bag of yours?”

“You did.” They stopped and Carter handed one end of the blanket to Rica. Together they spread it out on the sand and weighted it down at the corners with items from the bag. “Go ahead and get comfortable, and I’ll serve you.”

Rica stretched out on the blanket, leaning on her elbows to watch Carter put out their lunch. “This just gets better all the time.”

Carter shot her a grin. “Wait till we get to dessert.”

Rica was afraid she wouldn’t make it through lunch without begging Carter to touch her. She so desperately needed to get control of herself, and yet she loved the way being around Carter made her feel. For the first time in her life, she felt not only wonderfully alive, but completely herself. “I’ll try. But I’m not making any promises.”

“I’m not asking for any.” Carter knelt beside Rica on the blanket, the bottle of champagne cradled between her palms, and leaned down to kiss her. She kept it light and easy because she wanted it to be anything but. And it just wasn’t possible. “Let’s just enjoy it.”

“Yes. Let’s.”

Chapter Sixteen

Tory fumbled for a towel and wiped at the smear of pureed carrots on Reggie’s cheek. “Come on, honey, two more bites and we’re done.” She glanced at the clock. Ten minutes to two. She was going to be late for work. Again.

“Never mind,” Tory murmured. “It’s not your fault.” If she’d been sleeping better, the few extra hours she needed for child care without Reese home to help wouldn’t have mattered. But the bed was too large and achingly empty, and sleep just wouldn’t come.

“My schedule is just off, that’s all. Things will be fine in a few more days.”

Reggie smiled and blew carrot bubbles.

The crunch of tires over shells in the driveway drew Tory’s attention, and she set the spoon aside, wondering as to the identity of her unexpected visitor. She took three steps toward the screen door and jerked to a stop with a small gasp. She could just make out the dark-haired officer in the patrol car, and for a second, all she could think was Reese!