A few moments passed in absolute silence.
“That’s a ridiculous plan.”
“You got a better one?” He eased forward in the chair. “Because, if you do, I’m all for it.”
“We ignore the attraction.”
“Tried that. Only made it worse.”
She didn’t answer. If he had to guess, he’d say she was stunned into silence.
“Can you stop thinking about me?” he dared to ask.
She still didn’t answer.
He reached for her hand. It felt warm, soft, delicate in his own. “If we let it keep bubbling under the surface, it’s going to explode at the worst possible moment.”
“Nothing’s bubbling anywhere.”
“Yes, it is.” He tugged her forward.
“Seth, please.”
He stopped pulling on her, but he didn’t let go of her hand. “Can you get through a day without thinking about me?” he repeated.
“No,” she admitted, with what looked like annoyance. “I can’t.”
He knew this was the time for sincerity. It was the only thing they hadn’t tried yet, and he needed to shake things up.
“Is it getting worse for you?” he asked. “Because it’s sure getting worse for me.”
She glanced at their joined hands. “This isn’t the answer.”
“Diffusing the tension is the only answer.”
Her mouth quirked in a reluctant grin. “I’m not going to kiss you again, Seth.”
“Give me another answer.”
“We’re adults. We ignore it.”
He stroked his thumb along her palm. “And when that stops working?” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “What then?”
“By then, the referendum will be over.”
“You think we can hold out for fifty-three days?” He wasn’t sure he could hold out for fifty-three minutes.
“Let’s practice,” she suggested, pulling her hand away from his.
“Practice not sleeping together?”
Her expression faltered for a split second. “I meant practice discussing the railway without shouting and name-calling.”
Six
For a moment, Seth looked like he was going to argue, but to her surprise, he didn’t. Instead, he settled casually back in the armchair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “Sure, Darby. Let’s practice.”
Unfortunately, he looked ridiculously sexy lounging in her office. She wanted to think about the railroad, but it was so much easier to think about his kisses.
“Uh…I…okay.” She swallowed, while he cracked a knowing smile.
It was what she needed to focus her thoughts. “With due respect, Mr. Mayor,” she told him evenly and carefully, without inflection, “Lyndon Valley has thrived for decades now without the benefit of a railroad.”
“With due respect, Ms. Carroll,” his tone was equally mild, “improvements are improvements, even if they are a long time in coming.”
“And sacrifices are sacrifices.”
“Perhaps you would be so kind as to enumerate those sacrifices.”
“Certainly. Again, respectfully. While I do understand some people’s desire for corporate profit above quality of life—”
“Careful,” Seth warned.
“What careful?”
“That’s very loaded language.”
“I was merely stating a fact,” Darby pointed out.
“Quality of life can be enhanced by increased job opportunities. And improving the economy will increase job opportunities—”
“That’s not a certainty.”
“It’s a very high-percentage probability.”
Her irritation inched upward. “Noise pollution and compromises to public safety are not a high-percentage probability. They are a certainty.”
“Loaded language again,” he warned.
“More facts,” she countered.
“Do you want to take money out of the pockets of ranchers, and therefore food out of the mouths of their children?”
Now that was over the top. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“If you can use loaded language, so can I.”
“Starving children, Seth? Really?”
“I can also link my standpoint to motherhood, apple pie and puppies.”
Okay, he wasn’t the only one who could take his argument to ridiculous lengths. “Trains kill puppies.”
“Oh, you’re going to have to back that one up with statistics.”
Darby rocked to her feet and moved to her computer table. Surely she could validate the argument. She heard Seth move up behind her.
“Finding anything?” he asked, his deep voice in her left ear.
“Give me a minute.” She scrolled through the results.
“Doesn’t look promising.”
He was right. There were apparently no documented cases of trains killing puppies.
“Well, for sure they kill mothers,” said Darby.
“Maybe if the villain ties her to the railroad tracks.”
Darby turned, keeping a straight face. “We can’t discount that happening.”
“I bet those horrible trains squish apple pies, as well.” He smirked.
She shook her head. “We seem to have gotten off track.”
“Pun intended?”
“Not really,” she admitted.
“You’re right,” he agreed, surprising her. “This isn’t helping.”
She searched his expression for sarcasm. But he looked genuinely regretful. He also looked handsome, and so irredeemably sexy that her hormones sang in response to his nearness. She could feel her heartbeats grow deeper and a flush of heat race its way along her skin.
“We kind of blew that, didn’t we?” he observed.
“You want to take it from the top?”
Though she hadn’t admitted it to Seth, she was growing quite worried about the mood of the town. She didn’t want any more fights or vandalism, and she accepted the wisdom of her and Seth’s setting an example.
“Sure,” he agreed, easing ever so slightly forward. “Let’s take it from the top.”
Her gaze found its way to his lips, and her voice turned husky as she spoke. “I respect your right to disagree with me.”
“And I respect your right to disagree with me.” The back of his hand brushed lightly against hers.
She swallowed, but forced herself to keep going. “I know you want what’s best for Lyndon City.”
“That’s good,” he intoned. His hand brushed hers again, and her brain started to cloud. “I know you love puppies.”
“I do love puppies,” she agreed, meeting his darkening eyes.
“I love warm brandy,” he returned.
“Chocolate chip cookies,” she breathed.
“Midnight swims.” The palm of his hand came to rest on her hip.
She knew she should move away. It was crazy to simply stand here and let him touch her. But instead, she added to his last sentence. “On hot, summer nights.”
His head slanted sideways, leaning in. “Naked,” he whispered.
“Uh-oh.”
“With you.” His mouth came down on hers.
He tasted astonishingly familiar, intense, compelling. He shifted his body, meeting hers from thigh to chest. His arms settled around her waist, while hers snaked around his neck, tightening.
She tipped her head back, opening her mouth, letting the sweep of his tongue send ripples of desire along her limbs. She welcomed the invasion of his kiss, her skin rising up in goose bumps, her nipples tightening with pent-up desire.
Their kisses went on and on. Her spine arched backward. Her fingers tangled in his short hair. His hand slid up her rib cage, skimming the side of her breast, then palming its fullness and closing in on her hard nipple.
“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed. “So soft, so smooth.”
She was also very much out of her mind. She knew she should put a stop to this right now. She had no business melting in the arms of her enemy. But she didn’t have it in her to stop. She didn’t have it in her to say no.
His kisses were mind-blowing. His hands were nothing short of magic. And she’d dreamed about this for so many nights. Surely she could simply enjoy the intense sensations a little while longer. How much could it hurt?
His hand slipped under her tank top, calluses teasing her sensitized skin. His hands were warm and strong, firm and sure. His fingertips found the thin lace of her bra, zeroing in on her nipple, and a primal groan formed deep in his throat.
His breathing was deep. He gathered the hem of her top, bunching it. She raised her arms, allowing him to peel it off. He stared hotly at her white bra for a long, still moment. Then he smoothed back her hair, captured her lips with his, and kissed her all over again.
She clung to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his spicy scent as the air currents swirled across her bare back. He snapped her bra open, tossing it aside. He shrugged out of his jacket and made short work of the buttons on his dress shirt.