All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9)

She pulled off her T-shirt and quickly unfastened her bra. She hung both over the back of the kitchen chair, then eased up behind him, sliding her hands around his body. Then she leaned close, her br**sts nestling into his back.

She returned to kissing him as she had before, only this time she also moved her chest back and forth, dragging her ni**les against his skin. The friction aroused her, making her breathing more shallow and igniting heat between her thighs. She added little nips to the kisses, biting gently, then soothing that spot with her tongue.

A shudder rippled through him. His muscles tensed then relaxed. Knowing she was playing with fire but unable to resist, she eased her hands to his hips and slid partway down.

When she stopped, Clay swore.

“Charlie.”

Her name came out as a growl. Rather than frightening her, his need gave her courage. She moved her right hand toward his erection. She’d barely moved an inch when his fingers covered hers and he guided her into place.

She closed her hand around his penis. He was big and thick, plenty hard. She explored the length of him, circling her fingers over the tip, before sliding back to the base. Instead of fear or even apprehension, all she felt was desire. Wanting made her tremble and when she thought about him turning and pushing into her, her breath caught in her throat.

She straightened, prepared to turn him to face her, when his cell phone rang. The sharp high notes of his ringtone cut through the silence.

“Ignore it,” Clay told her.

“Gladly.”

She released him and stepped back, then put her hand on his arm. He shifted toward her. She kept her gaze on his face, determined to stay in the mood and not get scared. The passion in his eyes thrilled her. He might have taken her on as a project, but he was a man who was enjoying his work.

He held out his arms and she went into them eagerly. She raised her head, desperate for his kiss, his touch. Her phone rang.

Charlie drew in a breath. “Someone thinks it’s important,” she said and turned to grab her phone.

“Hello?”

“Charlie? It’s Shane. Is Clay there?”

“He is. Just a second.”

She handed over the phone. “Shane.”

As Clay took the receiver, she retrieved her shirt and pulled it on, then she leaned against the counter and waited, hoping nothing really awful had happened. There were only a handful of reasons Clay’s brother would have chased him down and very few of them were good.

“You’re sure?” Clay asked, after listening for about a minute. “It’s not a mistake?”

He swore under his breath. “I’ll be right there.” He pushed the end button on her phone and handed it to her.

“Sorry. There’s a problem at the ranch. I have to go.” As he spoke, he pulled up his briefs and then slipped on his jeans.

She watched him dress, aware she was disappointed rather than relieved. A win for her, although she was sorry Clay had to deal with something difficult.

He gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll call you,” he promised as he jogged to the front door.

Then he was gone.

She stood alone in the kitchen, aware the “I’ll call you” statement hadn’t been part of their deal. She assured herself it was an automatic response. It wasn’t as if she and Clay were involved on an emotional level. Still, she found herself glancing at the phone and wondering when that call would occur.

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING the news wasn’t any better. Clay stood by the side of what should have been his alfalfa field, unable to grasp what had happened.

In an effort to get the land cleared ahead of schedule, Nate had gone out to put in a couple of hours after dinner. The days were still long and the weather was good. He’d been doing his thing, minding his own business, when the metal teeth had pulled up something that shouldn’t be there. Human bone.

Annabelle squeezed his arm. “I’m so sorry,” she told Clay.

“Me, too.”

“I might be wrong.”

“Not likely.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m pretty sure.”

The area he’d wanted for his alfalfa field was smack over a Máa-zib burial site.

Shane had called Annabelle right after he called Clay. She had a minor in Máa-zib studies. She’d taken one look at the partially uncovered grave and had given him the bad news. Sure enough, just walking over the area had been enough for them to see at least two other graves.

Clay wasn’t sure exactly how these things worked, but he knew the bottom line was he would lose at least a couple of acres to the city, maybe the state. Worse was the time that was lost and the nagging sense that the graves were an omen of more to come.

“We have company,” Annabelle said.

He turned and saw several older women walking toward him. He recognized the mayor and a few of the city-council members. Despite wearing a suit and low heels, the mayor still looked completely comfortable as she walked over tilled soil.

“I understand we have an important discovery,” the mayor said as she approached. “Very exciting.”