One Night Stand by Parker Kincade Page B

properties her parents had owned prior to their deaths. She’d made a mental note to find out. He’d seen to it that the house was well cared for. Although there were no more animals here, the stable and barn were still standing and in excellent condition. She could only assume he wouldn’t let their mother’s beloved fruit go to waste. She said as much as they walked among the trees, the lingering smell of apples bringing a smile to her face.
    She’d taken him to the corral. As he perched on the fence rail, a lazy smile on his face, she’d dramatically reenacted the first time she’d been thrown from a horse. As a reward for her performance, he’d fucked her fast and hard against the stable doors. And again in the barn. She giggled at the thought of leaving a trail of condom wrappers, like bread crumbs, to show where they’d been.
    In the evenings they’d cooked dinner together. Joe turned out to be quite handy in the kitchen. He was excellent at fetching this pan or that spoon. She also found he was quite efficient with stirring things while keeping most of the contents in the pan. After they ate, Joe would pour her a glass of wine while splashing whiskey into a glass for himself, and they’d sit together on the porch swing. They’d talked as the sun set and the stars shone in the sky. She’d made him laugh with stories of growing up with three older brothers. He’d surprised her with stories of all the beautiful places he’d seen. He’d wrapped his arms around her to warm her against the cool evening breeze that always seemed to blow this time of year. They lapsed into comfortable silence, and the night would begin to take over.
    They’d made out like teenagers in front of the fireplace before he’d made love to her over and over. The man gave stamina a whole new meaning.
    Yep, I’m in real trouble.
    She loved that he couldn’t keep his hands off her. She loved that he was demanding and fierce one minute, romantic and sweet the next. She loved … no, no, no. Not going there. She hadn’t even known him a full week. There was no way … dammit.
    Turning back to her desk, Amanda opened her laptop. Just thinking about Joe had made her wet and needy. He’d gone out for a run, and she didn’t know how long she had before he returned. Her heart raced with excitement. He’d come in sweaty and energized. Hmm, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get enough.
    She opened her e-mail program. Caleb had demanded she check in daily while she was here and she’d agreed, if only to shut him up. She drafted a quick e-mail letting him know she was okay and on track to return to work at the start of the week. Just the thought of leaving made her sick to her stomach. She’d forgotten how much she loved this place, this land. And now with Joe here, well, all the more reason for her to want to stay. Not that she was entertaining any thought at all about having a relationship with him. They were just having fun. A hot guy like him would have a whole string of women waiting for him, and she was tired of sharing.
    Her cell phone rang. Caleb.
    “Hi, Cay. I just sent you a message,” she said cheerfully.
    “I got it, thanks. It’ll be great to have you back in the office. How are things there?”
    She laughed at how casual he sounded. “Things are fine here. You need something?”
    “That transparent, huh?”
    “Spit it out.”
    “I need you to run a background check. Hold up,” he said as she started to speak, “before you bombard me with a hundred questions, get a pen and write this down. Name is Vincent Matteo. He’s some New York corporate bigwig. Investment banker. His last known residence is Manhattan. I need a full workup.” When she didn’t say anything he added, “Now would be good.”
    Interesting. “What are you looking for … specifically?” Her brain immediately reverted to work mode. “You know better than to give me such a broad scope. I’ll be running blind without some kind of