It was amazing what a night of healthy, highly-physical sex could do to relieve tension and stress. For the next twelve hours, Adam had Holly exactly where he wanted her—over, under, and around him—and he didn’t spare a thought for sick dogs or flat tires or anything else, for that matter. As long as Holly was in his arms, he knew she was safe.

Getting up for work the next morning wasn’t easy. Adam had to drag his tired ass out of a soft, warm bed and an even softer, warmer woman. With a long, lingering kiss and a travel mug of extra-strong coffee, Holly good-naturedly kicked him out. He wasn’t sure he would have made it to the job site otherwise.

That was when the worry came back with a vengeance.

Adam had no proof that Eve was behind any of the unfortunate events Holly had faced. Shit happened. Dogs did sometimes get into something they shouldn’t. People did pick up nails along the road and get flat tires. If he hadn’t had that phone call from Eve, he probably wouldn’t have given it any further thought.

But Eve had called him, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Maybe he should have said something to Holly. At least that way she could be on her guard in case Eve really was up to something. As much as he didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily, he had her safety to consider.

By mid-afternoon, he had made up his mind. He couldn’t get into the whole thing over the phone, but he could tell Holly enough to be aware until he could get there after work and explain everything.

Adam pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped in Holly’s number, frowning when it went to voicemail. She had said she was going to be home all day. Why wasn’t she answering?

He tried to keep the irrational panic rising within him at bay. There were a lot of perfectly good reasons for Holly not answering her phone. She could still be sleeping; he had kept her awake most of the night. She could be in the shower. Or exercising with the music blasting. Or outside with Max. Hell, maybe she was writing in the kitchen and had simply turned the volume down on her phone so she could get some good time in without interruptions.

“Holly, this is Adam. Listen, there’s something I need to talk to you about. I’ll explain everything tonight, but until then, just ... be careful, okay? Stay close to home and call me right away if anything weird happens.” He was just about to disconnect when he added, “And Holly? Call me back as soon as you get this. Bye.”

The afternoon wore on. Every hour lasted longer than the last.

And Holly still hadn’t called.

* * *

IT WAS OFFICIAL. HOLLY was falling in love.

That might not have been a completely accurate statement. She was pretty sure she was already there, but her rational mind balked at the possibility of such a thing happening so quickly. She might write about love at first sight and soul mates, and assorted romantic fodder, but she wasn’t ready to drink her own Kool-Aid just yet.

What she felt for Adam defied logic; that was a given. But whether or not it was the real thing, something that would not only last but continue to grow over the years, remained to be seen. Intense like? Absolutely. Heavy lust? Yep, she was all over that. But the one? That was some scary stuff. If she was wrong, it had the potential to be devastating.

As of that moment, however, Holly was riding cloud nine.

After Adam left, she indulged in a long, leisurely shower, one that didn’t consist of a thirty-second wash followed by ten minutes of hot shower sex. Every swipe of the bath sponge over her sensitive flesh reminded her of Adam’s rigorous attention. She chuckled at that. It turned out Adam really did have a thing for dirty talk. Who knew the skills developed in writing romance novels would have such a profound, practical application in real life?

Craving something more substantial than her usual fruit and granola, Holly took the time to chop up some fresh veggies and made an omelet, which she and Max shared with some whole grain toast.

While they ate, Holly reflected on the last few weeks. Outwardly, not much had changed. She lived in the same house, had the same career, and followed essentially the same daily routine as she had last month. But inside, the changes had been epic.

Holly was happy. Wonderfully, ridiculously happy. The sun shone brighter, the air smelled cleaner, food tasted better, and all because Adam was a part of her life now. It was no longer a matter of waking up, going through the motions, and being satisfied with being content. For the first time, Holly felt like she was truly living, finding joy in even the smallest things. Things that she had previously overlooked or taken for granted.

Like the beautiful morning. Why sit inside when modern technology afforded the portability to go anywhere?

Feeling deliciously sore in all the right places, her mind still buzzing with Adam-induced endorphins, she made her decision.

Coffee in one hand, laptop in the other, she went out onto her back porch and poured herself into the padded lounge chair. The air was fresh and cool. The skies were clear and blue, almost the exact shade of Adam’s eyes. Sunlight filtered through the surrounding trees, creating lace-like patterns of shady greens over the lawn and gardens.

Max curled up beside her on the warm stone patio, his eyes lazily watching the birds and butterflies as they flitted around the blooming day lilies and morning glories. She closed her eyes and tried to capture exactly how she felt at that moment. If she could find the right words to describe what she was feeling, if she could manage to convey that in one of her stories, it would be literary gold.

She must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing she knew, Max was anxiously nuzzling her arm.

“What’s up, Max?” she asked drowsily, tangling her fingers in his thick, silky fur. It took a moment before her nose and ears registered the scent of something burning and the distant beep of a smoke alarm.

“What the hell?” Holly bolted upright, automatically saving her latest document and setting her laptop off to the side. She slid the screen door aside and entered the house. The scent was stronger inside, but not overpowering. Holly went from room to room, looking for the source. That was when she realized the smoke was not coming from within, but was wafting through the open windows on the far side of the house.

She looked outside and spotted the smoke pouring out of the small outbuilding where she kept her lawn and garden equipment, and her outdoor tools.

Holly ran back into the kitchen and grabbed the small fire extinguisher she kept there. With Max at her heels, she then hurried across the front of the house.

She had barely placed her hand on the shed’s doorknob when there was a loud boom from within. An instant later, the windows and doors exploded outward, lifting Holly off her feet and throwing her backward.

A tremendous rush of intense pain burst along the back of her body, and then she wasn’t moving anymore.

* * *

WHEN ADAM’S PHONE BUZZED, he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally!

“Hey, beautiful.” He grinned into the phone. “What took you so long?”

“Now that’s more like it.”

The voice on the other end wiped the smile away instantly. It wasn’t Holly, but Eve. Again. If his business wasn’t tied to his mobile, he would have had the number changed months ago. He had even had Brandon show him how to block her number, but Eve must have caught on and called from another.

“What do you want, Eve?” he asked, all traces of warmth having fled with his smile.

“I want to talk to you.”

“So talk.”

She laughed softly. “Not over the phone, Adam. In person.”

“Not interested.”

“Oooh,” she purred, “you know I love it when you get all growly, Adam. It makes me wet.”

Her words disgusted him. How had he ever found her attractive? Now, if Holly had called and said that to him ...

“I know about your little author friend, Adam,” Eve said, confirming his worst fears and freezing him on the spot. “Honestly, I don’t know what you see in her. You are way out of her league.”

“Stay away from her, Eve,” Adam warned.

“Or what? It’s a free country, Adam.”

“I’m not kidding, Eve.”

“Neither am I,” she said, her voice noticeably less sex-kittenish. “Meet me, Adam. One drink, that’s all I ask.”

“No.”

“One drink,” she persisted. “And if, after you hear what I have to say, you still feel the same way, I will bow out gracefully.”

Adam exhaled. There was absolutely nothing Eve could possibly say that would make him want to get involved with her again. Now that he had found Holly, there was no going back. Holly was everything he wanted in a woman and then some.

“I am not going to change my mind, Eve.”

“Then you have nothing to lose, do you? Come on, Adam. One drink. That’s not so much to ask, is it?”

Every gut instinct he had told him that this was a really bad idea. It sounded far too easy, and nothing involving Eve was ever that simple. Either she was lying outright, or she had some hidden agenda. Either was a likely possibility.

Yet, there was a part of him that wanted to believe that, deep down, Eve did possess some shred of decency. That after months of unsuccessful attempts to get him back into her life and her bed, she was finally coming to accept the fact that it just wasn’t going to happen.

“I have one drink with you, and you promise to finally let this go?” he repeated doubtfully.

“Cross my broken heart.”

There was a slight chance she was being sincere; that after one last, final attempt, she would be willing to walk away peacefully. That possibility, however remote, was more appealing than his latest plan of filing a restraining order against her and having Holly do the same. If he could finally put this to rest with one drink and a few minutes of his time, wouldn’t it be worth it? And if, as he feared, it didn’t work, well, he would talk to Holly that night and get on those restraining orders first thing in the morning.

“All right. One drink. Public place. Where do you want to meet?”

“How about the Lakeside Pub?”

The Lakeside Pub was only about a five-minute drive from where he was. If he left right from the job site, he could meet Eve for one quick drink and still be at Holly’s within an hour.

“How long will it take you to get there?”

“I’m already here.”