HIGH TIDE (8 page)

“Tell me something, Nick.”

Dark eyes encouraged her.

“Did I miscalculate? Should the specs for that seawall have been higher? The first structure is only forty yards from the water. Should I have built it further back?”   

No barrier could keep Nick from touching
her. His hand reached across the door and settled on the flip of hair draped over her shoulder. He toyed with the tresses, reluctant to let go.

“I’m no expert, Briana. And believe me, I was first in line to cast stones at
Manale Palms
.” Noticing the quirk of her lips, he dropped his hand.

Once again, the cool businesswoman stood before him with a thrust of the chin and the grim set of her mouth. Composed on the outside, Briana’s eyes divulged a turbulent ocean. Nick blinked in an attempt to free himself from that maelstrom.

Such a contradiction this woman was—riding a fine line between poise and passion. It was a recipe that made him want to unravel the cool woman, and comfort the frightened girl.

“But honestly, I have found nothing wrong with your site. You’ve met all the laws and yielded to them more so than I’ve seen any other outfit.”

Briana sighed and gently clicked the door shut.

“Well, thank you for—thank you for—” she struggled,“—an interesting evening.”

“You’re welcome.”

Damn, if her expression wasn’t so
—
naked
. Nick saw more than he should be privy to. She was a mess. Barefoot, damp, and disheveled. Her silk blouse was yanked loose from her skirt, and her blond hair was thrown into erratic wisps from the open jeep.

He wanted her.
God damn
, he wanted her. Right now
.

Flawed logic convinced him that he could handle kissing her again
.
Just a simple one—short and sweet, to say goodnight.

He
dipped his head and scarcely touched Briana’s lips. His mouth hovered, indecisive, and then returned for another swipe. On the next stroke, the contact lingered until his arm snaked around her back to haul her against him. Briana gasped and he took advantage of the gap between her lips.

And then he stopped.

They stood face to face, breathing erratic, locked in silent bewilderment.

Beneath
Briana’s palms which were flat against his chest, he could feel the staccato rhythm of his heart. This was crazy. He had never felt such a lack of control. Fortunately, Briana was removing temptation. She began to retreat, mounting the first concrete step
.

She
mustered up a smile, one of those
business-deal
beams.

“Good night, Nick.”

Son of a bitch, I want to kiss her.

He cleared his throat and followed her to the illuminated entryway, but stopped short a few feet from the double doors.

“No awkward discouragements,” he whispered. “Remember?”

“I remember.”

But had she asked, he didn’t think he would have discouraged.

***
  

Briana
swiveled in her chair so that her back was to the desk, and her bare foot was tapping restlessly against the glass wall. She stared out at Sand Island, but didn’t really focus on the freight community. Lifting a cup of coffee to her lips, she barely felt it scald her tongue. For the umpteenth time she recounted the events of last evening and wished desperately that it could be erased. There was no doubt in her mind that she had made a complete fool of herself to a virtual stranger. And more importantly, destroyed her professionalism. What type of reputation would she have if she slept with a USGS representative? Not a good one. Briana Holt—willing to take care of obstacles in
any
manner necessary.

“Uuuh-hmm.”

There was no way in hell she was going to meet Nick at Manale today. Aside from the obvious fact that she was way too busy, there was the nagging fear of how she would react being close to him again. She doubted it would be
professional
—not when confronted with over six feet of temptation.

“Uuuuh-
hmmm!”

Briana dipped her toes into a low-heeled pump and swiveled around to cock an amused eyebrow at the young man shifting from foot to foot in her doorway.

“Yes Naoki, are you trying to get my attention?”

Striking an,
I just won a million dollars
smile, Naoki charged forward and grabbed the frame of one of the visitor chairs for support. “No, no, nothing really, just checking on the schedule for today.”

The smile did not diminish in the least, and Briana found herself responding to it with a sly grin of her own. She laced her fingers together and contemplated her young cohort.

“Looking for some time off, perhaps?”

“Maybe.”

Holding herself in check for as long as she could, she expelled her breath and leaned across the desk to coax, “Okay, Takanawa, spill it.”

Not wasting a second, Naoki pushed the door shut and dropped into the chair.

“Oh God, she’s beautiful. I mean aside from the obvious, which you already saw, she’s sweet, shy and—and miracle of all miracles, she wants to see me again.”

Sweet and shy girls don’t hang out at bars by themselves, do they?
Briana tossed aside the nagging thought, suddenly realizing she was getting old. She reveled in Naoki’s happiness, though.

“And you’re asking about the schedule because you want to spend the afternoon with her?”

Naoki sat back for the first time and nervously toyed with the bridge of his glasses. “Bree, we’ve got a lot of work to do, I would never think of doing that to you.”

“Hmmmph. Are you going to come in this Saturday even though I will ask you not to?”

“Yep,” he affirmed.

“Take the afternoon, Takanawa.”

Thick lenses could not conceal the flash of enthusiasm. “Are you sure? What about you? What happened last night? I didn’t even notice you leave.”

Provoking images of last night reigned as Briana lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. She glanced at the clock.

“Oh, I needed some air—took a walk along the beach and then headed home.”

The urge to secret her encounter with Nick McCord surprised
her. Especially with Naoki, someone she shared everything with.
It was a bad sign.

“Sorry Bree.”

“Pleeeese. Don’t be sorry. I’m so happy for you—”

“
Knock, knock
.”

Briana and Naoki turned towards the door. A young woman stared at them with owlish eyes. Her arms were crossed over a stack of folders clasped tight against her chest. Narrow glasses deemed her a bookworm, and it appeared as if she had stood in the doorway for hours waiting for the courage to interrupt.

Kathy Bishop, Briana remembered. The intern.

“Yes, Kathy?”

“I have those reports you wanted me to research.”

“Excellent.” Briana smiled openly, to which the girl responded with a tremulous curve of the lips. “Just leave them on the desk.”

Kathy hobbled forward on strapless sandals and glanced shyly at Naoki. Tucking her head into her neck like a turtle, she asked, “Anything else, Ms. Holt?”

“Check with me
—” Briana was about to say later in the day
,
but the words were curiously amended to, “tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” Kathy nodded and backed out of the room, bobbing her head courteously towards Naoki who gave her the evil eye over the rim of his glasses.

As soon as they were alone again, Naoki leaned forward.

“Hey, what reports did you have her research? I’m the research department around here. She just started three days ago. Where did you dig her up anyway?”

Too many secrets.

Briana didn’t want Naoki to see the stack of data she had Kathy research on tidal activity in the region. It would require an explanation she was not ready to impart. For now, she wanted to keep the
Nick
situation low key—incase it blew up in her face.

With every argument against it ramming through her head, Briana was certain of one fact.
She was going to meet Nick today
. Curiosity and the lingering effects of his touch proved the victor.

“Feeling threatened, Takanawa? By a college student? The poor girl idolizes you, aspires to be like you.”

“Aspires to take my job, you mean.”

Briana chuckled and discreetly shoved the pile into her desk drawer. “Really Naoki, your value to me is immeasurable and you know it. You keep me sane. How can I place a worth on that?”

Naoki grinned. “That’s what I’m here for. Hey, by the way, is that geologist still badgering you?”

Briana stared across the desktop into the almond eyes she knew so well. She muffled her hiccup with a brush of her hand.

“He might have some credible points.”

“Are you crazy? I told you the guy’s got nothing on you. He’s just some bureaucrat looking to pick a fight.”

The nagging console on her desk proved an ally as Lena, her stout secretary, passed back a call. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Naoki frowned and then moved towards the door, mouthing the words, “You’re sure about this afternoon?”

Briana waved her fingers, trying not to notice how much they shook.

 
 ***

Nick stalked out onto the lanai. Beyond the feathered palms eclipsed
by the azure sky, a hazy cumulus cloud marred the clear heavens. The trade winds would soon move the cotton puff on its way, though.

Nick stooped over and clasped the rail, cursing it when it jarred slightly under his touch. He would have to work on it this weekend. Living so close to the water had its setbacks. Degradation to the bungalow’s structure kept him in an eternal state of restoration
—but there was no greater perk than this vista.

Despite his resolve not to,
his gaze drifted to the beach only steps away. An image from last night flashed in his mind. Briana’s face bathed in the moonlight, her lips parted just a breath before he kissed her.

Sleep was futile after he left her. He ended up sorting through paperwork and test results all through the night. Those long hours of work accounted for his haggard appearance and dismal demeanor
at the moment.

There was no way he was going to allow himself to be bewitched by another woman whose intelligence and fanaticism towards work were packaged in one hot body. Although
, as much as he wanted to compare her to Meleana, he found that there really was no similarity. Yes, Meleana was beautiful, but in a standoffish, intimidating kind of way. Briana was a subtle intoxication—something you had a taste of, and yearned for more. Beneath a business-like veneer lay a fascinating insecurity.

Reaching for the bottom of his UH t-shirt, Nick yanked it over his head. He hiked down to the shore, eager to hit the water.
Anything to wash away the images of her.
But the trick did not work. The warm saltwater reminded him of how the ocean cloistered them, doing little to douse their heat.

He
rose to the surface and snapped his head to ring out the water. He raised a hand to the back of his neck and peered out towards a lumbering freighter, heavy with cargo.

There was no choice. He had to put an end to this while it was still early enough to do so. It wasn’t what he needed right now. Heck, it wasn’t as if Briana was throwing herself at his feet. She wasn’t going to get hurt if he stopped this—this
,
whatever it was
before it started. Okay, maybe last night was hot.
Damn hot
. But lust wasn’t what he was looking for.

Right.

He was looking for a staid woman that he could settle down with. He was getting old, and it was time. Meleana had cauterized any festering desire for an affair with someone steeped in their work.  

That was it. The decision was made. He was going to avoid Briana from now on. It was best. After all, he had his work cut out for him to determine what was agitating the
Windward coast. As a matter of fact, he wouldn’t even make it to Manale today. He would spend the afternoon in his office at the University to avoid any impetuous move on his part. Briana probably never would have met him anyway. Her response was elicited in the heat of the moment, and he was certain that in the light of day, the businesswoman would return and snub him.

Mollified, but bitter, Nick surged out of the water and cursed when a shell cut into the underside of his heel. Satisfied that there was no blood, he continued towards the bun
galow, but his steps slowed. Suddenly he was aware of the stillness in the air, and the solitude of his home.

Mutinously, he looked up towards the lanai and envisioned Briana standing there in one of his shirts. She smiled down at him, silky blond hair wafting in the breeze. The collar of her shirt billowed and privileged him with a glorious view. She laughed openly, and he nearly smiled in response to the
vision.