One Unforgettable Night. Candace Havens

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       5

      NAOMI HAD EXPECTED to toss and turn, but she slept great. She loved camping, but there was something to be said for a good innerspring. As she packed up for the hike back to the campsite, she thought about what likely would be happening there in the next few days and searched around for items she wouldn’t normally take camping.

      Lacy underwear topped the list. Then she threw in a see-through nightgown that she’d never considered wearing while sleeping in a tent. She had a perfume bottle in her hand, ready to pack it, when she came to her senses.

      Good grief, had she completely lost her mind? Fragrance of any kind was a no-no. She was in bear country, for God’s sake, not at a beach resort.

      For that matter, she might want to forget the see-through nightgown, too. It was the sort of thing a woman wore when she emerged from the bathroom of a luxury suite and sashayed over to the king-size bed where her lover waited, his gaze hot. When two people were crammed into a small dome tent, transparent lingerie lost most of its impact.

      With reality smacking her in the face, she pulled out her lacy underwear, too. She was doing field research on a nesting pair of eagles, not arranging a romantic tryst with the man of her dreams. Luke had suggested this arrangement after catching her at her rumpled worst. If she got all fancy on him, he might laugh.

      Or worse yet, he might wonder if she was trying to snare him with her feminine wiles. Then he’d turn tail and run. He’d proposed a straightforward liaison where they both understood the parameters. Seductive clothing could easily send the wrong message.

      Because she could cut cross-country to the campsite, her hike was only about five miles. Hiking always helped her think. As she walked, she examined her knee-jerk response to this situation with Luke.

      She’d automatically reached for the accepted female lures—fragrance and suggestive clothing. She’d reacted as if she needed to make herself more desirable to him. Oh, yeah, Luke would have been suspicious of her motivation for doing that.

      She was suspicious of her motivation. Before this affair started, she might want to search her conscience to make absolutely sure no hidden agenda existed. This relationship couldn’t be a bait and switch where she accepted his invitation to a no-strings affair and then subtly tried to bind him to her.

      Hiking across a sunny meadow filled with sage and wildflowers, butterflies and songbirds, was perfect for soul-searching. She did a mental practice run through the scenario. For a few weeks, she would enjoy Luke’s company and his gorgeous body. They’d have great sex and watch the eagles together. She’d become used to having him around.

      But the eagles would leave the nest. Luke had already said that was about the time he planned to head for parts unknown. She’d have to bid him goodbye without making a big deal out of it. Could she?

      Well, of course she could. After she’d graduated from college and before starting her first job, she and some friends had spent the summer backpacking through Europe. They’d had an amazing time, but that trip had ended and the friends had scattered. They kept up through emails, but their summer of bonding was only a memory now.

      Had she been sad when the trip had ended? Of course. Would she like the СКАЧАТЬ