Holiday In the Hamptons (From Manhattan with Love 5)

“Good thing. Now tell me something personal. And make it count.”

“When you kiss me, it’s nothing like kissing Ricky Carter.”

“When I kiss you like this, you mean?” He lowered his head to hers, and she felt her stomach jump and her heart flutter. He kissed her often, and each time was more exciting than the last. It was as if he was slowly building the tension, racking it up inch by inch until she was wound so tight she was afraid she might explode.

She’d stopped thinking she should

fight her feelings, stopped listing all the reasons why this was probably a mistake.

Slowly, he lifted his head. “Ricky had better not have kissed you like that or he’s a wanted man.” His voice was low and lazy, the look in his eyes making her squirm with anticipation.

She knew he was holding back, and she couldn’t help wondering how long that was going to last. Sex clouds things, was what he’d said, but she couldn’t help thinking that not having sex clouded things, too. It stopped her being able to think straight. Cut through all the strings that held together her defenses.

“It was how I imagine it would feel to drown. I needed a life jacket.”

He grinned. “Sounds like I have serious competition.”

He’d never had any competition. That was the problem.

She moaned as she felt his mouth on her neck and the light scrape of stubble against her skin.

“Now you.”

He lifted his head just enough to speak. “I hate mushrooms on pizza.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“If I’m the one eating the pizza, it counts. I can eat mushrooms in any other dish, but they shouldn’t be anywhere near a pizza.”

“I get the message.” She could feel the press of his body against hers. “Pizza, no mushrooms. Now tell me something personal.”

He lowered his head and continued his exploration as far as her collarbone. “I’m determined.” His mouth lingered there. “When there’s something I want, I don’t give up until I get it.”

Was he talking about their relationship? Or something else? The things he was doing with his mouth made it hard to focus.

“You wanted to be a vet, and now you are.”

He paused and lifted his head, looking at her from beneath those long lashes that had made him the talk of the town. “That’s one example. There are others.”

She wanted to know all about them. She wanted to know everything.

In the past few weeks she’d learned so much about him, like the fact he had the respect of the whole community. Everywhere she went it was “Dr. Carlyle this” and “Dr. Carlyle that.” And among some quarters, respect came closer to adoration. Whatever details she didn’t hear while shopping in Country Stores were filled in by her grandmother’s friends.

It was through them that she’d learned he ran an outreach program helping the local animal shelter and that he actively encouraged the locals to adopt rescued pets rather than going to breeders.

Through them she’d learned that he’d risked his life to lead four horses out of a burning barn and that he’d once done two house calls to check up on a teenage girl whose cat had died.

Seth himself hadn’t told her any of those things, not even in their “one thing” conversations, but that didn’t surprise her. He was a man who did what needed to be done because he believed in it, not because he was trying to impress.

He loved animals, and if there was anything he could do to make their lives better, he was going to do it.

“How old were you when you decided you wanted to be a vet?”

“Eight. I was hiking with my dad and we found this dog tied to a stake in a yard. The owners had moved and not taken him with them. He was skin and bone. Showed no interest in being rescued, but my father rescued him anyway and took him to the animal shelter. I went every day to visit and care for him. I saw what a great job they did. How they coaxed this terrified animal into trusting them. It seemed like magic to me. And I wanted to learn how to do it.” He stroked her hair back from her face. “I never forgot that dog because he taught me something important.”

“Which was?”

“That it’s important to look beyond the superficial. That most behavior comes with a reason.”