Best of Desire. Оливия Гейтс

Which only made him more determined to ignore the feelings, the temptations racing through him.

      She was now officially his employee and he wouldn’t take advantage of the situation. A man had to have rules of conduct for himself, or he was nothing. Besides, he wasn’t the kind of man to allow a woman into his life and Daisy was in no way the one-night-stand kind of female. She had “commitment” stamped all over her. All he had to do was look into her eyes and he could practically see a white picket fence and 2.5 kids—not to mention her idiot dog.

      Jericho eased away from her, despite the reluctance nagging at him. He wasn’t going to step into a bear trap and he wasn’t going to indulge himself and hurt her. So he’d just keep his distance whatever it took and hope that she got over this whim of hers to live on the mountain.

      “Daisy!” His voice was sharper than it should have been, but even as he thought that, he figured it was just as well. He didn’t want her getting attached to him because nothing good would come of it.

      “Huh? What?” She rolled over, the dog yipped and shot up to all four feet while Daisy was still blinking sleep out of her eyes. “What’s going on? It’s dark.”

      “Almost dawn,” he corrected, giving one quick look at the already-lightening sky. “Time to get moving.”

      “Right,” she said, nodding as she pushed herself into a sitting position. “I’ll fix breakfast and then we can—”

      “We’re going now,” he told her. No more cozy meals, just the two of them over a dancing fire. “There’s trail mix in my pack. You can eat on the way.”

      “Ooh, yummy,” she murmured dryly, scrubbing both hands over her face. “Why the hurry?”

      He looked down at her. Eyes slumberous, hair tangled and falling about her face, lips full and all too tempting. She was the damn hurry, he thought angrily. Being alone with her was turning into a lesson in torture. One he, thankfully, didn’t have to put up with. He’d just get her back to the lodge, let her settle in and from now on, he’d make sure he was never alone with her. Safer all the way around.

      His body didn’t agree, but it would just have to find a way to deal with disappointment.

      “Test is over,” he said shortly, going down on one knee to stuff supplies into his pack. “Time to get back to work.”

      “Okay…” She pushed to her feet and Nikki trotted to Jericho’s side, sat beside him and leaned against his thigh. “I’ll just…”

      He paused in his packing, shot her a look and nodded. “Fine. Go take care of things, but hurry it up.”

      While Daisy stepped into the forest for some privacy, Jericho looked down at the little dog snuggling in close to him. “You and your mistress are turning out to be a real pain in the ass.” When the dog only huffed out a contented sigh, Jericho scowled at it. “You’re not going to get to me though, either of you.”

      * * *

      “Anyone want seconds?” Daisy asked, lifting the cast-iron skillet temptingly.

      Firelight danced across her features, highlighting her grin and making her look more beautiful than Jericho had ever seen her.

      “Count me in,” Max Stuben, CEO of a furniture dynasty, spoke up, holding his plate out. “Daisy, after seeing what you can do over a campfire, I have half a mind to go home and shoot my chef.”

      She laughed, delighted, then said, “A little extreme, Max, but I appreciate the compliment. Jericho and I like to keep our clients happy, don’t we?”

      When she looked up at him, Jericho couldn’t help smiling back. Damned if the woman hadn’t charmed every one of his clients.

      Harry Morrison, bank president, added, “I’m impressed with how well you handle yourself out on the trail, Daisy. Why, if my wife were here, she’d be complaining about everything. You seem to love it.”

      Jericho slid a glance to watch her reaction. She was the least likely woman ever to enjoy being on the mountain, yet she seemed to be doing just that.

      “Well, at King Adventure, we really go out of our way to make sure all of our employees are capable of doing everything we ask of our clients. Isn’t that right, Jericho?” She looked over at him, a wide smile still on her face.

      “That’s right,” he said, remembering her own tests and how determined she had been to win.

      “And maybe,” Daisy said to Harry, “your wife wouldn’t complain as much if she felt more support.”

      Chagrined, Harry just shrugged off the comment and Jericho had to hand it to her. She’d very nicely defended a woman she’d never met.

      “When you’re finished there, we’ll clean up and sack out,” Jericho said. “We’ll be getting an early start in the morning.”

      “Slave driver,” Max muttered good-naturedly.

      “You have no idea,” Daisy said with a laugh. Then she picked up a few things and carried them down to the water’s edge.

      Jericho followed after her and when he stopped by her side, she said, “I think it’s going well, don’t you?”

      “Yeah, it is. How are you doing?”

      “Great!” When he just looked at her, though, she shrugged and said, “Okay, I admit, I don’t love the trail as much as you do, but I can do this.”

      “You don’t have to, you know. You can work at the lodge without making these trips.”

      She scrubbed at one of the plates and when it was clean to her satisfaction, she set it on a towel and picked up the next one. “I want to show you that I can do this.”

      “You don’t have anything left to prove, Daisy.”

      “Maybe,” she said, “but it’s important to me to carry my own weight.”

      “You treat these guys any better and they’re going to be trying to hire you away.”

      She laughed a little. “Max already offered to back me in opening my own restaurant. But I think he was kidding.”

      Frowning, Jericho glanced back at the men sitting beside the fire. “I’m not so sure.”

      Daisy stood up and laid one hand on his forearm. “No worries, Jericho. I’m exactly where I want to be.”

      She picked up the clean dishes and walked toward camp, leaving Jericho staring after her. The problem here was, Daisy was exactly where he wanted to be, too.

      * * *

      Only two weeks had passed, and Jericho was a man possessed. He spent most days doing everything he could to avoid being around Daisy. But it seemed that no matter what, she found a way to be near him. Her scent clung to the air of the main house. Every breath he drew reminded him of her.

      Her laughter rang out and his ears were attuned for the sound, even from rooms away. The meals she prepared were raved about and even their clients, the fussy lawyers and busy bureaucrats, were charmed by her.

      He couldn’t even escape her at night. His dreams were full of her. And the knowledge that her room was only three doors down the hall from his plagued his mind constantly.

      Her dog wasn’t helping the situation any, either. Ever since he’d found the little thing that last night in the forest, the poodle had officially adopted him. He could hardly take a step without watching first where he set his boot, afraid he’d crush the damn thing. He’d taken plenty of ribbing about his newfound friend from the other guys, too. Hell, he’d often thought about getting a dog himself, but his plans hadn’t included a dog so small it could sit on the palm of his hand.

      “Is there a reason you look like you want to bite through a brick?”

      Jericho came up out of his dark thoughts with a fierce