More Than One Night

She had one night with a marine

And now she’s in command

A one-night stand so incredible, Jill Davis couldn’t forget. Memories so delectable, they sustained Sam Hawker through his final tour. Three years later, Jill is unexpectedly face-to-face with her legendary marine lover. And it’s clear their chemistry is like gas and a match. Except Sam is her newest employee. That means hands off, sister! Except maybe...just this once? Ooh-rah!

HEATHERLY BELL tackled her first book in 2004 and now the characters that occupy her mind refuse to leave until she writes them a book. She loves all music but confines singing to the shower these days. Heatherly lives in Northern California with her family, including two beagles—one who can say hello and the other a princess who can feel a pea through several pillows.

Also by Heatherly Bell

Wildfire Ridge

More than One Night

Heroes of Fortune Valley

Breaking Emily’s RulesAirman to the RescueThis Baby Business

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

More than One Night

Heatherly Bell

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09134-3

MORE THAN ONE NIGHT

© 2019 Maria F. Buscher

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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“I’m here to make sure you don’t screw up.”

“Thank you.” She pressed her forehead to his. “But...you and me. That could screw things up. For me.”

With no words to make his case, he kept quiet, because she was right. More than she could have known. In his current condition, he’d ruin her. Just drag her down into the dark depths with him.

All her optimism and exuberance would be gone. And that would kill him.

“Unless it’s just one more time.”

Again, he thought perhaps words were going to get in his way at this point. Especially when he liked where this was headed.

“Sam?”

Great, now he was going to have to say something that might possibly risk this. “Right there with you.”

“So, you agree? One more time? Just to see if—”

“If it was a fluke.”

“Right. Because maybe it was that night, or the mojitos, or the city, or the fact that we were both lonely.”

He knew it was none of those things. Not for him. “Sure. We could tell ourselves that.”

“Or we could find out. For sure.”

* * *

WELCOME TO WILDFIRE RIDGE!

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Wildfire Ridge and the romance between two soul mates who might have never seen each other again after one special night. But fate, or kismet, whichever you prefer, intervenes and throws these two together again.

Jill is a secondary character from This Baby Business, so engaging and entertaining that I knew I’d have to tell her story. I love writing about strong women, and Jill Davis is just that. She’s the CEO of her own company, confident and capable. But when her one-night stand shows up to work for her company, she’s not certain how to react. She’ll never turn away a military man in need of a job, but it’s going to be a challenge to be around Sam and keep it professional.

Sam Hawker is a former US marine in need of a job, but he’s surprised to find his boss is the woman who got him through a very difficult time based on the memory of one single night. Because Sam needs far more than a job, even if he won’t admit it.

I hope you enjoy this first book in the Wildfire Ridge series as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Heatherly Bell

To

Sergeant David Mock, USAF, WWII 1943–1946

and

Tim Buscher

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Note to self: should you ever again decide to hang the American flag on a rusty old pole, do not wear shorts when doing so. Definitely going on her long list of “Things to Never Do Again.”

Stuck. She was 100 percent stuck. Story of her life.

Jill Davis clung to the metal pole on which she’d hung the flag, eyeing the ladder that had toppled to the ground with a mixture of longing and plain old disgust. Her legs were wrapped tightly around the pole, her arms clinging like it was the last box of shoes on clearance at Macy’s.

It was a beautiful late spring day in Fortune, California, the sun shining brightly, the temperature in the mild and comfortable midseventies. Hence the shorts, which had seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so much now.

She could shimmy down the pole, but she’d likely cut up her inner thighs doing so. Someone would come along soon. She was almost sure of it. Her new employees would be showing up in a couple of hours. Big, strong and brawny veterans from Home at Last, the nonprofit veterans employment placement agency. She had a lot of work ahead for them if she ever expected to get Wildfire Ridge’s Outdoor Adventures ready to open in a month’s time.

She should have probably waited for them to show up and had one of them raise the flag. That would have made sense. Instead, she’d had the grand idea that she wanted them to enter onto the grounds of Wildfire Ridge and be welcomed at once by the majestic American flag.

And now she was stuck.

At first, she heard only a deep rumbling sound in the distance. But when Jill turned, from her unique bird’s-eye view she caught a puff of dust kicked up by a motorcycle headed up the small dry dirt road that led to their entrance. Salvation in the form of a Hell’s Angel? No matter, she’d take it. Jill blew out a breath. She was probably going to look a little silly up here. But hey, it wouldn’t be the first time in her life she’d been left hanging. See? She still had her sense of humor intact.

The motorcycle was definitely headed her way, picking up speed as it rounded the curve. She hadn’t expected any of the four men to arrive for a couple of hours, so this might be someone else entirely. Someone curious about Wildfire Ridge. Ever since she’d been dealing with the city council, and the various hoops they made her jump through on a regular basis, curious residents would drive up the hill known for wildfires from time to time to see how much progress she’d made.

This motorcycle rider, he or she, was probably a bit of an adrenaline junkie, being that they rode a motorcycle. Her perfect client. When the place was open and running, they’d be providing plenty of extreme sports and activities for the Silicon Valley set.

The motorcycle slowed and the rider’s helmet tipped up, seemingly to take in the view. Now Jill could see that the rider was definitely a man. He was built like a running back, tall, with long legs that slid from the motorcycle after he shut it off. The scuffed black leather boots he wore thudded against the hard ground. He still wore his helmet so she couldn’t get a good look at his face. Even so, she heard the smile in his voice.

“Hey...what’s up?”

“That’s funny. Would you mind giving me a hand, please?”

It only took him a second to right the ladder and place it close to the pole. He held it steady with both hands while she reached for it and made her way down one rung at a time. She felt a little self-conscious the closer she got to him, as she realized that from his position he was getting a real good look at her bottom. Not to mention her bare legs. Good thing she regularly tortured herself at the gym. But as soon as she got Outdoor Adventures open, she was going to do all the fun kinds of exercises like hiking and zip-lining, along with everyone else.

Anyway, what should she care what this guy thought of her butt? She couldn’t answer that, except for the fact that she liked the way he walked. There was something so familiar about it and... Dare she say it? Sexy. Unfortunately, that was probably more of a testament to the fact that she’d been celibate for three years, so every man was beginning to look good to her. Even this easy rider dude.

He still hadn’t taken that damned helmet off, which gave him a bit of a storm trooper look. On second thought, more of a Darth Vader look, seeing that he was dressed all in black. The only thing missing was the cape. If he started to sound raspy and out of breath, she was going to scream.

On the last rung, she turned to thank Darth Vader. “I really appreciate this.”

“What the hell? Angelina?” He pulled his helmet off to reveal a gorgeous head of dark blond hair and a set of bright blue eyes she’d never managed to forget.

“Chris?”

He grinned, slow and easy. “My real name is Sam.”

For a moment, Jill couldn’t take in a breath. Her Chris. She’d given him that name and asked him to call her Angelina. Her one-and-only one-night stand from three years ago. San Francisco. Too many mojitos. A Marine on leave. Jill, far too patriotic for her own good. One night. It wasn’t supposed to follow her into her carefully arranged life. She coughed, a choking sound.

He squinted. “Are you okay there?”

She didn’t speak for a moment, simply nodded. “My real name is Jill.”

“I’m going to guess that you’re Jill Davis, owner of Wildfire Ridge’s Outdoor Adventures.”

Jill found her voice, weak as it sounded to her now. “And you must be Sam Hawker, my new employee.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Jill had “Chris,” aka Sam Hawker, in her office trailer filling out paperwork. W-2 forms, emergency contact forms. As he straddled the chair, she flashed back to the night three years ago, when she’d straddled him.

Oh boy.

Humiliating. The only time she’d ever taken such a huge risk with a guy, and now she had to be his boss. She wasn’t sure how this could work, unless she put some parameters in place. No way would she turn a Marine in need of a job away. But if they were going to be working together and getting this place into shape, they were going to have to forget... Something.

“Um...want some coffee?”

He glanced up, his lips twitching into a smile. “Sure.”

“How do you like it?” She’d had wild monkey sex with the man and didn’t know how he liked his coffee.

So wrong.

“Hot.”

Well, she could have guessed that. She poured him a mug of black coffee and set it down next to him. He slid over his emergency contact form, blank. “There’s no emergency contact.”

“Why not? That’s usually where you put in family. Like a...spouse or significant other.” She slid it back to him.

“Nope.” He slid it back. “No spouse. No significant other.”

“What about parents? You have those?”

“Yeah. They’re not my emergency contacts.”

In-te-res-ting. The tone in his voice told her it was a subject best left for another lifetime.

“What should I do if something happens to you?”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m apparently hard to kill.”

She swallowed hard and pointed to the form. “I think I need to put something here.”

“Call 911 if something happens.” He lifted a shoulder.

“Okay.” She made a note, feeling silly. Of course she’d call 911. But wasn’t there anyone who’d care to know if he was hurt?

He took a gulp of his coffee and set it down, then stretched his arms out and she nearly drooled as muscles bunched up under his black tee. She had a distinct memory of those muscles. Muscle memory. That was a thing, she understood, just not the way she was thinking about it.

She cleared her throat. “I think we need to talk about it.”

He set his pen down and leaned back, those deep blue eyes studying her. “Might be best.”

“I mean, we’re grown-ups here. Nothing to be ashamed of, yada yada.”

“Agreed.”

“But if we’re going to be working together... I’m your boss. So we should talk about how that’s never going to happen again.”

“Huh.”

“What does that mean? Is that a ‘yes’ huh, as in you agree?”

“With the way you’ve been staring at my ass, I thought you were going to go another way with that.”

“I have not been staring at your...butt!”

“A little bit.” He held his finger and thumb about an inch apart and sent her an easy smile.

“Okay, fine! But no more than you’ve been staring at mine.”

“I won’t deny it.”

“Let me see if I can explain this to you. Do you know those bands that have one big hit and you never hear from them again? Kind of like all they had in them was one really fantastic song. And then—poof! That was the end of it.”

“I see where you’re going with this.”

“We’re a one-hit wonder.”

“I’m going to have to disagree with you there. What you’re forgetting is that a lot of the time those bands keep playing their music for their true fans. Great songs. Maybe no more hits because no one else hears about it. But believe me, their fans are enjoying the music.”

Her face flushed. “I can’t enjoy your...music. Not anymore.”

“If that’s how you want it.”

“That’s how it has to be.” She picked up a set of keys. “You can finish the paperwork later. Let me show you to your trailer.”

He picked up his duffel bag and followed her out the door. She led him to the section of live-in housing trailers she’d set up for the men. Unlocking the trailer, she climbed up the few steps.

“This is the biggest trailer. Might as well give it to you since you got here first. As you know, all you men have housing while we get the park ready to open. Meals included. You should have everything you need in here. If you need anything else, let me know. I’m in the office all day and even some nights.” She took a breath. “By the way, I wanted the flag to be flying when you all arrived.”

He quirked a brow. “Thanks.”

“Okay.” She moved to the door, ready to go. “You just get settled. We’ll have our first meeting tomorrow morning bright and early.”

She’d no sooner shut the door and headed down the steps than he opened it again. “Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“What do you I call you? Jill? Boss? Ms. Davis? Angelina?”

“Jill is fine.”

“Jill, thanks for the job.”

And with that he shut his door.

Chapter Two

Sam Hawker might be a man of few words, and granted, he was often at a loss for them around beautiful women, but today? He had a few: dayum, for starters. Angelina’s real name was Jill; she was now his boss; and how the hell did he get so lucky?

She smiled and then she was off, those long legs walking in the direction of her office trailer.

He shut his trailer door and took another look at his surroundings. This trailer with a small kitchen, wood cabinets and table, bathroom and cot in the back was more than he needed.

When he’d been hired through Home at Last to work for a woman named Jill who needed experienced hikers and guides for her outdoor adventure company, it sounded like the perfect job for him. The organization was an employment agency but because it focused solely on hiring veterans, Sam couldn’t shake the feeling it felt like more “thanks for a job well done.” He’d had enough thanks from well-meaning civilians. But since leaving the Marine Corps, he’d had trouble holding down a job. He’d dabbled in construction, done some roofing and a little welding. Nothing steady. He’d been feeling a little self-destructive for a time, searching for the hardest physical challenge possible, to make him feel accomplished. And nothing ever seemed physically punishing enough.

Just when he’d begun to wonder if he’d ever adjust to civilian life again and lead a normal life, this job had come up through the agency. The owner and operator wanted guides to take groups of clients on challenging hikes, zip-lining, rock climbing and wakeboarding at the lake. Sounded like a paid vacation to Sam.

He’d never expected, nor could he have expected, to run into the one woman who’d managed to get him through some of the roughest times of his life, both during and after deployments. Nights when he didn’t care whether he lived or died.

She just didn’t know it, nor would she ever. But he remembered her.

Unfortunately for him, far too well for a woman who would now be his boss. He had a distinct memory of the way she tasted, sweet and juicy as a peach in September. Of the way she’d moved in a steady and pulsating rhythm with him all night, not missing a beat, as if she, too, couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t go fast enough or hard enough. She’d given him the single most erotic night of his life.

And now she was his boss.

* * *

Late that afternoon, after the rest of her employees had been checked in and filled out their paperwork, Jill took a break from permits and W-2s and occasionally staring at Sam’s butt. She drove the short distance into town to meet her two best friends, Carly and Zoey, at The Drip. A few years ago, all three of them had worked at the coffee shop together, enjoying three o’clock dance-offs and plenty of gossip. But now Zoey had taken over her aunt’s pet store. Pimp Your Pet was doing well these days, and Zoey was rarely away from the store or a pet. Right now, her large rescue, Boo, a Great Dane, sat like a horse just outside The Drip. He had the patience of a Saint Bernard.

Carly had sold her mother’s baby supplies and clothing company last year and now worked at home designing baby clothes. She was married to the walking Viagra for women, local pilot Levi Lambert. The angel currently bouncing on her knee was his baby daughter, Grace.

Jill had only stopped working the occasional shift here two months ago when all the funding had gone through for the park. She had several investors that truly believed in her vision and were counting on her to make them their next million.

No pressure.

Everyone had careers, and Jill was well on her way, to either a major success or a major disaster. Her scientist parents and big brother, Ryan, thought she was nuts. And, she had to admit, Wildfire Ridge had been a huge undertaking with a chance at an equally spectacular fail. But with her organizational skills and inability to take shit from anybody, Jill was one month away from making her dream come true.

She just hoped there would be no complications with Chris, er, Sam.

When he’d flashed her that easy grin, she had to admit she thought about their one night together. A lot. She was thinking about it so much it was hard to let another thought into her head. And if she couldn’t talk about this to her two best friends in the world, who could she talk to?

“Remember the Chris sighting three years ago in San Francisco?” Jill said.

“How could I forget?” Carly took a sugar packet away from Grace. “You talked about it for weeks.”

“That was the last Chris sighting until Levi came around,” Zoey said.

On one particularly long and boring afternoon at The Drip when they all still worked together, after their three o’clock dance off, Jill had devised a complicated scale for rating men. It was called the Chris Scale because the mean was based on all the well-known Chrises: Pratt, Evans, Pine, Hemsworth. For a man to rate high on the scale meant he’d passed the mean. This was a big deal, naturally, as the mean was already high. Not that she thought all men had to offer were their looks, far from it. But the Chris Scale was, to this date, the only way she liked doing math.