Racing the Hunter's Moon (Entangled Bliss) by Sally Clements

pillow. Her lips were pink. Their remembered softness drew him. His hand hovered over her bare shoulder before he pulled it back, closed his eyes, and swallowed. It had taken everything he had to climb out of bed, dress, and go outside.
    In the past, running had been a cure for most of his ills. Once his muscles started to pound the grass, and his breath evened out, he usually lost himself in the rhythm, pushed out thought, and let his mind roam free. Not this time.
    Every step was a step away from her. He’d even tried to think of Charmers, to turn his mind on to the matter at hand, the task he had to do. But where once that would have been enough to consume him, it was no longer. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her she’d bewitched him—she’d moved into his head and taken permanent residence. Even the ache of her deception was impossible to reclaim.
    He’d run for an hour. Had pushed his body to its limits in the cool morning air. And still, clear, concise thought was beyond him.
    Joe rubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he quietly opened the door to his room. She wasn’t there. A check of the bathroom revealed no trace. He breathed in deep, catching a trace of her in the air. Then went to shower.
    It was almost nine when he tapped on her door. There was no answer, so he went downstairs. Breakfast was being served in a glass-walled conservatory with a stunning view of the violet mountains.
    She sat alone at a table, with a large French press of coffee and a huge breakfast before her.
    “Hi.”
    She looked up and smiled. “I wondered where you’d gotten to.” There was no censure in her tone, no edge to her words. Her smile was genuine. “This breakfast is to die for.”
    “It looks like it might kill you by clogging up your arteries.”
    She picked up a piece of crispy bacon and bit it. “Feel free to order the oatmeal then. Me? I’m all for dying happy.”
    He pulled out a chair. She tapped the side of her face. “What, no kiss?”
    Obediently, he leaned over and brought his lips to her cheek. “I got the keys back to Leonora,” she whispered. “They’re over there…don’t look.”
    So the kiss was for show. He sat and picked up the menu, shaking off a totally crazy sensation of disappointment that they seemed to be back at square one. Further on in the investigation, but acting as though the night before, the night that he’d thought would change things, had never happened.
    …
    She wouldn’t have pegged him as a granola man. As Joe ate, Betty mentally patted herself on the back for managing to keep it together.
    “I went for an early-morning run,” Joe said.
    She wasn’t surprised—a body like his didn’t just happen; it made sense that he worked at it. “I just went with the early-morning snooze. So I guess we’re all set for today. For, you know…” She shifted her glance to Charmers without moving her head.
    “Yeah, we’re all set.” He grinned. “You definitely watch too many cop shows.”
    “Are you saying I’m not subtle?” Warmth spread through her at the look in his eyes. The same look that had been in them in the quiet of the night. An intimate, private look that effectively made the rest of the room recede. For a long moment, she just lived. Just breathed. Didn’t question or run potential future scenarios as she had been all morning. Just let it be.
    “Your eggs are getting cold.”
    She pushed her plate away. “I couldn’t eat another bite.”
    Around them, the room was beginning to thin out. Joe finished his breakfast and drained his coffee cup. “I guess it’s time to go.”

    Plotting the course from the new route book onto the map was much easier the second time around. The first time she’d done it, she’d been fretting about how much time she had to do it, but confidence swelled inside as she deftly marked the map.
    As yesterday, Joe stood to one side with the other drivers as the navigators worked on this essential first element of their