Chapter 10 #3
She decided to go back to her room, but for a moment she stood and watched him.
His arms were stretched out along the lip of the Jacuzzi and his broad chest moved rhythmically as warm water foamed and splashed against his taut belly.
Droplets of water clinging to the pelt of his chest hair winked in the light from a nearby gas lantern.
Desire eddied through her, but it wasn’t just the sight of his naked torso that stirred her senses.
It wasn’t even the memory of his kiss, although that played a part.
But physical beauty and sensuality wouldn’t have captured her imagination if she hadn’t witnessed the courage with which he’d faced whatever trials she’d thrown at him since his arrival yesterday. He’d responded just like... a cowboy.
Perhaps he’d make a good owner of the ranch, after all. But he would be the owner, and he didn’t believe in compromising his business relationships with personal involvement. She thought it was a wise strategy, herself. She turned to leave the patio.
“Don’t go.”
She stopped in midstride.
“I owe you an apology.”
She swung back, astonished. “ You owe me an apology? How do you figure?”
He’d lifted his head from the towel and gazed at her. “I lost control at least twice today. I shouldn’t have dunked you in the horse trough, for one thing.”
“I probably had it coming.” Her heart pummeled her ribs. “Nobody likes to be laughed at.”
He gave her a wry grin. “That doesn’t excuse my assaulting you... in the pond.”
She wondered if he considered the tackle an assault, or the kiss. Whichever it was, she didn’t think they were wise to discuss the incident. “Never mind. I don’t hold grudges.”
“Good. Because I have a favor to ask.” He braced his hands on the edge of the Jacuzzi and lifted himself upward, so he sat with only his feet dangling in the water.
His trunks were very brief and very wet.
“I noticed you have a fax in your office. I’d like to use it in the morning, if you don’t mind. I’ll cover the charges.”
Freddy gulped and glanced away. “No problem. I have some errands to run in Tucson tomorrow, so I won’t be working in there, anyway.”
“I see. If my being out here now makes you uncomfortable, I’ll go in and let you have the patio to yourself,” he said.
She focused on his face and tried to ignore the Chippendale image he presented lounging on the lip of the Jacuzzi. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I agree. We can’t work together very well if you run every time I show up.”
“I wasn’t?—”
“You would have left the patio if I hadn’t called you back.” He got to his feet. “Do you want the hot tub? I’m ready for a swim.”
The last thing she needed was warm, swirling water to stir her senses even more. “I was planning on a swim, myself.”
“Think we can share the pool?”
“Of course.” She tossed her towel on a chaise, took the pins from her hair and executed a shallow dive into the illuminated water.
The cool shock of the water was like a brisk slap in the face, one she probably needed.
She swam under the surface to the deep end and glided up beside the diving board.
She glanced around to locate Ry, and her breath caught.
He stood in the arch behind the waterfall like some Polynesian god, the golden accent lights caressing his muscles as he braced for the dive, pushed cleanly through the cascading water and jack-knifed into the pool.
He came up next to her, his hair darkened with water, his eyes seeming to mirror the turquoise blue of the pool. “Want to race?”
She’d do anything that would distract her from the sight of his virile body. “Okay.”
“Four lengths of the pool. I’ll give you a head start.”
“Nothing doing.”
“I should have guessed.” He hooked both hands over the side and faced the shallow end. She followed suit. “On three,” he said. “One, two, three !”
Freddy pushed off, but his counting reminded her of pulling his pants off, which reminded her of massaging ointment into his thighs, which reminded her of what she was trying so hard to forget.
She swam, determined to break the languorous hold of her forbidden passions.
He pulled ahead, and she redoubled her efforts.
She’d taken trophies in school for the Australian crawl.
But she was racing an athlete, she remembered, as he lengthened his lead. And what did it matter, this silly race? After it was over, she could go inside, having proven she could handle close encounters of the sensual kind with Ry McGuinnes.
On his last lap, near the middle of the pool, he went down.
She saw the water close over his head and immediately thought he’d had a leg cramp.
It would be logical after all he’d been through today.
Concerned, she dived for the bottom, following the trail of bubbles.
The pool was nine feet deep near the drain.
He could drown if she weren’t here to haul him out.
She reached him and grabbed his shoulders.
He grabbed back and pulled her toward him.
She struggled, thinking he was going to drown them both.
She wasn’t strong enough to break away. He drew her closer, despite her efforts to push him back.
Then, just before their bodies entwined, she saw his smile.
Light-headed from lack of breath, she held on as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed from the bottom of the pool. As they shot upward, he captured her mouth in a dizzying kiss of conquest.
They burst to the surface, and he threw back his head but didn’t release her.
She gulped in air just before they slipped beneath the water again and he reclaimed her, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth.
The liquid kiss as they sank to the bottom of the pool made her mind spin and her body thump with need.
Sanity deserted her and she wrapped her legs around his hips to press shamelessly against his arousal.
This time when he pushed them to the surface, he kept one arm around her and used the other to maneuver them to the side of the pool.
“You’re crazy,” she whispered, starting to disentangle her legs.
“You’re right.” One arm anchored them to the side of the pool, the other kept her close. His blue gaze burned into hers. “You’re absolutely right.”
Her heart thundered in her ears. “And I’m as bad as you are.”
“You looked beautiful tonight. Was that for me?” When she didn’t answer, his gaze searched hers. “I keep trying to put you out of my mind, Freddy, but then I see you again, looking so kissable, and all my resolutions go out the window.”
She could barely breathe. “But we agreed this would be a mistake.”
He tightened his grip. “Then why does it feel so right to hold you?”
Her resistance ebbed as her body melded with his. “You should let me go,” she whispered.
“I know.” He leaned closer for another kiss.
A cough from the shadows invaded the sensual mood.
“What was that?” Freddy asked, her eyes probing the area around the pool.
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“Well, I did.” She pushed him gently away. “And even if I didn’t, someone could come along at any time.”
He reached for her. “Then we’ll go somewhere more private.”
“No.” She was in control again. “You were right when you said we shouldn’t get involved. It’s too risky... for both of us.”
The flame slowly faded in his blue eyes and he sighed. “Then I guess you’d better go in. For obvious reasons, I’m staying in the water a while longer.”
Her arms trembled as she hoisted herself out of the water. Without looking back, she retrieved her towel and hairpins, slipped into her sandals and left the patio. She’d done some difficult things in her life, and leaving Ry tonight ranked up there as one of the toughest choices she’d ever made.