Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Roman stood in the silence, the question hanging in the air: "Are you sleeping with me tonight?" He swallowed the immediate answer that sprang to his mind. Irina looked innocent, almost subservient, which raised his suspicions tenfold. Surely, she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Right?
Of course, she didn’t. After he’d explained everything to her earlier, he was certain she was just trying to follow the rules they’d set in place to keep her safe.
He felt a sense of relief that, for once, she seemed to be taking it seriously.
Those slumberous bedroom eyes, though, were nearly his undoing.
She was a potent combination of na?veté and sensuality, and he swore that if he spent a hundred years with her, he could never figure her out. She’d acted like a self-absorbed princess most of the time he’d known her, but there were rare, unguarded moments when he thought he saw the real Irina.
From beneath those long lashes, she eyed him expectantly, and his gut twisted. He didn’t have the heart to kick her out of the bedroom overlooking the ocean. They could figure out the sleeping arrangements later. “Take the one you like. I’ll use the one in the back,” he said.
With a tiny smile, she rolled her suitcase down the hall and shut the door behind her.
He retreated to the second bedroom, changing as quickly as he could, keeping one ear tuned to the opposite side of the house as he did so.
Leaving his clothes on the floor, he tugged on a pair of swim trunks and then headed down the hall.
Noticing Irina’s door was still closed, he stopped in front of the linen closet, pulled out two pool towels, and moved into the living room to wait for her.
The soft pad of footsteps had him lifting his head, and he nearly swallowed his tongue.
He was not at all prepared for Irina in a tiny red bikini.
He’d seen her naked, but somehow this was even more erotic.
The triangular top showed off her figure to perfection, and the skimpy bottoms were slung low over her hips, decorated with a gold chain.
He wanted to grab that chain and yank her close, peel that tiny excuse for a swimsuit off her.
His body reacted, and he felt a surge of desire at the thought of stripping the fabric down her silky-smooth legs, running his hands over her lean muscles and soft curves. He could practically feel her round form filling his palms. He wanted to put his mouth on her, taste her, devour her—
No. No, his brain repeated emphatically. Hands—and mouth—off.
His fingers twitched, and he gritted his teeth against the urge to reach out and touch her. Didn’t she have something more appropriate? Like a one-piece suit? With sleeves?
He knew they made those; he’d seen one in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. He’d thought at the time that it defeated the purpose of wearing a swimsuit at all, but now he was beginning to see the merit of covering every inch of skin.
He clutched the towels in front of him, praying that she wouldn’t see the hard-on pressing eagerly through his shorts. His body’s reaction to her pissed him off, and he squared his shoulders. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
Her smile lit up her entire face, and he forced himself not to smile back. “Good. Let’s go.”
“Okay…” Her brows drew slightly together as she regarded him like he was giving orders to march off to battle instead of just twenty feet outside to the patio.
He opened the door and held it for her as she moved past him, and against his will, his eyes dropped to her bottom. He swallowed hard and forced his gaze away. These next few days were going to be a lot harder than he’d anticipated.
He settled into a chaise lounge beside the pool, and Irina wasted no time slipping into the water.
Sinking beneath the crystal blue surface, she pushed off the wall and glided gracefully to the opposite end.
The pool wasn’t terribly deep; about three-and-a-half feet at the shallow end, the deep end would barely cover the top of her head.
When she reached the far edge of the pool, she turned and swam back toward him.
He glanced from side to side under the pretense of taking in their surroundings, surreptitiously watching Irina from the corners of his eyes.
He was grateful for his sunglasses as she threw a look his way, as if she could feel his stare on her.
Glancing around, he took in the backyard.
It was fenced in and well-maintained, surrounded by lush palm trees that blocked the view from the neighboring homes.
A small rectangular pool took up most of the space, and a tiny grill sat off to one side.
The fence was high enough so that someone walking by couldn’t see over, which was a blessing.
A gate at the far end of the patio opened directly onto the beach, and a small grassy area ran the length of the fence to the left of the pool.
A few minutes later, Irina exited the pool, and he tensed as she settled in the lounge chair right next to his. Droplets of water glistened on her skin, and he watched as one slid over her stomach and down her side. His mouth went dry, and he swallowed hard.
Forcing his gaze and his thoughts away from Irina, he focused on every little sight and sound around him.
Things were still quiet, and it felt like they were secluded in their own little world.
Hopefully, the next two weeks would pass without incident.
All he had to do was keep her corralled near the house.
Of course, with Irina, that was easier said than done.
A half hour later, he heard the soft rumble of an engine approach, and he glanced toward the direction of the street. “I’ll bet that’s our guy.”
“Perfect.” Irina hopped up. “We’ll get the groceries put away, then we can head down to the beach.”
“Not so fast,” he said, catching her arm as she walked by. “I need you to stay out of sight.” For a moment, she looked hurt, and he felt the need to explain. “We need to keep your identity a secret, especially now that we’re here.”
She stared at him for a moment then nodded. “Right.”
He opened the door for her, and Irina headed to her bedroom while he cut across the living room toward the front door. He was two steps away when the knock came, and he peered through the peephole at the young man under the portico.
He opened the door just enough that his body filled the space. “Groceries?”
The young man nodded. “Irina Incardona?”
It was the second time that day her name had been used in conjunction with his, and it still sounded strange. Roman nodded. “That’s us.”
He followed the young man out to his car and helped carry in two cases of water as well as various grocery bags full of items. Once he’d double-checked everything, the young man ran his credit card and finalized the transaction.
Roman had taken one step toward the door when the kid’s voice stopped him.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” The man held out a drugstore bag, and Roman reached for it just as Irina came barreling down the hall.
Clad in a wide-brimmed hat and giant sunglasses, she snatched the bag from the kid’s fingers with a brilliant smile. “I’ll take that. Thank you so much.”
Roman watched in disbelief as she turned abruptly and fled back toward her room.
Shaking off the strangeness of the situation, he turned back to the kid.
The young man remained frozen in place, his eyes glued to Irina’s backside as she moved away from them.
Something settled over Roman when he saw him watching her, and he tensed, every muscle in his body going completely rigid.
He cleared his throat hard, and the kid jumped, his gaze snapping back to Roman’s.
“I, uh… Thank you, sir.”
He bolted for the front door, and Roman locked up behind him with a slight shake of his head. He seriously doubted the kid had recognized her in her crazy beach get-up. More than likely it was just seeing Irina in a swimsuit that had scrambled the kid’s brain.
Truth to tell, Roman didn’t blame him one bit, because she did the same thing to him.