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Jason tapped a staccato on the window as the limo coasted down an exit ramp, while next to him, Dara shifted. They left the highway and turned into the brightly lit parking lot of a posh resort flanked by lush green landscaping and flowering trees. Yet something seemed wrong, as Jason pulled his fingers back. It wasn’t the hotel the team manager told him about. “I thought we were staying at the Palm Hotel.”
Next to him Dara frowned. She looked from the resort to the lit towers of the Palm Hotel, far in the distance. “So did I.”
Still, the limo continued, turning into the drop off lane before coming to a stop. Pat stood. “Dara and Jason, this is your stop. The Palm Hotel didn’t have enough space for all of us, so we booked you guys here. Your luggage has already been sent over.”
Dara’s expression immediately turned suspicious, mirroring his own. The team never split up. “But why Jason and me?”
“Why not?” Pat shrugged. “It’s not like you’re sharing a room.”
The flush that spread through Dara was immediate and broad, but he managed to hide his grin, unlike the other players with various flavors of amusement. Pat’s eyes sparkled. Perhaps he was more involved in Dara’s life than she realized. His as well, but while the thought of executives telling him how to live his life bothered him, for some reason this didn’t. Was Pat trying to get them together?
Dara looked like she wanted to argue more, but the entire team was watching. “Okay,” she finally grumbled as she stood up and made her way to the door. Jason followed closely behind.
They jumped into the windy night just as thunder rumbled above. When Dara shivered, he removed his jacket and put it around her. She froze, as if unsure of whether to accept, then mumbled a quick thank you and pulled the far too large garment around her. Jason locked eyes with Pat. Approval burned in the older man’s eyes, and he gave a slight nod.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one with ideas when it came to Dara’s future. Ahead of him, she frowned slightly. Did she know what he was thinking? Planning? With her usual strength, she stood up tall, then sauntered into the warmly lit lobby. Outside her view, he allowed a slow, wide smile. The more he got to know her, the clearer his goal became.
He had no intention of losing.
She couldn’t sleep.
It wasn’t because of the torrential rain bombarding the windows, the thunder rattling the walls or the lightning turning the world into a pyrotechnic wonderland. It wasn’t because of the upcoming games or her work with the team. No, there was another type of storm brewing altogether.
Jason Sterling.
They were locked in their own personal World Series – winner take all – and she was down by five in the ninth. For her the prize was getting him to agree to change, but what was his prize?
Her?
Dara changed the television channel in a futile attempt to distract herself, blinking as Jason’s visage popped up. Was she was starting to imagine him? No, it was a local news interview from the charity ball earlier. Even on the TV he affected her. She turned off the set and threw the remote on the bed.
Dara glanced at the closed door, not the exit but the one that led to the adjoining room. Jason’s room. She hadn’t asked for connecting suites, but someone must have requested it. It didn’t matter who was responsible. It was staying firmly shut.
That didn’t stop her from imagining what Jason was doing on the other side – about a hundred times.
There had to be something that would expel Jason from her mind, or at least take the focus off him for a few minutes. She picked up the hotel brochure. It boasted a 24-hour indoor pool, open even during storms courtesy of a lightning protection system. She didn’t have a swimsuit, but she could grab one at the boutique downstairs, also open around the clock. Feeling marginally better, she grabbed her keys. Maybe a little physical activity could get Jason out of her mind.
Twenty minutes later, Dara looked at herself in the mirror and debated whether he had planned this, too.
How could the tiny neon yellow bikini be the only suit the boutique offered? She’d bought it since she couldn’t jump in the water in her evening gown, but now she was having second thoughts. She turned to the pool that beckoned like a siren from the deep. A replica of an island paradise, it looked more like a rainforest watering hole than a pool. Violet orchids covered shimmering slate, nestled between cascading waterfalls and romantic caves, creating an enchanting atmosphere straight from a fantasy novel. The scent of exotic flowers soothed her senses, and the softly flowing trickle of water calmed her nerves. It was beautiful and all-too-tempting, just like the man she most certainly wasn’t thinking about.
Dara stepped to the pool. No one else was in the water so late at night – so what if the bikini was a little risqué? No one would see it. She descended the rock stairs into the heated waters, sighing softly. This truly was paradise.
In such a warm habitat, her muscles should’ve turned to jelly, but she was still too worked up from earlier. Perhaps some rigorous exercise would work. As soon as she was fully immersed, she started laps. A decent swimmer from her competitive days in high school, she sliced through the liquid lanes, pushing herself as quick as she could go. Thirty minutes later, she felt exhausted but slightly better.
Then she thought of Jason again.
She growled as restlessness once more assailed her, along with the familiar agitation. She could do more laps, but endless swimming would physically drain her, and she needed to be at full strength tomorrow. With a deep breath, she submerged into the crystal waters and journeyed toward the meandering caves. Swimming through the dimly lit passages, calmness finally came. Until…
Someone grabbed her.
Dara screamed as something pulled at her. Fat fingers clutched, snatching her clothing, holding tight. She jumped away from the cave wall, yet she couldn’t go far. The sound of fabric stretching and tearing joined the splashing as she pivoted, now tethered to her captor. Then her assailant came into view.
A rock.
Not a person as hard as a rock, but literally.
A rock.
