Page 17 of The Problem with Playboys

“You have to get in. The water feels amazing.”

“You’re right. I should.” Chloe swished her feet in the pool. Part of her was scared. She felt like she was perched on the precipice between wise decisions and bad ones. She was tired of being good though. She did it every day, all day long. Week in, week out.

Parker flicked a few drops of water at her, which hit her calves and knees. “Come on. You earned it. I’m not going to take no for an answer. So here we go.” He pulled at the tie on his board shorts and before she really knew what was happening, he was tugging them down his hips and stepping out of them. He balled up the garment, squeezed it and chucked it up on to the pool deck. It landed with a wet thump. The water level was right at his waist and Chloe couldn’t see him completely, but she could detect the outline of his trim hips, and simply the knowledge of his nakedness was a turn on. She was far more aware now of the need between her legs. The hunger for Parker.

He waded in deeper, making his way toward her. “I promise that whatever it is that you’re hiding under that skirt and blouse, I’ve seen it all before.”

She looked down at him. “I’m absolutely sure of that.”

“Actually, I don’t mean it that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve already imagined what you look like without your clothes on. So I’ve practically seen you naked. At least in my head.”

Heat flamed on her cheeks. “You have not.”

“Are you kidding me? I imagined it from the first time I saw you get out of that car and I got a glimpse of your thighs.” Mischief glinted in his eyes.

A breathless groan left her lips. Why was it so sexy to know he’d thought of her that way? That he’d wanted her bad enough to close his eyes and imagine her without her clothes? “Only once?” She was proud of herself for being so bold and flirtatious. It was so unlike her.

“Fine. More than once.” He shrugged it off. “If we’re being honest here.”

“Oh.”

“So, a swim?”

Chloe bit down on her lower lip, allowing herself to make eye contact with him. The connection between them was instantaneous, and just thinking about him fantasizing about her? It only made her want him more. Was there any reason for her to not do this? Of course. But she also saw zero harm in being daring. Of giving in to what she wanted rather than constantly denying her wants. Her needs. She and Parker were all alone in this beautiful house. No one would ever have to know what happened between them. “Yes.” She got up from her perch and started for her bedroom. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but it wasn’t nerves. It was exhilaration at the prospect of letting loose.

“You’d better be coming back,” he called.

“You’d better be quiet,” she said in return, flitting across the patio to her room. Inside, she unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor as she fumbled with the buttons on her blouse. But as soon as she got that far, something got stuck in her throat. There was part of her that really wanted to be the woman who could boldly walk back out there without a stitch. But that wasn’t her. As polished and confident as she worked to be, there were a few well-hidden insecurities inside her. So she kept to her underwear—an exquisite black lace bra and matching panties. She’d ordered the set online, direct from the design house in Paris that Taylor had told her about. It wasnotswimwear. And it wasn’t like she was covering up. She was about to get into a pool with a man she was fairly certain she could not resist, Parker, while wearing expensive French lingerie.

And even crazier, he wasn’t wearing anything at all.

When she stepped outside, he was waiting for her, standing in the pool with the water just barely to his waist, eyes trained on her bedroom door. He didn’t say a thing, leading her to read his face for clues as to what he was thinking. It felt horribly unfair. It played on every insecurity she’d never been able to shake.

But then he smiled and a breathy laugh escaped his lips. “I’d tell you that you’re cheating if you didn’t look so damn sexy.”

She dipped her foot into the warm water and lowered it to the first step. “Is this nuts?”

“Absolutely.” He flicked some water at her with the tips of his fingers. “So get wet already.”

He was right. She was overthinking this. So she dived under the surface and swam past him, but he caught up to her quickly, his body brushing up against hers as they came up for air. The water was deep enough that she had to hop back and forth on her toes to keep her head above the surface, but he seemed to be flat-footed on the bottom. They both were a bit breathless, so close that she swore she could see his heart beat against his chest.

“Just when I think I have you figured out, Chloe, you surprise me.”

“I said I’d get in the pool and here I am.”

“True. But you didn’t tell me you were going to entice me by showing up in such a seductive outfit. Now I couldn’t be any happier that you forgot your swimsuit.”

“I’m not as brave as you, Parker. I couldn’t just walk out here stark naked.”

He inched closer. “I think you are brave.”

She wasn’t so sure about that, but she was sure of one thing—every second they spent talking was a second wasted. She reached out and grasped his shoulders, and the next thing she knew, his hands were at her rib cage and her feet were no longer on the pool floor. His mouth descended on hers, a kiss that instantly felt naughty and indulgent, as she took what she wanted, her tongue exploring and tasting him. He reached down and grabbed her ass in his hands, squeezing hard and lifting her until his hard length grazed her center and her stomach was against his chest. She wrapped up his shoulders with her arms, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

He began walking them toward the shallow end. “I don’t care that this is crazy, Parker. I want you.” Her voice was a desperate starved-for-breath gasp.