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Accustomed to getting up early for work, Madison was wide awake at six-thirty Friday morning. As tired as she’d been the night before, she was rather surprised to wake fully recharged and ready to go.
The vans to the dude ranch were scheduled to leave at nine. Judging from how quiet the halls were outside her room, she would bet most of the other wedding guests were sleeping off last night’s party, perhaps planning room service breakfasts before gathering in the lobby as BiBi had instructed. A breakfast buffet was served downstairs for hotel guests, but Madison wasn’t hungry yet. She was in the habit of going for an early run before breakfast.
A quick check of hotel amenities let her know a gym was available for guests, along with two indoor pools—one for swimming laps, the other designed for family use. Deciding she’d swim a few laps in lieu of her run, she donned the simple black suit she’d brought with her, covered it with a T-shirt and yoga pants and slid her feet into sandals. Pulling her honey-blond hair into a loose ponytail, she tucked her key card into her smartphone case and carried it with her as she headed for the elevator.
Waiting for the car to arrive, she found her thoughts drifting to the man she had met last night, and whom she would be seeing again on today’s outing to the ranch. Jason had been devastatingly handsome in his dashing costume, but she’d bet he looked just as delicious in jeans and boots. She was definitely looking forward to finding out.
Thinking of spending more time with him filled her with such anticipation that she couldn’t help feeling a bit like a giddy schoolgirl. It was a nice feeling, she decided, one she hadn’t felt in much too long. She was long overdue for a fun flirtation. It was good for her to stay in practice, she thought with a quiet laugh.
Because it was so early, she encountered only a few industrious souls heading for the workout room. The lap pool was across the hall from the gym. She pushed open the glass doors and stepped into the humid warmth. Surrounded by gleaming tiles and inviting chairs, the big pool dominated the solarium-styled room. The scent of chlorine tickled her nose. Glass walls overlooked the parklike grounds of the hotel. Glass panes above revealed the pale blue, early-morning sky of an autumn day that promised to be clear and comfortably temperate.
Only one other person was in the pool, a man swimming laps with strong, steady strokes designed more for fitness than fun. He stayed on one side of the long pool, so she didn’t think there would be any problem with her swimming on the other side. She kicked off her sandals and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Her functional black one-piece was form-fitting, but modest enough that it didn’t bother her to strip out of her yoga pants in preparation for her swim. Maybe the other swimmer would finish soon and she’d have the pool to herself for a while.
Someday, once she settled somewhere to begin her practice, she would have a house with a pool and these early-morning laps would be commonplace for her. She had always enjoyed a good swim.
She stepped onto the pool steps and descended into the waist-deep water. Noticing her, the man completed a lap, pushing a hand through his dark, wet hair as he dropped his feet to the bottom of the pool and stood, beads of water glistening on a beautifully sculpted expanse of chest. She took just a microsecond to admire that attribute before she glanced surreptitiously at his face—and then froze in surprise.
“Jones?”
Chapter Three
The nickname had escaped before she could replace it with his real name, illustrating she still thought of Jason as the fantasy man from last night. She should probably work on that or risk disappointment. Reality couldn’t possibly be as ideal as last night had been—though she had to admit he looked pretty darned perfect standing there all wet and sleek.
He whipped his head around, then broke into a grin. “Esmeralda. Good morning.”
Oh, heavens, did Jason look good naked! Okay, he wasn’t really naked, considering he wore a pair of dark swim trunks, but near enough that her overactive imagination had little trouble filling in the blanks. The pool water was kept at a comfortable temperature, but she felt overly warm as she gazed at him and tried to think of something witty and halfway coherent to say.
“Guess I’m not the only early riser,” he commented, wading in her direction.
“I’m in the habit of getting up early for work,” she admitted, trying to keep her eyes on his face. “Usually I go for a run to wake me up, but I thought a swim would be nice this morning.”
Okay, hardly witty, but at least coherent. Although she wasn’t sure she could remain so if he didn’t stop looking at her that way. The open appreciation in his gaze was definitely flattering.
“I like to start the day with physical activity, myself.”
She wondered if he’d intended the double entendre, or if she was getting carried away with their flirting. Deciding the latter was true in any case, she motioned toward the open expanse of pool. “I hope I’m not disturbing your swim.”
He gave her one of his patented smiles. “Only for the better. Don’t let me keep you from your exercise. I planned to swim a few more laps, myself.”
His grin triggered a renewal of their playfulness from last night. Mischief crowded out self-consciousness as she swept a hand through the water and asked in quiet challenge, “Think you can keep up with me?”
Something flared in his dark eyes as he waded a step closer to her. “I’d certainly like to try.”
“I’ve been told I’m hard to catch.” She reached out to brush a drop of water from his cheek, trailing her fingers along the firm edge of his jaw to the faint indention in his chin. She pressed one fingertip into that shallow hollow and imagined letting the tip of her tongue follow the path her fingers had just taken, ending with a little bite just there.…
As if reading her thoughts in her expression, he shifted closer to her. She snatched her hand away and turned to dive into the water, striking out with firm, steady strokes to begin her first lap. She heard a laugh and a splash behind her, but didn’t stop to look back. She had issued a challenge, after all. And she did not like to concede defeat.
It took only half a lap for him to draw up beside her. He made no effort to surge ahead, though she conceded in resignation that he could have if he’d tried. Instead, he kept pace with her, nearby but staying out of her way. She didn’t know how long he’d been swimming before she’d joined him, but he showed no signs of tiring. The man definitely had stamina. Not that she’d had any doubt he was in excellent shape. She had a very clear memory of every muscle she’d felt while pressed against him last night.
If being that close to him fully clothed had been such a memorable experience, she could only imagine what it would feel like now—wet flesh to flesh. For just a moment, her strokes fumbled, losing her rhythm so she had to make an effort to get back into sync with him.
“Okay?”
“Fine,” she sputtered, and swam a little faster to relieve a sudden surge of hyper energy.
Her endurance was beginning to flag a few laps later, and Jason must have noticed. She felt a hand on her leg, a tug on her ankle. Considering the electricity she sensed between herself and Jason, she wouldn’t have been surprised if the water conducted a shock when their skin made contact. Or maybe it had, explaining the tingle coursing through her body when she lowered her feet to stand and face him.
“I’d love to stay longer, but I have a few calls to make before we leave for the ranch,” he said with visible regret. “Guess I’d better go take care of them.”
