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“Taking a dip in a Jacuzzi is no more intimate than in a swimming pool. Though you don’t have a suit, so hmm…problematic.” I tapped my chin. “I suppose you could ask the concierge to get you an emergency one from one of the shops. They’ll do that, you know, with the proper encouragement.”
“I don’t have a ton of money for tips for things I can just as well buy myself later.” She tucked her hands under her arms. “You brought a suit?”
“I did. I always enjoy a swim or two while I’m staying at a hotel.”
“I’ve never stayed at one before. This is all so new. I swear, I’m in my mid-twenties and it’s like I’ve never done anything at all.” She heaved out a breath. “You know what? Fine.
Share the Jacuzzi with me. I’ll just improvise for a suit.”
I was entirely too onboard with that idea.
“I’ll go get it started,” I said, both to give her privacy and to give my overeager dick a chance to settle down.
She wasn’t even getting fully naked, for pity’s sake.
Maybe canceling my date with Ursula last night had been a mistake. Evidently, I’d needed some serious relief.
I’d never slept with Ursula, despite prevailing opinion. We’d been dating for a month or two, not exclusively on her end, but on mine. It was an exceptionally busy time at work as people prepared to put their homes and commercial properties on the market at the first hint of spring, so I’d been content to attend the opera and the theater with her and leave it at that. We’d never crossed to the physical level, but not for her lack of interest. I’d been the one to put on the brakes, time and time again. I didn’t even know why.
Now, as I readied the Jacuzzi for Sage and swiftly shed my suddenly way too tight, restrictive suit, it made sense.
Much as I hated to admit it, the idea of being intimate with Ursula had never given me one tenth of the excitement as hot tubbing with Sage.
Ursula was safe. Predictable. She didn’t want much from me, and I definitely wasn’t looking for more from her beyond companionship.
Sage, however, was forbidden fruit. My sister-in-law’s best friend. Everything I should never want, and smart-mouthed and sexy to boot. I had been entrusted with keeping her safe, but anything beyond that would be risking my relationship with Ally. Sage was like a sister to her, and Ally wouldn’t believe I could want anything other than sex.
Hell, even if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d believe myself.
I slipped into the water and let out a sigh as the heat seeped into my aching muscles. Damn, this felt good. Sage would love it too. Instant stress-reliever.
Minus us being in there together, which would probably ramp up the tension for an entirely different reason.
Getting this close to her with only hot, bubbling water between us was dangerous. A fact that was driven home when Sage hesitantly stepped into the bathroom wearing a pair of short, tight, ass-hugging sleep shorts and her silky cami.
Now I could tell for certain it had a shelf bra, because just her cautious footsteps were making her breasts bounce in ways that should be illegal in all fifty states.
“Don’t,” I gritted out when she moved to cover herself with her arm, already self-conscious. “Don’t hide.”
Her throat bobbled, but she let her arm drop. “I’m not sure why you’re doing this. Or why I’m doing it.” She stepped back, already reaching for the knob on the bathroom door. “You can just use it now. I’ll use it later.”
“You don’t have to worry that I’m getting the wrong idea. I’m not. We’re just two friends in a Jacuzzi. Trying to be friends,” I amended. “Not sure we’ll get there easily.”
“I like the touching-you part of friendship.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, I don’t get hugs much anymore. My parents are traveling, and Ally is the size of a beluga, and well, she hugs her husband, not me. I guess I’m just a tactile person and—”
“C’mon, get in.” I motioned to the tub. “Friends share hugs. Friends hold each other.”
“Yeah, it’s the dick thing kind of holding me back.”
“Pardon?”
She bit her lip. “You were hard last week. In the break room. And I kind of figured it was because you might be one of those guys who could get aroused at anything, and I wrote it off. But now you’re giving me that look again, and if I’m hugging you…”
“I’ll be seized by a wave of uncontrollable lust and will insist on having you, right here, right now.” My tone was dry. “Let me assure you, I am in full control of my impulses. Nothing will happen other than a friendly embrace.”
“Okay.” She took another step forward and stopped. “This isn’t weird? I mean, even hugs feel like crossing a line somehow. Plus, it seems harder for us to be friendly toward each other than it is for other people.”
Understatement of a lifetime. She consternated me almost as much as she intrigued me, and I was positive the reverse was also true—possibly without the intrigue.
