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He came to the surface sputtering. “Hey, that’s not fair. This was your dare.”
She slicked her hair back and began to breaststroke over to the stairs. She felt a hand wrap around her ankle and was jerked backward. Her head went under, and her hair splayed everywhere. She came up next to him, and he grabbed her around the waist, an intent expression on his face.
She tried to fix her hair, but he wouldn’t let her. “You cheated. Now I’m going to too.” Her feet couldn’t touch the bottom, but he stood on solid ground and pulled her to him. She didn’t resist when he kissed her. In fact, she welcomed it, throwing her arms around his neck and participating fully.
“Hm. You taste like wine and chlorine,” she muttered next to his lips.
“You sure about this? Or is this the wine talking?”
“I need to add something to my pet peeve list,” she said, planting slow kisses on his neck. “Men who talk too much when they should be taking advantage of a slightly tipsy woman.”
He walked the short distance to the side of the pool and pushed her up against it, wrapping her legs around his waist. His light, tender kisses turn to urgent, hasty ones, and she felt just as desperate. Her hands were in his hair and then all over his broad chest.
“Oh, man.”
“What’s wrong?” he backed off to look her in the eyes.
“We’re gonna have a hell of a time getting those wet jeans off you.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The dreaded morning after. What had she done? Exactly what she’d sworn she wouldn’t, that’s what. She rolled over to find him still sound asleep.Well, he had worked hard the night before, she thought, smiling.
She slipped out of bed, took a quick shower, got dressed, and made her way to the kitchen. Luna was waiting impatiently by the back slider.
“Sorry, baby. I got a little distracted last night.” Kate opened the door, and Luna ran toward the grassy area as fast as her tiny legs would take her. “Thanks for waiting,” Kate called out after her, wondering if she’d left any spiteful little surprises Kate would find later. Luna didn’t like not being the center of attention, and she’d been ignored most of the evening.
“Distracted?” she heard from behind her. “Is that what I am? A distraction?”
Kate turned to face him. “A very pretty one,” Kate said with a smile, and he laughed.
“We should talk. But first, I need my pants.” He was wearing a towel he must have swiped from the bathroom. She had to tear her eyes away from his broad, tan chest and bulging biceps. The sun pouring in through the wall of windows made him glow like a Greek god. Saliva flooded her mouth.
“Agreed. I won’t be able to concentrate until you cover up all that.” She waved a hand up and down his half-naked body. “Let me start some coffee and get your clothes from the dryer, and then we can hash this out.”
She had no idea what she was going to say. Was one night all he was offering, and now they had to get past an awkward one-night stand? He’d said he wanted to take her out but also that he wasn’t into commitment, so what did that mean? How did one start a relationship with an expiration date already on it? Did he just want to hang out while they were doing business, and once the deals were done, they’d go their separate ways? Was that how a fling worked? She’d have to get the particulars from Lizzie later.
After he dressed, they took their coffee outside and sat at the patio table facing the lake. It was another cloudless day, and the sun had already warmed the cushions on the patio chairs. Memories of last night came rushing back, and she blushed. She wouldn’t be able to lie on the chaise without thinking of him for a while yet. Maybe never.
“What are you thinking?” Bright blue eyes bored into hers, and she had to look away.
“I prefer to overthink, so I’ll need at least a day to mull things over before I answer that.” She took a sip of coffee and looked out over the lake.
He chuckled. “You regret it?”
“Yes and no,” she started. “I mean, it was fantastic, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t know what to do now. I told you we couldn’t kiss, and that we couldn’t date or get together, but apparently, I’m full of crap. If I can’t even stick to my own rules, how can I expect you to?”
“What do you want to do? We can go back to being platonic, but I really like you, Kate.”
“You said you weren’t into commitment. Would this just be a fling for you?”
He wrapped his fingers around his mug and stared into the cup. “What would you think about that? If we had a fling, I mean?”
“Sounds good to me. I’m not interested in anything more than that either.” She feigned nonchalance and made a mental note to decide later whether that was actually true.
“What if we make some rules? So no one gets hurt,” he suggested.
“I only have one.” She held up her pointer finger. “No onefinds out about this. I’m talking, this is a take-it-to-the-grave kind of secret. Agreed?”
