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Damn it. A week ago he had walked away.
“It’s chicken salad,” she said. “It’s supposed to be cold.”
A ghost of a grin came and went on those sexy lips, leaving her heart knocking harder in her chest. Shoot. Why was she so susceptible to the rare sighting of one of his smiles?
Perhaps because they did beautiful things to his handsome face.
He glanced up at the cloudless sky, the powder-blue brilliant in the midday sun. “Very well,” he said with a patient tone. The kind that communicated a steely reserve that brooked no concession of wills. “You wouldn’t want your chicken salad to get hot.”
The jumble of nerves knotted in her stomach pulled tighter, and Jax swallowed hard, her mouth set. “You’re not going to go away until I get out of this pool, are you?”
The gray eyes assessing hers from above sparked like flint on steel, and glowed, rivaling the sun. “No,” he said as he stood, lowering his free hand toward her. “I’m not.”
The knocking in her chest grew more insistent as Jax clutched the pool ledge. Gripping her lower lip between her teeth, she placed her palm in his. The strong hand around hers left her lungs hungry for breath, her body wanting more of his touch. She braced her foot on the pool wall, and Blake lifted her effortlessly.
Standing beside him, water rushed down her skin and pooled at her feet. Her one-piece gently cupped her breasts, emphasizing the curves. And even though the cut was relatively modest by today’s standards, his perusal made her feel naked. Exposed. And the last time she’d stood exposed in front of man, her body completely bared before Jack, he’d looked at her in horror.
She laid a soothing hand on her belly and bit back the awful memory that killed her libido.
But Blake’s colorless eyes swept down her body and back, resurrecting the thrill. His expression was neutral, but his eyes burned brighter than ever. “Nice suit.”
She pulled her towel from his hand. “There’s no need to check up on me,” she said. She swiped the towel down her trunk, annoyed that she felt flustered. “I’d hate to put a crimp in your schedule.”
Forehead lined with a mixture of amusement and feigned surprise, Blake said, “You seemed fairly eager for my company last week.”
“I’ll plead the Fifth Amendment.”
“I think an insanity plea might be more fitting.”
“For my actions? Or for yours?”
“Both, I suspect.” Though simmering with a latent heat, his intense eyes were extraordinarily steady as he studied her. “Regardless, why are you in such a big hurry to get rid of me today?”
Because she wanted him with an intensity that was embarrassing.
“Unexpected change of heart.” Fingers fumbling with nerves, it took several attempts to successfully knot the towel at her waist. “It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. So...” She waved a hand in the air, as if he were a stray cat she could shoo away. “You can get back to your work now.” Parking the hand on her hip, she added, “No need to stay.”
His lips quirked in humor. “But I’m hungry. I worked up an appetite formulating my defense strategy to keep you from getting locked away.”
He turned and placed a hand on her arm, eliciting a zing of sultry sensations as he propelled her toward the table. Steam had to be rising from her skin.
“Besides, Ms. Lee,” he said smoothly, “there’s a rather significant problem with your change of heart.”
“What’s that?”
If he hadn’t been steadying her, Jax would have tripped when he said, “Apparently I’ve grown addicted to your company.”
* * *
At a quarter to midnight, Blake upped the speed on the treadmill in his exercise room, his feet pounding out his frustration and the pent-up sexual energy. Sweat clung to his body as he deliberately ignored the knowledge that Jax slept in his guest cottage.
Despite being five miles beyond his usual goal, he wasn’t near ready to end his punishing run. The memory of her lovely hips in a bathing suit drove his relentless pace. The remembered sight of her breasts so seductively displayed pushed him harder. But it was her heated gaze in response to his addiction confession that compelled him to keep going.
