“My mother teaches yoga. I’ve been doing it since I could stand,” Lia said. “You should try it. Besides increasing flexibility and muscle tone, it can reduce stress.”
He paused in the act of stacking the boards against the back wall. “Do I seem stressed to you?”
“I was thinking maybe you’d like to improve your flexibility,” she teased, shooting him a wry grin.
Paul nodded, letting her score the point without retaliating. She wouldn’t be the first person who’d described him as intractable. It’s what enabled him to keep pursuing criminals when the trail went cold. At the same time, he recognized being obstinate had created problems in his relationship with his family.
“Grady seems to be doing better every day,” he remarked, reaching for her hand. As their fingers meshed, his entire body sighed with delight at the contact. “It’s hard to believe that less than two weeks ago we were all worried he wasn’t going to last until the end of the month.”
“You know he’s really proud of you.”
His gut twisted at her words. “I don’t know that.”
“Well, he is,” she said, her thumb stroking across his knuckles.
“Even though I didn’t join the family business?”
“It makes him happy that you’re passionate about what you do.” Lia’s warm smile eased the tightness in Paul’s chest. “And that you help people by making the world safer.”
“Thank you,” Paul said, tugging her closer.
Entreaty flickered in her eyes, quickly masked by her long dark lashes. His blood heated as he detected an unsteadiness in her breathing. Damn, he badly wanted to kiss her. The need to claim her soft mouth overwhelmed him. Not even the worry that they might be caught could temper the wild emotions she aroused.
Acting before he could convince himself that it was madness, Paul backed Lia toward the wall. A surprised whoosh of air escaped her as her spine connected with the hard surface. He skimmed his fingers down her arms, pinned her wrists to the wall on either side of her hips.
Curses momentarily drowned out his thoughts. “We should get back to the pool before someone comes looking for us.”
Releasing his grip on her, Paul flattened his palms against the wall and started to push away, but her reflexes proved faster than his. Before he could escape, she’d locked her hands around his back and tugged him even closer.
“Kiss me first.” Her lips curved in a sassy grin that was equal parts sexy and sweet. “Unless you don’t want to.”
He almost laughed at her words. Not only did he want to kiss her, he needed to kiss her. Needed it like the air he breathed and the food he ate. She was the most irritating, frustrating female he’d ever known. Thoughts of her distracted him all the time. It took effort to concentrate on his job and for that he couldn’t forgive her. Worse, he was ravenous for her in a way that couldn’t be denied and with each day his willpower weakened.
Her eagerness was a temptation he couldn’t resist and Paul found himself swept into the kiss. Into her warmth and sweetness and enthusiasm. He took what she gave. Unable to stop. Unwilling to stop.
Paul wasn’t sure what brought him back from the brink, but soon he lifted his lips from hers and trailed kisses across her cheek.
“I can’t stop thinking about being with you again,” he murmured, surprising himself with the admission. “But you have that birthday party at the hospital this afternoon, don’t you?”
Her chest rose and fell as she stared at him, her beautiful hazel eyes wide and utterly trusting. “You remembered.”
Paul stepped back and raked his fingers through his hair. “Do you mind if I tag along?”
“You’re always welcome to be my knight-errant.”
Even as warmth pooled in his gut, the urge to warn her to be careful of him rose. The things he wanted to do to her weren’t romantic or chivalrous. Her love of dressing up as a princess drove home the intrinsic sentimental nature of her true soul.
In fairy tales, princesses got rescued from towers, endless sleep and villains who intended them harm. Paul was no Prince Charming. In fact, he’d acted more like a beast with Lia. And even if his initial disdain had given way to grudging admiration, he didn’t deserve her trust.
“That’s fine as long as I don’t have to wear tights,” he grumbled and neither her surprised laughter nor her affectionate hug improved his mood.
* * *
On a normal visit to the children’s ward at the hospital, Lia would’ve lost herself in the part of Elsa, the Snow Queen. Bringing joy to children, especially ones who needed to escape reality for a little while, gave her own spirits an enormous boost. But Paul’s solemn gaze on her the entire time made her all too aware of the heat and confusion between them.
Every stolen moment with him pushed her further into uncharted territory. She’d never known the sort of urgent craving he aroused in her. In the past, she’d always viewed sex as a pleasurable way to connect with someone she cared about. What she experienced with Paul turned every other encounter into a foggy memory. The crystal-pure clarity of his fingers gliding over her skin. The keen pleasure of his weight pressing her into the mattress. His deep kisses and soul-stirring moans as he slid into her. All of it was etched into her soul never to be forgotten.
Yet all too soon she’d be leaving Charleston, never to see him again. Lia wasn’t sure what to do about her growing resistance to the idea of resuming her travels. Never before had she faced a compulsion to stay put. But her growing attachment to Paul was a big part of that. Normally Lia would blindly follow her heart, but this time she recognized that trusting her instincts was impossible. She’d mired herself in a scheme that had only one outcome. Once the genetic test was revealed to be flawed, no member of the Watts family would want her to stick around.