The quiet filled my ears and attempted to overcome a whirlwind of thoughts and worries. I closed my eyes and simply leaned against the door, being still for a single moment. The first time in a long time.
Then I heard a splash.
I opened my eyes in the gloom and walked toward the wide windows looking out onto the back yard. The sun was gone, twilight fading into night, but the pool was lit, and under the surface, someone swam.
I walked onto the narrow balcony and leaned down, peering at the water. The lights illuminated long blonde hair and a delectable body wrapped in a tiny yellow bikini. Had one of my guys’ women come over for a swim? She hit the wall beneath me, then shot out again under the surface, heading toward the stairs at the far end of the rectangular pool.
Leaning farther over, I watched as she rose from the water and climbed the steps, her back to me. Her tanned skin gleamed in the low light, and her body made my mouth water. Long legs, round ass, narrowing waist, and what I could only assume would be a pair of perfect tits. My cock stirred for the first time in a long time.
Whoever brought her here made a mistake. I wanted her for myself, and there wasn’t a man on this earth that could stop me. It had been far too long since I’d felt the soft skin of a woman. The one who’d just landed in my lap was without equal. And if she had a smart mouth to go with that package? I was a goner.
I straightened and was about to go down to her when she twirled on her feet and stared up at me with the bluest eyes.
Sabrina waved and smiled, her as-suspected perfect tits bouncing with the movement.
“Fuck.” I swore under my breath and tried to mentally will my dick to deflate. It didn’t work.
She moved closer around the side of the pool, her body glistening with water. And then she said the thing that should have killed my erection, but didn’t. “It’s so good to see you, Uncle Nate!”
Chapter Two
Sabrina
Nate coughed into his palm, the muscles of his bare torso flexing as he stared down at me. He looked even better than I remembered. Dark hair, bright eyes, and a toned body.
My heart swelled, and my glee barely remained caged inside me. My ploy had worked perfectly. I stood beneath his balcony, and he kept glancing away, trying to look at anything but me. It didn’t work—his gaze always returned to my face and lower. The growing darkness cast him in shadow, but I could feel his eyes roving over me.
“You, um, you’re back from school then?” He gripped the balcony railing.
“Yep. I’ll be heading to Temple in the fall, remember?”
He likely didn’t remember at all. I’d sent him an email about it in the winter when I’d gotten accepted, and he had responded with a perfunctory “congrats.”
We hadn’t seen each other for five years. He’d kept me at my boarding school and sent me on vacations rather than seeing me during the summers or over holidays. I’d stayed away from Philly, and I’d abided by his wishes. But not anymore. I was eighteen and ready to come home. I was also ready for Nate Franco, though I knew he wouldn’t be ready for me.
“Right. Temple.” He rubbed a palm down his jaw, the other hand gripping the railing so tightly the knuckles were turning white.
“In town. So, I can stay here … if that’s all right with you?” I clasped my hands behind my back, knowing full well it pushed my chest out farther. My breasts weren’t large, but they filled out the bikini top. “I know you don’t have to be my guardian anymore since I’m of age, but I was hoping I could stay around even if we aren’t really related or anything.”
“Stay around?” His voice had a rough, gravelly quality. I’d forgotten that tiny detail, but it all came back in a rush of memory. “You’re safe now. I swear.” The first words he’d ever said to me ricocheted through my mind, the rich timbre of his voice just the same. The moment I’d fallen for him sealed into my memory, even if I hadn’t understood it at the time. I’d been too young, too traumatized.
“Yeah. Here at the house.” I smiled. “With you.”
“That’s …” He cleared his throat, but didn’t seem inclined to continue.
“Are you hungry?” I unclasped my hands and toyed with the string bikini tie around my neck.
His head tilted, following my movement. After a heavy pause, he gritted out, “Yes.”
“Come down to eat?” I tugged on the string just a little.
He slapped his hand down on the rail. “I—no.” He coughed again and shook his head, as if trying to clear away a haze of thoughts. “I have work to do.”