“Oh, I’m not scared,” he retorted as he sat up and pulled off his cowboy boots and socks. “It’s you who should be scared.”
Shivers raced across her body at his threat. She slid her toes gently over the creek bed in an attempt to avoid the sharp pebbles.
Nash came to his feet, reached behind his head and yanked his T-shirt off and flung it to the side. Oh, my. Those taut muscles all tanned and perfectly sculpted had her belly quivering. He knew how to fight fire with fire...he poured gasoline on it.
“Keep looking at me like that and I’ll clear off that blanket in two seconds and make better use of it,” he warned as he stepped closer to the creek.
At the edge, he stopped and rolled up his jeans. Lily propped her hands on her hips, loving this playful, relaxed day. With the sun high in the sky, the warmth of summer was in full swing and the country setting was just what the doctor ordered. Nash had told her about this creek that ran through the back of his rental property. It was simple, private and perfect for them. And from how he kept eyeing her in her short tank-style dress, she figured privacy was going to be to their benefit very shortly.
Would she ever tire of how he watched her? How his eyes seemed to drink her in, in one sweeping glance? Each time she caught him visually sampling her, her need for him sharpened even more.
“Damn, that’s cold,” he complained as he put one foot in. “You didn’t tell me that.”
Rolling her eyes, Lily laughed. “It’s refreshing. Don’t be such a baby.”
“I’ll show you baby.”
He bent down, scooped up handfuls of water and trickled a stream down her bare legs. The coolness did nothing to ease the heat rushing through her. Everything with this man turned intimate and aroused her like nothing else she’d ever experienced.
He made her laugh, made her appreciate how a relationship between two totally opposite people may actually work.
And she found herself wanting that more and more each day. She wanted to be with a man who wasn’t afraid to lean on someone else when he needed to, a man who could also protect and take charge without being overbearing. She wanted Nash.
Still bent down, his hands lingered on her legs, those bright eyes came up to hold her gaze. “You’re right,” he said. “This was a great way to cool off.”
“You turn everything into sex,” she laughed, even though she wanted him to rip her clothes off and have his way with her on the creek bank.
His hand stilled, that naughty grin widened. “I’m a guy. Of course everything is about sex. It doesn’t help you’re looking at me like you want to gobble me up.”
Lily couldn’t help herself. She took her foot and tapped his chest with just enough force to send him butt first into the water. Crossing her arms, she tried her hardest not to double over with laughter as he glared up at her with a smirk on his face.
“Thought you needed to cool off,” she quipped with a shrug.
“Oh, baby, I always need to cool off around you,” he told her as he started to come to his feet. Water dripped off his hands, his thighs as he wrapped his wet arms around her and pulled her flush against him. “Don’t tell me you don’t want me for my body.”
Lily’s hands were trapped between them, so she laid her palms against his bare chest. “You have a very fine body, Nash. No denying that.”
“Gee, you make a guy feel really wanted.”
Lily slid her hands up to his shoulders, around his neck and laced her fingers together. “I think your ego needs bringing down a notch sometimes.”
Those kissable lips offered up a sideways grin. “And you’re the woman to do that?”
“That I am,” she said. “I bet you’ve used this body to get what you wanted from women before. I can’t blame you, though, you’re a sexy man. All those muscles from manual labor, the scruffy, rugged beard and shaggy hair...you give off a sense of mystery. But I want more than the body, more than the seductive exterior.”
She nipped at his lips, loving the sensation of his soft beard feathering over her skin. “I want to uncover the mystery,” she whispered against his mouth. “I feel there’s so much more to you than what you’re showing me.”
Nash stiffened in her arms, those bright eyes narrowed in on hers. “Be careful what you wish for,” he told her. “What if you don’t like what you uncover?”
What started out as playful had taken a turn into an area she wasn’t sure about heading into. While she’d been half-joking, his tone implied he was dead serious. Was he implying there was something she wouldn’t like about him? Was he hiding something else? Everyone had secrets, but the way he’d issued that warning, Lily couldn’t help but wonder what he meant.