He swam after her as she headed for the shallow end. “You’re seriously mad right now?”
More like mortified.
“Gimmie a break here.” He followed her up the steps. “I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“The right thing would’ve been to not make me think you wanted this in the first place.”
“I do want this, but you have to understand, I—”
“I understand perfectly.” She grabbed her towel to wrap it around herself sarong style. Trying to salvage a smidgeon of her dignity, she half-turned toward him but didn’t look at his face as she said stiffly, “I’m sorry I put you in a bad position. It won’t happen again.”
She spun for the patio doors, but didn’t even make it one step before he gripped her arm and swung her back to face him. With her head tipped back to see his face, her breath caught when she saw the turmoil in his darkened green eyes.
“I want you, Raine. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone before.” His lashes lowered, hiding all that heart-wrenching emotion. “But I need this job. Because of what happened, I need to be here, doing what I do.”
His voice turned to pure gravel at the end, and her chest squeezed so tight she could barely breathe. She wanted to reach out and hug him, but he was still in only his wet, skin-tight boxer briefs, leaving nothing much to the imagination. Not to mention, if she pressed up against his bare chest again, there was no telling what she might do.
It took major effort to step back from temptation. As she moved back, his fingers skimmed down the back of her arm, past her elbow, and along the underside of her wrist before he finally dropped his arm to his side. As if he knew he had to let her go, but didn’t want to.
She hugged her arms across her chest while suppressing a shiver. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”
He gave a tight nod. “I have an adoption appointment for Morning Glory at eight, so you don’t have to be down to the barn until nine.”
“Nine it is.” This time he didn’t stop her when she forced her feet to take her inside.
Raine locked up, took a shower, and went to bed. She turned off the bedroom television at midnight. When she got sick of staring at the ceiling round about two a.m., she went to the kitchen for a glass of water. As the cool liquid slid down her throat, her gaze was drawn across the sprawling lawn, toward the stables. The windows of the upstairs apartment were lit up as if it were evening instead of middle of the night.
Did Reyes leave the lights on to ward off the dark, or was he wide awake like her, wishing for what could have been?
9
Reyes greeted Bob and Nancy Hamilton outside the barn precisely at eight the next morning before accompanying them inside. They would be the perfect distraction to keep his mind off facing Raine at nine.
His step faltered when he saw her standing outside Morning Glory’s stall.
He’d barely slept after walking away from her last night. All he could think about when he closed his eyes was the feel of her lips beneath his, the seductive slide of her tongue, the weight of her breast in his palm, and the erotic sight of her tight nipples as the water lapped at her bare chest. Taking the edge off in the shower hadn’t been nearly satisfying enough and only lasted for so long.
Even now, the quick, hesitant smile she shot him before introducing herself to the Hamiltons had his body taking notice. Christ, you’d think he was a horny teenager instead of a grown man perfectly capable of controlling his base urges. But another under-the-lashes glance from Raine had him clenching his jaw.
It was going to be a long day.
Damn—try a long three and a half weeks!
“I saw what happened at the end of the season,” Nancy said, having recognized Raine’s name from the jumping circuit. “That was a tough break. How is everything going?”
She grimaced at the older woman. “A little more down than up, but we’re working hard to get back to where we were. Reyes is working with us for the next few weeks.”
The openness of her reply surprised him. That was a step up from her usual, “We’re fine.”
“You’re in good hands,” Bob assured her before turning to Reyes. “We couldn’t be happier with Ivy Rose and Dozer.”
He seized the opportunity to shift focus. “Then you’re going to be thrilled with Morning Glory. She reminded me of Dozer from the moment she arrived.”
“Janice has told me all about her,” Nancy said. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting her.”
“Please, go ahead.” He gestured toward the stall. “You know the drill by now, and if you have any questions, just ask.”
The two of them moved ahead, and Raine sidled up beside him to ask in a low voice, “What’s the drill?”