Mari honestly couldn’t decide if she was being selfish by harboring that thought, or if she was being caring toward Marc by shielding him for the moment. She could see the argument both ways.
Nothing had seemed certain to her since she’d seen Marc in the lobby of the Palmer House. It seemed as if the ground beneath her feet had become prone to frequent earthquakes, and her typical confident stance had turned wary with every new step.
She entered the living room and saw Marc standing near the door wearing board shorts and a turquoise T-shirt. His briefcase was on his shoulder, and he had several towels tucked beneath his arm. As usual, his gaze struck her like a sensual caress.
Marc’s desire was the one thing she could count on with the certainty of the rising sun. But was that enough to cushion them for what would undoubtedly be the rough ride of the future?
Marc was glad to see they were the only residents on the pool deck besides an older woman who was doing laps. Hopefully the lady wouldn’t linger once she’d completed her exercise, and he’d have Mari all to himself. He set his briefcase on a table shaded by an umbrella and joined Mari by a couple of recliners in the full sun.
“It’s beautiful up here,” she murmured, walking over to the view that featured Lake Michigan to the east and the skyscraper-packed shoreline to the north and south. She turned and smiled at him as he removed his T-shirt. “I can’t believe we’re nearly the only ones up here.”
Marc shrugged and sprawled on the deck chair. “It’s like anything else. People tend to ignore luxuries after a while,” he murmured distractedly, most of his attention focused on Mari’s fingers as she unbuttoned her sundress. “I’ve only been up here a c
ouple times this summer myself. Holy… I’m a genius.”
He raised his sunglasses. Mari paused in the action of tossing her sundress on a chair. Marc was too busy checking her out in her new bikini to really take in the amused expression on her face. Maybe the new suit did have more coverage, but it did amazing things to Mari’s figure.
“I’m never going to hear the end of it, am I?” she said under her breath as she came down next to him on a recliner.
“Never,” he agreed. “A man has to take credit where credit is due, and I definitely deserve huge accolades for finding that suit.” He unglued his eyes from the swells of her breasts in the V of the top and lazily trailed his gaze down her belly and curving hips. Her smooth, golden skin looked downright edible next to the white fabric.
“Marc.”
He blinked and glanced up from her lap to her face. She was staring incredulously at him.
“What?”
“We’re not alone,” she whispered.
“All I was doing was looking,” he said, flipping his sunglasses back into place.
“Somehow it didn’t seem that innocent,” he heard Mari say under her breath.
He chuckled and stood. “Want to get in?” he asked.
“I’ll wait. I think it’s you who needs to cool off,” she said wryly as she dug around in a canvas bag and retrieved a magazine.
He laughed, tossed off his glasses and dove into the deep end of the pool. The water was refreshing, but nowhere near as cold as he needed it to be. After he’d swum some laps, he raised his head. A quick survey of the pool told him Mari and he were alone.
He swam to the side and poked his head up over the ledge. Mari was watching him over the top of a magazine with a smirk on her face. He crooked a finger at her in a come-here gesture. She shook her head, her gaze returning to the page. He continued to beckon her silently, however. She finally stood and sauntered toward him. Instead of sitting on the ledge and easing down into the water next to him, giving him the opportunity to touch her honey-colored, smooth skin, she dove straight over his head into the water. He grinned as he watched her swim underwater toward the shallow end of the pool. He plunged after her. When she reached the end of the pool, he was there a split second before her. He leaned his back against the wall, his feet on the bottom of the pool and his legs bent, like he was sitting on an invisible chair. He grasped Mari’s shoulders.
“What are you… How did you get there so fast?” she sputtered as her head came out of the water.
“I was inspired,” he told her as he pulled her over a few inches so that she was above him. As her buoyant body drifted down to touch bottom, she encountered him instead. She scooped up some water and splashed him in the face.
“Hey,” he murmured, not at all bothered. He wiped the water out of his face while Mari pushed her long, wet hair away from her eyes. There was laughter in her whiskey-colored eyes when they met his.
“I’ll race you to the other end,” she challenged breathlessly.
“Uh-uh,” he said quietly as he arranged her so that she straddled his belly in the water, his weight bracing her. Grasping her upper arms, he brought her closer with his hands until her heaving breasts tickled his chest. It felt good—really good—to have Mari’s naked skin sliding ever-so-subtly against his in the cool water. “I like it too much right here.”
“Do you?” she murmured, her mouth hovering just inches from his, her breath striking his lips in warm, fragrant puffs of air. He placed his hands on her hips, loving the way the curve of them fit into his palms.
“I think you know the answer to that.” He slid his hands along her water-lubricated skin. He felt her go still as he traced the beguiling swells of her hips and the indentation of her waist and then her heaving ribcage. “Do you recall how you told me not to come on so strong during this visit, Mari?”
“Yes,” she replied, her eyes glued to his mouth. She gasped softly when he shifted his hands so that his forefingers were just below the fullness of her breasts and his palms cradled her ribcage. He felt her heart beating into his palms, rapid and strong.
“If you kissed me right now,” he murmured. “I wouldn’t be breaking any rules.”