She slanted him a teasing grin. “What makes you think I can swim?”
He regarded her with an interest that had her toes curling and the most intimate part of her aching. “I just figured you could, and if you can’t then I’ll teach you.”
Her eyes squinted with amusement. “You’re an expert swimmer?”
“I don’t do so bad.”
Dana thought that if he could swim with the same degree of expertise that he made love then he was definitely an ace. “I can swim,” she said, deciding to come clean. “My parents made sure I knew how before my fourth birthday. Living on the East Coast and so close to the ocean meant that I had to learn.”
She tipped her head back and looked at him. “But there is one slight problem.”
“What?”
“I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
“That’s no problem. I’m sure there’s an extra one around here that should fit you.”
He watched her face and saw the exact moment her eyes darkened with disappointment. “Don’t bother.”
He quickly realized what had bothered her. Reaching out he gently squeezed her shoulders and said, “It’s a bathing suit that Delaney left behind, Dana. She used to keep several of them here in case she ever wanted to visit and go swimming.” He pulled her to him, needing to hold her. “I’ve never gone swimming with a woman in this house before,” he whispered. He never felt the need to explain his personal life to any woman, but for some reason he wanted to explain things to her.
Dana pulled back, ticked at herself for caring. Besides, he didn’t owe her an explanation about anything. It wasn’t as if they were really engaged. “Sorry, I don’t have a right to come across like that, Jared. What you do is none of my business.”
He studied her face for a long time then said, “There’s no need to apologize.” His breath was warm against her face when he leaned toward her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He deepened it then pulled back slowly, not ready to languish her lips yet as he placed tiny kisses around it. “I can say the hell with a bathing suit and let’s go skinny-dipping.”
Breathless, she smiled against his lips. “Yes, you can say that but then that poses another problem.”
He watched as she moistened her lips with a stroke of her tongue, and was tempted to lean down and take that tongue into his mouth and feast on it some more. “What other problem?” he asked, barely able to get the words out.
“I’ve never swum in the nude.”
The thought of her swimming naked ran fluidly through his mind, forming images that made him want to strip her bare, then and there. “You know what they say, Miss Rollins. There’s a first time for everything.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Come on, let’s go for a swim.”
When they began walking, Jared slung an arm around her shoulders as he led her to the area where the pool was located. Dana tried not to let the seductive sensations that Jared generated within her, take possession of her mind.
The potent smell of chlorine teased Dana’s nostrils as they entered a passageway. He reached out and flipped a switch, bringing light into a huge area filled with lush greenery. To say the pool was impressive would be an understatement. Secured in the privacy of brick walls and a vaulted ceiling made of solid glass, this private place was definitely a swimmer’s haven. Dana smiled when they stopped walking and she looked up and saw how the moonlight and the stars reflected through, slanting light against the pool’s blue-tinted waters.
“So, do you want a bathing suit or do you prefer going without?” Jared asked as he placed his hands on her hips.
She grinned. “I think I’d feel more comfortable with a bathing suit.”
He watched her thoughtfully, wondering if this was the same woman who had played a very enticing game of hide-and-seek with him that weekend. It had been one passionate pursuit and now it seemed that she was trying to go all shy on him. However he was sure a few sizzling kisses would rid her of any degree of bashfulness.
“I may as well warn you that I plan to take the suit off of you the first chance I get,” he whispered, leaning down and capturing her earlobe in his mouth and sucking gently.
A breathless sigh escaped Dana’s lips and she closed her eyes. It was a good thing he was still holding her by the waist or she would have melted and slid right into the pool. “I kind of figured you’d be trying something like that.”
He took her hand in his and drew her away from the pool to an area surrounded by a bevy of palm trees. “At least I gave you fair warning.”
He led her to a room off from the pool area that appeared to be a large dressing room. “You can change in here,” Jared said, giving her an easy smile. “Towels are in that closet and there’s a bathing suit that should fit you in that drawer over there.”
She looked up at him. “What about you?”
He gave her that same grin that had endeared him to her the first time she’d seen it. “I don’t have a problem swimming in the nude, Dana.”
And with that he turned and left her alone in the room.
Dana nervously fumbled with the buttons on her blouse as she removed it while glancing around the huge room. She saw that all the walls and the ceiling were mirrored and she felt slightly funny as she watched herself undress. She studied the daybed that sat on one side of the room and didn’t want to imagine Jared and some woman in it as they watched themselves make love. He had said no woman had ever gone swimming with him in this house but who was to say that no woman had ever made out with him in this room?
Letting out a long breath, she tugged her skirt down over her hips, not wanting the picture of Jared and any other woman to form in her mind. As she’d told him, what he did was his business. But still, the part of her that loved him so much that it hurt, felt pain at the thought of him with someone else.
She tried turning her thoughts and attention elsewhere. Dinner had been delicious and the wine he’d selected had been perfect.
She could tell a huge load had been lifted off his shoulders now that he knew his mother was okay. He seemed more relaxed. Being around him made her feel things, want things and each and every time he had smiled at her, touched her—innocently or otherwise—she found herself hard pressed to keep her emotions under control.
Whenever she looked into his eyes his keen sense of intelligence startled her. He was his parents’ firstborn, but had not been the heir apparent. Anything and everything Jared possessed was the result of hard work. He deserved all he had achieved and was a man like no other she’d ever known. There was a fierceness about him, yet at the same time an innate gentleness that she found sweet and endearing.
Jared Westmoreland was the man she would love until the day she died.
Dana sighed, as she tied her hair back, trying to remain clearheaded. She couldn’t and wouldn’t have regrets, no matter what. And she wouldn’t dwell on the impossibilities of a future with Jared.
Moments later she glanced at herself in the mirror. Jared had said nothing about the bathing suit being a bikini. It appeared to be brand-new and was a perfect fit, although it showed more skin than she was used to exposing. Jared had seen her naked several times since their weekend together, but for some reason she felt shy around him tonight.
Maybe it was because every time she held his gaze for any period of time she saw desire in his eyes that was so thick it could be cut with a knife. And what he’d said earlier about her not keeping the bathing suit on for long sent passionate chills down her body. He’d said it and she had no reason to doubt it. Grabbing a towel she wrapped it securely around her waist and took a deep breath before walking out of the room.
The first thing she noticed was that Jared had dimmed the lights. The second thing was that he was already in the water, standing in the shallow end, leaning back against the pool’s wall. All the way across the room she could feel the strength of him. Knowing he was completely naked only filled her with heated passion and desire. He was built and had the kind of muscles women drooled about. Each and every time she came into contact with his body, she burned.
“Get rid of the towel, Dana.”
His words as well as the look in his eyes pulled her to him. She slowly walked to the edge of the pool and met his heated gaze. “And if I don’t?”
A smile touched the corners of his lips. “Then I’ll be tempted to get out of the pool and remove it for you, and while I’m removing the towel I’ll also remove everything else.”
Dana tilted her head, picturing both things in her mind. “Mmm, that sounds like quite a seductive threat, Counselor.”
She watched as he moved swiftly and agilely through the water and ended up at the side of the pool, within less than a few feet from where she stood. “No threat, Dana. It’s a promise.”
She took a step back when he eased his naked body out of the pool. She noticed he had on a condom, making it blatantly clear what he had in mind. Dripping wet he stood in front of her. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly while at the same time used his fingertip to loosen the knot of the towel. She felt it fall to the floor, but his mouth kept her too occupied to care. At the moment she was content to let him carry out any threats he’d made.