Return To Rose Cottage: The Laws of Attraction. Sherryl Woods

“You forgot the front,” she told him, slowly turning to face him.

      His gaze locked with hers, his eyes glinting wicked sparks. “Do you really, really want me to go on?”

      Swallowing hard, she nodded.

      He squirted more lotion into his palm, then smoothed it across her chest. His fingers skimmed along the edge of her bathing suit, then took a sudden dip into the cleavage.

      “Wouldn’t want you to get burned there,” he murmured, holding her gaze. “That’s very tender skin.”

      “Uh-huh,” she whispered as he shifted his attention to her arms. He seemed to be intent on the soft, pale and surprisingly sensitive underside.

      “What about your legs?” he inquired eventually. “Shall I do those?”

      Ashley figured she could stand it if he could. “Sure,” she said, determined to play out the game she’d started.

      Of course, she hadn’t realized just how long he could draw out the process. He didn’t miss so much as a freckle or a pore, not from the tips of her toes to the tops of her thighs. She was all but coming unglued when he finally pronounced the job done. It took everything in her not to beg him not to stop.

      “Thank you,” she said primly. “You were very thorough.”

      “Any job worth doing is worth doing well,” he said, a knowing sparkle in his eyes.

      She couldn’t seem to make herself meet his gaze. “How safe is this water?” she asked.

      “For what?”

      “Swimming.”

      “Safe enough. Why?”

      Without bothering to respond, she dove over the side of the boat. The water was colder than she’d anticipated, but it felt good against her overheated skin. She finally broke the surface gasping for air, but with her hormones back in check.

      “Cool off?” Josh inquired, amusement threading through his voice.

      “Sure did,” she said cheerfully. “You should try it.”

      “No, thanks.”

      “Chicken?”

      “You are not going to dare me to dive in there with you,” he scolded.

      “I just did,” she corrected. “I guess you’re not up to the challenge.”

      “Oh, darlin’, that was a very bad idea, especially coming from a woman who just washed off most of the suntan lotion she had me put on. Are you angling for another application?”

      She saw the worrisome spark of mischief in his eye right before he dove overboard. Just when she was wondering where he was going to surface, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her under. She came up sputtering.

      “You rat!” she accused. “That was playing dirty.”

      “I wasn’t aware there were any rules for this particular game,” he said, bobbing just beyond her reach. “You gonna get even?”

      Her teeth were starting to chatter, but she rose to the bait. “You bet,” she said, diving below the surface.

      She was so sure he was right in front of her, but the next thing she knew, he’d circled her waist from behind and lifted her out of the water. She shook the hair and water out of her eyes as he slowly turned her around to face him. As her body slid along his, she realized that he was totally and impressively aroused. He fit their bodies together with only the wafer-thin fabric of her swimsuit and his between them, then captured her mouth beneath his. By the time the kiss ended, Ashley was on fire.

      She clung to his shoulders and looked into his eyes. “How is it possible to be this hot when the water’s like ice?”

      “Makes you wonder why there’s not steam rising all around us, doesn’t it?”

      “Oh, yes,” she said, not ready to move away from him. Buoyed by the water, she hooked her legs around his waist.

      Josh’s gaze narrowed. “What are you up to now?”

      “Just holding on,” she insisted innocently.

      “Just tormenting me sounds more like it,” he retorted.

      She grinned. “Is it working?”

      He shifted ever so slightly. “What do you think?”

      “Definitely working.”

      “Are you thinking it’s safe to play this kind of game out here because nothing will come of it?” he inquired curiously.

      She thought about that. “Yes,” she admitted.

      “Then you have no intention of going back to dry land and finishing what you’ve started?”

      Taking the question seriously, she gave it some thought. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she began.

      “Same here,” he said. “But we’ve agreed that the timing is all wrong.”

      She nodded, suddenly feeling guilty. “Sorry. I’m not playing fair, am I?”

      “It’s not about playing fair,” he said. “It’s about playing with fire. If you’re counting on me being a nice guy and keeping the game under control, don’t. Even I have my limits, Ashley, and you are most definitely testing them.”

      Ashley heard the somber note in his voice and realized she’d pushed too far. Maybe she’d meant to. Maybe she’d needed to, but it wasn’t all about her desires. For things to go any further, they really, really needed to be on the same page at the same time.

      “How about lunch?” she asked, scrambling back into the boat and pulling a shirt on over her swimsuit. She shivered, despite the warmth of the sun. “I’ll buy.”