were no worries—he wouldn’t win.
“Deal.” She reached out a hand only to be startled by the instant warmth when his connected with hers in what should have been a friendly shake. It was weird and made her uncomfortable so she pulled away.
Brock’s smile never wavered. “Need a handicap, pretty lady?”
Her answer was another splash of water in his face. “Only if you do.”
Laughter bubbled in his chest as he smiled. “Four lengths,” he said as they made their way to the end of the pool.
“On your mark,” she said keeping her eye on the other side of the pool.
“Go!” he yelled and they both pushed off.
Brock was a swimmer, she probably should have guessed that by the size of his pool, but still she’d challenged him. And as far as he could see, she was going neck and neck with him.
Slapping the wall they headed off for the second length. She was beautiful, more so than just the nice body and pretty smile. She cut through the water with a sleek grace that rivaled any Olympic swimmer. Never backing down, never slowing, she kept up with him without even panting. He was beyond impressed.
On the third length Brock picked up, waiting to catch the win, but she kept up with him, just a head behind. He was still holding back, toying with the idea of letting her win, since she was a guest in his house and all that. Then he thought of her feisty personality, her teasing little dare, the way she’d kissed him so passionately last night without hesitation, without regret. Noelle Vincent was not a woman to be discounted in any way, shape or form, least of all a swim race that she’d initiated.
So Brock let loose, passing her by a full body length as he reached his long arm out and tapped the wall almost thirty seconds before her.
Noelle came up behind him, heart hammering in her chest. She’d known the exact moment he’d stopped playing with her and appreciated him all the more for it. If she were going to lose, it had better be to someone who was strong enough to race at their full potential and not give her some egotistical female handicap.
The race had been exhilarating and she was pumped. So much so that the ramifications of his winner’s reward fled from her mind the moment he came closer, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her up against his chest.
“Now the winner takes the prize,” he said, lowering his head until their lips were a breath away.
It felt so right—his tight grip around her waist, the close proximity of their bodies—that she could see no problems, no issues to hold her back. His gaze held hers and she quite simply melted against him. If this were the prize, she might be tempted to lose to him more often.
Chapter 6
Kiss number two was even more spine tingling than the first, and when Brock’s fingers slid beneath the rim of her bikini bottom Noelle was ready to beg.
Hungrily his mouth ravaged hers as they stood in the shallow end of the pool. Again her arms slipped effortlessly around his neck. Why this man she barely knew had this effect on her was a fleeting thought in her mind.
His fingers stroked her center, with the same heated sensations as his tongue.
She shivered and he groaned.
“I want you,” he said simply, his lips gliding along the line of her jaw.
Noelle had a moment or two to contemplate the words before he was kissing her again. Scraping her toes against the bottom of the pool, she knew this wasn’t a dream. But how was it that just yesterday morning she was waking in her own bed, swimming in the pool she’d become accustomed to in the last two years and now she was here, in Maryland, kissing this man, loving the feel of his muscled body against hers? This was fast. Too fast, her rational brain said.
But, oh, so good, was the unanimous decision as one word slipped from her lips. “Yes.”
Her legs were wrapped securely around his waist while he supported her with one hand to her neck. The other hand had slipped quickly between their bodies, pushing aside her swimsuit bottom, searching and finding.
Noelle gasped, letting her head fall back as the sensations rippled through her with the ferocity of a summer storm.
“You’re so ready for me,” Brock groaned in her ear. “Were you thinking of this all night like I was?”
She couldn’t speak, didn’t dare utter a word for fear of it coming out in a voice she didn’t recognize. Her response was only a jerk of her hips as one finger slipped into her tight passage.
His shoulders were slippery as she tried to hold on, her nails scraping along his light skin. There would probably be marks there later but right now she couldn’t be concerned with that.
“Tell me what you want,” he pressed her as his tongue traced a heated path from her ear down to her neck.
“Dammit!” Noelle cursed. The emotions swirling through her were almost too much to bear, the controversy flying like fierce lightning bolts.
Brock had no idea her cursing was due to the war going on between her mind and her body when he said, “Tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you.”
Her mind was quickly losing the battle.
She shouldn’t be doing this, not with him, not now. But she couldn’t stop him, didn’t really want to stop him. Each thrust of his finger pressed deeper inside of her, rubbing against sensitive muscles, pushing her closer to a blissful release.
“Tell me and I’ll give it to you.”
She hadn’t said it, but Brock felt it. They both wanted the same thing. Her heart pounded as frantically as his own, their need too urgent, too feral to be denied. So pulling his hand from her enticing warmth he freed his aching erection and followed the trail to ecstasy.
The moment he was inside her they both stilled. Above, the sun rose higher in the sky, its intense rays beaming down on them. Around them the chlorine-tinted water rippled, giving their bodies a buoyed sensation that only seemed to stroke their desire.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“Hell, yes!” Brock roared, pulled out slightly, then slamming back into her heated center.
In fevered motions they both pumped and groaned until the end was all they could see, the glorious release all they could comprehend.
Her thighs tightened around his waist, her nails beginning to break the skin on his shoulders. Her entire body shivered and she let loose one slow, long moan that vibrated in the air.
On that note Brock pulled out halfway, holding his body stiffly as he slid back into her for a second and third time. Then everything went hazy as his release slammed into him like a tidal wave. He held her close, hoping he didn’t crush her but defenseless against the urge.
For endless moments they just stood there, trying to catch their breath. Brock shifted first as Noelle’s head was resting on his shoulder, her face hidden from him. Without a word, he scooped her up by the knees and carried her to the edge of the pool where the steps were. Climbing out, he left the towels and headed straight for the house, straight for his bedroom, where he should have taken her in the first place if he’d been thinking logically.
The bedroom seemed to be a million miles away as Brock finally carried Noelle through the door.
Setting her gently onto his bed Brock watched her wrap her arms around herself and shiver. He retrieved a towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She took a deep breath and looked up at him then. Her light eyes lacked that spark he’d first noticed in them yesterday. Instead they seemed tinged with something akin to sadness. Immediately Brock felt like an ass.
Not only had they just met yesterday, but he’d taken her fast and hot in a pool as if they were teenagers. As a result this felt like an awkward