Full House Seduction. A.C. Arthur

her at the pool wasn’t going to work, not that he’d even considered doing anything that childish and disgraceful.

      “I apologize,” he started. “I didn’t plan for this to happen. Not out there in the pool and—”

      She held up a hand to stop his words.

      “Saying we got carried away is an understatement,” she said quietly.

      No, Brock thought. There was no escaping the tremendous amount of guilt he felt. Strands of dark wet hair lay flat against her head, some sticking to her face. Lifting a hand gently he pushed them back, then paused at her elegantly arched eyebrow and eyes that pinned him with a serious gaze.

      “Yeah, that’s an understatement, all right,” he said. The funny thing about his escape plan was that, at this very moment, even if it were possible, Brock was certain he wouldn’t have acted on it.

      Noelle sat up straighter and squared her shoulders. “Good, we agree on that point. This project we’re working on is important to Linc and so it’s important to me. I won’t let him down.”

      “I didn’t think you would.”

      “Okay.” She nodded. “We’re clear on another point. So there’s no need to tell him about our momentary lapse in judgment.”

      Her words seemed cold and distant, which really shouldn’t have bothered him. Still, Brock wasn’t entirely sure that he liked them. “Is that what this was?”

      “Yes. Of course it was. Neither of us were thinking straight. It was early and we had that vigorous swim. We’re the only two people in this house, for Pete’s sake! A physical attraction would be imminent. So we acted on it and it’s done. We’ve gotten it out of our system and it’s now time to move on.”

      She was talking so fast and she was still in that barely there swimsuit, although the towel tried to cover most of her exposed skin. He was kneeling in front of her, thankfully, so the fact that he was becoming aroused again was currently his secret. Still, Brock found it difficult to keep up. “Okay,” he finally managed.

      Then she was moving, getting up off the bed. “I’m glad we see eye to eye on this. I’ll be ready for our meeting in an hour,” she said, reaching for the doorknob, then pausing.

      Never turning back to him she said in a voice that was quiet and just on the side of sad, “This is not who I am. I don’t do this anymore.” With that she slipped out the door.

      Brock was left with nothing to do or say but stare at the spot where she’d been. In the span of an hour he’d awakened, gone for a swim, shared in the most explosive sex of his life with a pretty woman and was now alone again in his bedroom. Was it all a dream?

      Hell no! Each touch, each kiss, each moan was as real as his now-withering arousal. And sadly enough, so was her quick and efficient, yet troubled and piercing, departure.

      Standing up, he then fell on the bed and sighed. “Good morning to me.”

      Noelle slouched against the door to her room, which she’d just closed tightly. Her head lolled back and she shut her eyes. How could she have been so stupid?

      “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!” she hissed, punctuating each word with a fist to her thigh.

      Hadn’t she convinced herself that she was going to change? She was going to be different with future relationships. Hadn’t she learned anything from dealing with Luther? Obviously not.

      Forcing herself to move away from the door, Noelle went to the closet where she’d hung most of her clothes yesterday. Retrieving a linen pantsuit that should stand up against the sweltering heat and allow her to appear professional at the same time, she moved to the bed and dropped her clothes there. Then she looked down at herself. She’d had sex with her boss’s cousin, in his pool, after knowing him for less than twenty-four hours. The boss’s cousin who she would be working closely with for the next few months. Could her life possibly get any worse than this?

      Yes, it definitely could, she thought with horror. They hadn’t even used a condom!

      Growling like a caged animal, Noelle grabbed clean underwear and made her way into the bathroom, immediately switching the shower on to hot water. Standing in the mirror she went ahead and chucked the bikini, then simply looked at herself. Who was this person and why was she so prone to make the same mistakes over and over again? Slapping her palms down onto the vanity, she allowed a few moments to break down. No, she didn’t cry because tears were like foreign objects to her after Grammy’s passing.

      It had been almost four years now since the grandmother who had raised Noelle and Jade had died, but the pain sometimes was still fresh. If she were here, Noelle knew without a doubt that Grammy would not be pleased. She was less than pleased herself. After the affair with Luther she’d sworn that being intimate with a man before she really got to know him was a mistake, one that she’d never make again. And yet, here she was in that same predicament not even a year later.

      But it wasn’t too late. It was never too late to change. This was a lesson Noelle had already learned. So immediately regrouping she stepped into the shower. This was just a temporary setback—she still had a job to do. Still had yet another point to prove to Linc and then to herself. She was attracted to Brock Remington—that much was clear. He was attracted to her but he wasn’t what she needed right now, he couldn’t be. How she knew this for certain, Noelle didn’t even have the time to contemplate. She needed to get dressed and to go on with business as planned. Just as she told Brock, they would put this digression behind them and they would move forward. She could do this, she knew she could, she told herself as she lifted her face to the spray of warm water.

      She was not the same immature, out-of-control woman she’d been while Grammy was alive. She was different. Her life was different and she intended to prove that point to everyone she knew.

      Her own vanilla-scented soap that she’d brought with her was in the soap dish and she scooped it up, lathering it over her body, all the while chanting I can do this. I will do this.