Sunny grabbed a robe and shrugged into it. Silently, she slipped out of her room and hurried down the hall. The house was dark and only the dogs, Wendy and Whip, noticed her passing, their heads rising as she opened the kitchen door.
She drew a deep breath of the warm night air, then ran across the damp lawn to the stables. A yellow bulb on each end of the building offered a faint light and she hurried to Padma’s stall and pulled open the door.
The horse turned and looked at her with her big brown eyes. Sunny hadn’t ridden her in the three months since she’d returned from London, knowing how she’d failed. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, tears filling her eyes. “I’m so sorry. You’re the only one who has ever loved me, unconditionally and without any expectations. And I let you down. I embarrassed us both.”
Her father had talked about selling Padma after Sunny had vowed never to ride again. The horse was well trained, an experienced competitor in the prime of her jumping career. But she was still here, in her usual stable. Though her father could be cold, he wasn’t entirely heartless.
“You’re going to be just fine,” she murmured, stroking the white blaze on Padma’s forehead. “I need to take a little more time away and then I’ll be back and we’ll start all over again. I promise. We’ll get back to the top and get our gold medal.” She pressed her face against the soft muzzle of the horse, then gave her a kiss. “And this time, I won’t mess it up. You’ll be proud of me.”
She stepped out of the stall and pulled the door closed. When she turned, she saw a figure standing in the shadows. A gasp slipped from her throat, but when he stepped into the light, she recognized Logan Quinn.
“You scared me,” she said.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just checking on Tally and heard you talking.”
He was dressed in just his jeans, the top button undone. Like her, his feet were bare. He’d shoved his hands in his front pockets and he watched her warily. “It’s late,” she murmured.
“I couldn’t sleep. It was too stuffy in the campervan.”
“Me, too,” she said.
“It is kind of warm tonight. I thought maybe we’d get some rain.”
She smiled to herself. He looked so sweet standing there, his dark hair rumpled, his chest bare. Though he looked as if he were in his late twenties, he had a boyish quality she found undeniably attractive. “Are we really talking about the weather?”
“No,” he said.
Sunny held out her hand. “Come with me.”
He tucked his hand into hers and walked with her toward the house. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” she said.
There was a formal garden in the rear of the house, surrounded by a tall iron fence. She unlatched the gate and then stepped aside, motioning for him to enter. They walked along a narrow brick path and, suddenly, the lush greenery disappeared and he found himself staring at a huge swimming pool.
“Oh, hell. Now, that’s a nice-looking pool.”
“Come on. Take your jeans off and jump in.”
“Ah, I don’t have anything underneath,” he said.
She reached for the tie of her silk robe. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” Sunny spun around in front of him. “And I don’t have anything you haven’t seen before.”
With a laugh, she dove into the pool, slicing neatly into the water and swimming beneath the surface to the other end. When she came up for air, he was no longer standing on the deck. She glanced around and then, a moment later, he popped up in front of her.
“What are your parents going to say if they catch us out here?” he asked.
“My father is in Sydney, visiting his mistress and their two children. My mother went to the Paris fashion shows last year and never came back.” She reached out and brushed the wet hair out of his eyes. “Except for the housekeeper, we’re alone.”
“Okay, then.”
“You don’t talk very much, do you?”
He grinned. “Actually, I do. You just leave me a little speechless.”
She bobbed in front of him, her gaze taking in the details of his face. Droplets clung to his dark lashes, and when he blinked, they tumbled onto his cheeks. He was a beautiful man, the kind of man who didn’t realize the effect his looks had on a woman. She liked that. Sunny didn’t know very many regular guys.
His body was finely muscled, long limbed and lean, and made that way by hard work. The attraction was undeniable, but could she act on it? She’d felt so alone for such a long time, trapped in a life that had no direction or purpose. Touching him, kissing him, was all she could think about.
And what harm could it do? She’d enjoyed one-night stands in the past. The man was leaving in the morning and she’d never see him again. Why not take advantage? The thought of losing herself for just a short time with this beautiful man was more than she could resist.
Sunny placed her hands on his shoulders, her gaze fixed on his lips. She leaned forward ever so slightly and he took the cue, slipping his fingers through the wet hair at her nape and pulling her into his kiss. A wave of desire coursed through her body, and the intensity of her reaction startled her.
He knew how to kiss, that much was clear. And Sunny had kissed enough men to make a valid comparison. He began softly, his lips teasing at hers until they were both ready to taste. And then, he used his tongue to test her further, to tempt her into surrender. She parted her lips and they were suddenly lost in a whirlwind of sensation.
Had there ever been a kiss that affected her so completely? She felt her limbs go weak and her mind begin to falter. When his hands moved to her face, she moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Logan reached down for her legs, pulling them around his waist until their bodies were locked together in an unbreakable embrace.
He was already hard, and she moved against him, resisting the urge to simply sink down on top of him. She knew they ought to find a condom before they went any further, but if she brought up the realities of protection, he might have a chance to reconsider what they were about to do.
Drawing a deep breath, she unlocked her legs and pushed away, swimming to the far end of the pool. “I could get in a lot of trouble with a boy like you,” she said, sinking down until her chin touched the surface.
She’d always maintained control in her casual encounters. There was never anything beyond the physical satisfaction of being with a beautiful man. But she felt something different with Logan, something that made her want him even more. It was as if they already knew each other, and yet she knew nothing about him.
Sunny brushed the water out of her face. She wanted to be with him, to experience the sensation of his body moving inside of her. “Do you want me?” she asked softly.
Logan nodded. “I’d be a fool not to.”
“It’s only about the sex,” she said. “Nothing else. Are you all right with that?”
He nodded again as he slowly approached. “Here?”
She shook her head. “We need protection.”
“I have some in the campervan.”
Sunny swam over to the ladder and then slowly climbed it to the pool deck. She grabbed a towel from a nearby bin and wrapped it around her body, then handed one to Logan. He hurried after her, and when he reached her side, he took her hand. They walked back to the stable, Logan picking up his jeans and her robe along the way.
A cool breeze rustled the trees, and goose pimples prickled Sunny’s damp skin. For the first time since London, she knew exactly what she wanted. And there was no shame in it. The need to feel close to another person was a basic part