Even though she had to run down to the event gallery to make sure the boxes she’d shipped had arrived, there were two motivating factors calling her to the pool. One was the hot Las Vegas sun, and two was the promise she’d made to Cara that she’d work out regularly while she was away.
After confirming that her shipment had arrived safely,
Ronnie changed into her bathing suit and headed out to the pool. But old habits died hard, and she covered her suit with a T-shirt and shorts as well as a long terrycloth robe.
Grabbing some towels, Ronnie set herself up in a lounge chair. The water was calling to her, but on such a hot afternoon, the pool was packed. Even though she’d lost a lot of weight since the last time she’d been swimming in a public pool, she still couldn’t bring herself to undress.
“Wow. I’m getting hot just looking at you.”
Ronnie looked up and found Ace standing over her. She silently caught her breath. A towel was slung around his neck and his chest was bare, showing every bulging muscle, from his abs to his pecs and biceps. His red swim trunks were wet and clung to his large, muscular thighs. Ronnie had to school her eyes to stay away from his lower body.
But there was no safe place for her eyes to rest when there were big muscles and sleek brown skin everywhere she tried to look.
“Ace. I guess we had the same idea about how to spend the rest of our afternoon.”
He laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I was actually swimming in the pool. Did you forget you’re in the desert? Because you’re better dressed for the Alaskan tundra.”
Feeling embarrassed, Ronnie shook her head. “No, I just got here. I’m planning to get in.” A bead of perspiration slid down between her breasts under all her layers of clothing.
“Well, come on. Take off your snow suit and get in with me.”
Ronnie’s skin became even hotter under Ace’s watchful gaze. It was one thing to show off her new figure under a carefully chosen outfit that complimented her shape. If she undressed now, there would be nothing left to the imagination.
“You go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
He shook his head. “What are you waiting for? Come on in. The water is perfect. I know you’re roasting under that robe.”
Ronnie realized that if she protested any further she’d sound foolish, so she bit her lip and stood up. Untying her robe, she slipped it off and took her time folding it on her lounge chair.
Ace immediately snickered. “I can’t believe you have even more clothes on under that robe.”
Swallowing hard, Ronnie took off her shorts first, letting the length of her T-shirt cover her suit. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with nerves. Even though her mirror showed her a thin person when she looked in it, she still felt like an overweight person on the inside. She’d always made a big show of confidence and bravado when it had come to her body in the past.
But now that Ace was standing there waiting for her to disrobe, all that confidence eluded her. All she could imagine was the disappointment in his face when he saw her in her modest black tank suit.
Trying to come up with some witty distraction to hide her insecurities, Ronnie whipped her T-shirt over her head like a child ripping off a bandage.
But her witty remark died on her lips as her gaze raised to Ace’s. Before she could utter a sound, he said, “Very sexy.”
Then she was scooped up in his arms and summarily dumped into the swimming pool.
When she came up sputtering water, the tension of the moment had been broken. Ace was suddenly next to her splashing water in her direction.
“You were moving too slow. I didn’t have the patience to watch you dip one toe, then the other before you declaredthe water too cold. So I thought I’d help you along. You’re welcome.”
“You—” Without thinking, Ronnie jumped on his back and pushed his head under the water.
Ace burst to the surface, laughing. He quickly grabbed her around the waist and held her so she couldn’t get at him again.
As her own laughter began to subside, she began to realize that only a thin, wet layer of bathing suit separated her bare skin from his. Feeling her self-consciousness returning, Ronnie began to kick her feet and flail her arms, sending wave after wave of water at Ace until he dumped her back into the water.
She felt safer, hidden under the surface of the water. “I’m free,” she said, goading him to chase her.
They played a cat-and-mouse game around the pool, carefully dodging the other occupants. Ronnie was able to evade Ace’s grasp for quite some time, until she made the mistake of feinting left when she should have feinted right.
“I’ve got you now,” he shouted, as she found herself locked in his arms.
Before she could stop herself, she said, “And just what are you going to do with me now that you’ve got me?”
“Whatever I want, of course.” His tone was light and playful, but she could see heat rising in his eyes.
Suddenly it was more than Ronnie was prepared to handle. She didn’t come to Las Vegas to have an affair. Especially not with the ridiculously hot Sexy Chef.
Immediately Ronnie began squirming in his arms. But that only made the situation worse. Ronnie applied a little pressure against his muscular embrace and quickly realized there was no escape. Ace’s arms were like bands of steel holding her against him. And her struggles causedan exciting friction between their bodies. Suddenly the heat in his eyes wasn’t the only thing rising.
Clearly a bit startled himself, his grip on her loosened and Ronnie wriggled free. In a full panic now, she dove under the surface and swam to the nearest ladder. She didn’t care that she had to now walk halfway around the pool to get back to her things.
Barely taking the time to fully cover herself, she gathered up her clothes and started heading for the hotel entrance.
“Ronnie!” Ace called out from somewhere behind her.
Darting a quick look over her shoulder, she waved in his general direction. “I’m going to go back inside,” she called to him. “I’ll see you later.”
Ace stood on the pool deck, watching Ronnie literally run away from him. Granted, things had progressed faster than he’d intended, but he hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from her.
Ronnie had always been sassy and confident. Ace couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it, but it seemed that since Ronnie had lost weight, she had become self-conscious.
It was obvious in the way that she’d dressed for the pool in layer after layer of clothing. It had seemed as though she was avoiding disrobing in front of him. From the way she’d been acting, he’d half expected to see gruesome burn scars or massive stretch marks, but her body had been tight and toned. The only thing wrong with her shape had been that matronly tank suit that covered up too much of it.
He’d wanted to stare, openly admiring her new figure, but, on impulse, he’d decided to drop her into the pool. He’d gotten the desired reaction. She’d been too angry to focus on her hang-ups … at least at first.
If only he’d been able to keep his hands off her, she might not have run from him. But that only made him more determined than ever to let her know how he’d been feeling about her.
“There you are. I’ve been looking all over this place for you,” Ace heard Garett say, walking toward him, looking like a fifties throwback in his straw fedora, white cabana shirt and pale plaid pants.
“Get a load of you, Frank Sinatra,” Ace said, looking his publicist up and down.
“Hey, if you think I’m not going to make the most of my time in Vegas, you’re crazy.”