by Donna Fasano
"I know you weren't," she said. "It's just that I snapped at you and I thought you deserved to know why." She felt her face color and she shrugged to try to cover it. "I guess I'm a little thin-skinned concerning my responsibility to Eric. I was really young when I became his guardian. Several social workers tried to fight my petition, thinking I couldn't take care of my brother. I had a hard time proving myself to a system that seemed bent on tearing me and Eric apart. And I thought it was supposed to do all it could to keep families together."
His hand slid down her arm until he was cradling her elbow in his palm. Her heart thumped against her chest so hard she was afraid he would actually see it. She was jolted when her body physically reacted to his touch, and tingling sparkles or prickly stars or something equally magical ricocheted through her at lightning speed. Although she refused to allow herself to look down, she knew her breasts pressed distinctly and conspicuously against the thin fabric of her murrey-colored tank suit. But, thank heaven, he chose that moment to let his hand drop to his side and he turned toward the pool.
"Well, I realize I haven't spent much time with Eric," Joshua said over his shoulder. "But he acted the young gentleman at dinner. He chewed with his mouth closed. He held up his end of polite conversation. He even laughed at my lame joke. He has very good manners. You've done a good job, Cassie."
Even though she knew he was teasing her, she couldn't stop her flush of pride. "Thank you," she whispered.
He bent over, placed his hand on the edge of the pool and, with one quick, neat hop, stood in the clear, waist-deep water. Turning to face her, he smiled and said, "So, should we get started?"
It was amazing how that slight contraction of his cheek muscles could transform his often stern, always handsome features to gorgeously sensual. Helplessly, her gaze lingered on his sexy lips, and then upward along his strong jaw line. His dark brown eyes now held an open invitation that drew her a step closer to him like steel shavings to a magnet.
However, she nearly shuddered with embarrassment when he obviously mistook her silence as confusion concerning his question, and gently stated, "The swimming lesson, Cassie." He grinned widely, almost knowingly. "You didn't forget, did you?" he teased.
"Yes, er, no," she said, her voice a hoarse whisper.
He chuckled, and she stifled a silent groan. If she didn't get her act together, it wouldn't be long before he was realizing how easily she was distracted by his good looks.
"Right," she repeated louder, moving to the pool's edge. "The swimming lesson."
Chapter Five
Cassie looked down at Joshua who was standing in the shallow end of the pool. This afternoon when she'd first thought of the idea to flaunt her swimming abilities, she'd enjoyed the prospect of making him look the fool. She'd actually thought he deserved it. But now she was rethinking the idea. He'd kept her on in the job, he'd admitted he'd been wrong about the list of restrictions, and he'd just shown her his distinctly compassionate side. Maybe it was silly of her, but she didn't want to do anything that might damage this new and delicate understanding.
Granted, he intimidated her, and she had to admit she was a little afraid of him– well, afraid probably wasn't the right word to use to describe her feelings. But she was fearful of his finding out her secret. However, they had actually exchanged a few words of civil conversation over dinner. She'd even sensed more than a modicum of respect in the words he'd directed at her. To jeopardize that by humiliating him would not be a good idea at this point.
"Cassie?"
She blinked at him. "Uh, Joshua, I really don't need a lesson. There's something I need to show you."
Curiosity etched tiny indentations on his brow, but he remained silent as she walked toward the other side of the pool.
The textured diving board felt rough under her feet when she stepped onto it. After walking the length of the board, she curled her toes over the end, bounced once, twice, bent her knees and lunged high into the air. It was a simple dive, but it was near perfect– her body entering the water with hardly a splash.
When she surfaced, she used a strong overhand stroke to swim the length of the pool. Nearing the far wall of the shallow end, she submerged herself and surfaced with her face tipped upward so her hair slicked back out of her eyes.
She wiped at the rivulets of water running down her face and gazed toward him for his reaction, her nerves taut as guitar strings.
When he didn't speak right away, she explained, "When I told you that I was Red Cross certified in first aid, I should have gone on to tell you that they also certified me in swimming and water safety. In fact, I had a part-time job as a lifeguard for two summers right after I–" She stopped suddenly and blanched. She'd almost said, right after I quit high school. Thank heavens she'd caught herself just in time. She'd never made that mistake before. Ever. Those were words that remained locked up, vault tight, whenever she was around anyone who didn't know. Joshua Kingston somehow had her feeling awfully loose-lipped. She continued, "Right after I turned sixteen."
He stared at her a moment before quietly asking, "Why didn't you just tell me?"
"I tried to. But you kept cutting me off." She shrugged one shoulder and screwed up her face. "You were really angry with me when you arrived home."
"But you were lying face-down in the water," he said, his tone conveying his continuing confusion. "The boys were shouting that you were dead. You looked unconscious... in trouble..."
"They weren't shouting that I was dead," she told him with a tiny shake of her head. "I was showing Andy the dead man's float."
"Dead man," he repeated slowly, contemplatively. "That's what the boys were yelling."
Cassie nodded. She could tell from the look on his face that he was going over the scene in his head.
"Dead man, dead man," he repeated softly, almost to himself. Then Joshua looked at her and a small, sexy chuckle escaped from deep in his throat. "I didn't take time to think about it. I only saw you there in the pool. But Andrew looked so scared."
"That's because he knew he wasn't supposed to be in the pool."
Now he laughed heartily.
Relief washed over her at the wonderful sound. She smiled, then she found herself laughing right along with him.
"I can't believe this," he said. "I ruined a perfectly good suit. Not to mention my shoes."
She grimaced. "I know."
He laughed again. "So… you can swim."
She nodded.
"And there's no need for a lesson," he said.
She shook her head apologetically.
He heaved a sigh and it was clearly obvious he was helpless against the grin that continued to tug and tease the corners of his mouth. Finally he turned his gaze fully on her, his eyes flitting over her face– from eyes, to forehead, to cheeks, to lips, to chin, then back to her eyes.
"Oh, Cassie," he said, his voice hardly a whisper. "We need to work on communicating, you and I."
All she was able to do was nod slowly in agreement.
He looked off toward the horizon and then chuckled softly again, this time almost to himself. Then he turned to her. "There's still plenty of light left," he said. "Would you like to take a swim?"
She smiled, and with no hesitation, said, "I'd like that."
They swam several leisurely laps back and forth across the length of the pool. Midway through the fourth, Cassie easily glided into a one-hundred-eighty-degree roll and began a graceful backstroke.
Swimming on her back afforded her the opportunity to watch Joshua in the water. He had good form. Strong arms. Wide, powerful shoulders. The clear, cool water sluiced over his muscled back as he effortlessly ploughed across the pool. He was into his fifth lap and he didn't seem the least bit winded. She was impressed.
He touched the wall of the pool and stopped long enough to say, "Race you up and back."
"You're on!"
But before the words were even out of her mouth, she saw him swimming hell-bent for leather. Gulping in a
lungful of air, Cassie pushed off from the wall with all her might. She skimmed underwater as far as she could before she surfaced and began pumping her arms. The exertion felt good, her strokes, strong and efficient, and she wasn't surprised when she gained on him, then caught up to him.
She could hear his full inhalation when he turned his head and lifted his face from the water. A tremor of excitement coursed through her and she kicked her legs even harder. Inching past him, she reached the far wall scant seconds before he did. She curled into a ball, rolled over under water and pushed off for the return trip.
Cassie cut through the water, paddling hard. She knew victory was just a quarter lap away.
But when she lifted her head to inhale, she felt his fingers encircle her ankle. "Hey!" But her complaint was lost in her surprised laughter.
His mighty tug hadn't brought her to a complete stop, but it slowed her to a crawl. Her momentum was gone. Joshua continued past her, popping up out of the water with his fingers clasping the wall.
"I won!" he shouted, jubilation evident in his tone.
In an effort to be a good sport, she finished the race. But as soon as she'd scrubbed the water from her face, she calmly informed him, "You cheated."
"I cheated? What about you pushing off the wall?"
Her chin tipped up defiantly. "You didn't stipulate that pushing off the wall was against the rules. Besides," she added with a murmur, "the underdog must take every advantage."
Immediately she realized her mistake.
All her life she'd seen herself as just that: the underdog. With no education to speak of, she'd had to use creative thinking to seek out new and better ways of getting the job done. She invariably felt inferior to the co-workers around her, but that didn't mean she couldn't do just as good or better a job than they. Her pride had always depended on it.
But now that she'd made the hasty statement, she hoped Joshua didn't pick up on it and decide to question her.
"That is true," he agreed with a great deal of pomp. "And you are the underdog. Seeing as how my biceps and back muscles are double the size of yours. I may have taken unfair advantage."
The devilish gleam in his eye almost made her burst out laughing.
"Are you insinuating that just because you're a man, you're naturally the better, faster swimmer?" she asked. Then she boasted, "If you hadn't cheated, I would have beaten you by a mile."
His chuckle was deep and rumbly. "I know," he told her. "Why do you think I had to resort to blatant cheating?"
Humor got the better of her, pinching one cheek into a grin. Finally, she just stopped fighting it and laughed outright.
"You are so bad. You know that, don't you?" she asked.
"Mmm-hmm ." His eyes glinted wickedly.
Both of them stood in chest-deep water, balancing on the narrow ledge that circumvented the deep end of the pool. Cassie stretched out her foot and traced her toe as far as she could reach down the slope that led to the very bottom of the eight-foot depth. She clung to the side for support as she fought to control her wildly thumping heart. The man was too hot for words!
He waded closer and she felt the distinct urge to back up, but she held her ground.
"Cassie, Cassie, Cassie," he whispered, and he reached out with a fingertip to capture a droplet of water clinging to her cheek.
His touch was electric, and a pleasant bewilderment saturated her as she tried to figure out this new and extremely intimate change in his mood.
He was damned intriguing. He had her feeling so many different emotions, and constantly kept her just a little off kilter. It was scary, yet at the same time exhilarating.
Now, as the warm tips of his fingers lingered on her cheek, a delicious warmth curled low in her abdomen. His touch was as velvety as the sun-warmed water that lapped at her breasts, that swelled slowly up and down her forearms.
"You have dominated my thoughts ever since you've come into my home."
His quiet words were so astonishing that Cassie spoke without taking the time to think. "I have?" she asked.
"Mmm-hmm," he murmured.
He moved so close his warm breath brushed across her wet skin.
"Joshua," she said, her voice sounded very faint even to her own ears. "I don't think this is a good idea."
"What?"
She blinked away the pool water that had gathered on her eyelashes. "You know." And when the words to describe what was going on escaped her, she added, "This."
He moved closer even though she hadn't thought it was possible.
"This?"
"Yes!" she whispered.
"What is this, Cassie?"
She could see his pulse throbbing just beneath the skin at the base of his throat. "I don't know."
"If you don't know what it is," he whispered, giving her a gentle smile, "how can you be sure it isn't a good idea?"
Cassie knew there had to be at least half a dozen answers to that question, but for the life of her she couldn't think of any of them. Her mind went completely blank.
"It just isn't," she said, her innate protective instinct refusing to allow her to totally surrender to the sensual mood encompassing them, no matter how loudly her body screamed at her to.
He'd been on her mind too; there was no denying it. Hadn't she felt the urge to take a tiny tour of his bedroom? Hadn't she had to literally shut out temptation by closing the door of his room? Hadn't she thought and wondered and imagined? Yes, she'd spent too much time thinking about him.
He traced a finger along her cheekbone and then his delicate touch tickled the outer rim of her ear. Instinctively, she closed her eyes as a shiver of delight shimmied through her.
"I can't explain it," he said silkily. "But I am so attracted to you. I know what I'm feeling isn't logical, but I simply can't help myself." He gently caught her earlobe between his index finger and thumb. "I've never wanted a woman the way I want you."
Something about his confession didn't seem right, but enveloped as she was in this luscious haze of sensuality he conjured, she couldn't quite come up with a reason why.
"At first," he continued, "I thought what I was feeling was purely physical. That age-old, man-woman sex appeal. I was quite certain that if I could only get the chance to kiss you senseless, then I'd exorcize you from my system."
Bending his head toward hers, he planted the barest of kisses on the corner of her mouth. A liquid heat eddied inside her, languidly filling her to the brim with… something… something she didn't dare put a name to.
"But as the weekend progressed," he said huskily, "I realized that my thoughts of you were based on more than just the physical."
She wanted to speak, but then he kissed her again, his lips scarcely touching the opposite corner of her mouth. The question she'd wanted to ask was gone, splintered into a dozen broken fragments in her passion-fogged brain.
He ran his fingers along her jaw and tipped up her chin so he could gaze into her face. His dark eyes were heavy-lidded now, and Cassie felt mesmerized by them and the intimate aura he conjured.
"Would you mind if I conducted a little experiment?" he murmured.
"An experiment?" Her voice seemed thin and far off.
"Mmm-hmm. You see, I came up with a hypothesis." One cheek muscle twitched with an appealing smile. "The one I told you about just now, that kissing you would expel you from my mind." He chuckled with a throaty rumble. "I don't believe it will work," he admitted, "but I am a scientist. And proving and disproving theories is my life."
She closed her eyes when his palm cupped her jaw.
"So, what do you say?" he whispered. "May I kiss you?"
She answered him with an almost imperceptible nod of her head. Then she softly added, "Please."
His lips pressed to hers, velvety warm and moist. The firm, gentle pressure of his mouth sent currents jolting through her. She felt his tongue play lightly across her lips, not intruding or demanding, but testing, tasting.
Her muscles seemed to melt yet tens
e at the same time and she relaxed against his hard chest. His soft, springy hair brushed against the flesh left bare by her bathing suit. It tickled in a way she found delightful.
When his arms encircled her, she felt his palms slide across her still-damp back. She wanted to sigh contentedly, but her breathlessness made that impossible– the electric charge shooting through her did too. Once again Joshua was causing her emotions to go to war inside her.
He smelled of chlorine and the dark, musky aroma that was his cologne. She relaxed enough to inhale deeply and she reveled in his scent.
His lips and tongue became more ardent and she realized that he wanted more. She gladly parted her lips and her tongue met his in a slow, tentative dance of welcome.
Far in the back of her brain, she heard tiny whispers of objection echoing, prodding for her attention. But she shut them out; she completely ignored them. She wanted this kiss, this closeness, like she'd never wanted anything before.
But this man is your employer! This time the voice was louder, most insistent, forcing its way to the forefront of her brain.
She pulled back, ending the kiss abruptly. Staring at him wide-eyed, she made a halfhearted attempt to pull herself from his embrace.
"Joshua," she protested.
"I knew it," he said in a hoarse whisper, his gaze heavy and filled with desire. "My analysis of the data disproves the hypothesis."
"It does?" Cassie couldn't keep the question from slipping past her lips. The look in his eyes made her heart begin to race.
"Mmm-hmm. I've kissed you, yet you're still up here." He tapped his temple. "My thoughts are burning for you." Then he added wryly, "As are other various parts of me."
The unabashed insinuation shocked her and caused her sanity to snap into place like a rubber band, sharp and stinging. "Joshua," she repeated, keeping her tone as level as possible. "I really think–"
He cut off her words by pressing two fingers against her lips. "Before you speak," he said, "let me examine the data and form a conclusion. My thoughts of you this weekend had me feeling like a teenager. I wanted you and thought that a kiss would be sufficient. But now that I've completed the experiment, I'm left wanting more. Much more."
