A slow grin replaced his serious expression and Kel chuckled, then took another sip of his coffee. “I do remember that night, quite vividly.”
“Then why did you pretend that you didn’t?” Darcy demanded.
“Until you mentioned it, I wasn’t sure you remembered that night, so don’t act all insulted.”
Darcy didn’t know what to say. Her indignation slowly dissolved, replaced by the uneasy feeling that what they’d begun last night was not over—not by a long shot. She sat down in her chair. “And you recognized me yesterday at the candy shop?”
Kel nodded. “The minute I looked into your eyes. Why do you think I’m here, Darcy? I’m not really a spa kind of guy, although I’ve been thinking I could really use a nice seaweed wrap. And that salt scrub sounds like a good deal. ‘It makes the skin glow with a youthful texture.’”
“It’s called exfoliation,” Darcy said. “And if you’re not a spa kind of guy, then what are you? A sex kind of guy? What happened last night is not going to happen again.”
He reached for her hand and distractedly twisted his fingers through hers. “Why not? I certainly enjoyed myself and so did you, unless you were…” He chuckled softly. “Were you faking it, Darcy?”
“No,” she said, trying to ignore the way his thumb caressed the inside of her wrist.
“Then you enjoyed yourself as much as I did?”
She straightened, pulling her hand away and clutching it in her lap. “That depends upon how much you enjoyed yourself,” she said.
“A lot,” he said. “More than I thought possible in such a short amount of time. Why should we deny ourselves that kind of pleasure?”
“What are you suggesting? That we just carry on with each other until…you decide to leave?” The prospect should have sounded unthinkable, but in truth, Darcy found the idea strangely intriguing. A week of fabulous sex with a devastatingly handsome man, those incredible hands on her body, that mouth driving her wild in bed, and those beautiful blue eyes watching her as he buried himself deep inside her. What more could a girl ask for?
A shiver coursed through her body. Had she possessed just a bit more courage, she’d drag Kel to her office right now and seduce him all over again. But she’d do well to carefully consider all the consequences of his proposed interlude. “So we’d be together for as long as you’re here and then we’d go back to our lives, no strings attached.” Darcy twirled her spoon in her coffee as she contemplated the offer.
“Sounds good,” he said. “With the understanding that we will take our time from now on.”
“I’ll think about it,” she finally murmured.
“Ah, don’t do that,” Kel said, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. “This should be a simple decision, Darcy. Either you want me or you don’t. Don’t think, just do.”
“Who died and made you Yoda?” Darcy asked. “There are a lot of things to consider here.”
“Like what?”
Darcy opened her mouth, prepared to list all her reasons for not sleeping with Kel again. But then she’d be forced to admit she might not be able to control her feelings for him. Yes, the time they’d spend together would be incredible, but she’d still be left to deal with residual effects once he’d gone.
And then there were the tricky morning-after conversations. Oh, by the way, great orgasm last night. And that thing you did with your tongue, that was the best. “I’d rate it 43 on a scale of one to ten,” she muttered.
“What?” he asked, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on the table.
Darcy swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking out loud.”
“Here’s how I see it,” Kel began. “We seem to have this attraction to each other. I haven’t quite figured it out, but I’d sure like to. The problem is I can’t be in the same room with you without wanting to tear your clothes off and kiss your naked body. So, I suggest we deal with that.”
“You—You’re thinking about that right now?” Darcy asked.
“I’ve pretty much been thinking about that 24 hours a day since I saw you at the candy shop,” he admitted with a boyish grin.
And before that? Darcy wondered if he’d thought about her at all in the past five years. Had he stared at the ceiling, trying to sleep at night, with thoughts of her running through his brain? Had he caught the scent of her perfume in the air and remembered the way she’d kissed him, or seen her in a crowd and followed until he realized it wasn’t her? Had he been obsessed with the memory of her?
“I have a job to do here,” she said. “My father is coming in at the end of the week to do a walk-through and I have a million things to finish before then.”
“But I bet not one of them is as much fun as I am,” Kel said. He leaned over the table and caught her chin with his thumb, tipping her face up to his. His lips touched hers softly, his tongue barely grazing the crease in her lips.
God, why did his kiss have such a profound effect on her? She ought to be able to resist him if she wanted to. After all, she knew he’d spent years honing his talents on a string of other women. For Kel Martin, she was just one more in a long line of females to tumble.
So what was wrong with that? As long as she kept herself from becoming emotionally involved, Darcy could have a fabulous week with him. Ending each day in his arms, in his bed would be sheer decadence—something that even a fifty-pound box of chocolates could never match. And didn’t she deserve a little pleasure in her life?
“I have to go to work,” Darcy said. “I’ll see you tonight and let you know what I’ve decided.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Kel called as she walked away.
DARCY GLANCED over at the clock, then kicked back from the edge of the pool. Midnight. She’d spent the entire day thinking about Kel and nothing she did could distract her mind from what they’d shared the night before.
An afternoon business meeting in San Francisco had occupied her time but she’d barely been able to focus on the architect’s plans for the new wing of the spa. Instead, she’d thought about what she’d be doing later that evening, running the possible sexual scenarios over and over in her head.
She’d expected to return by dinner, in plenty of time to discuss the terms of her decision with Kel. But a conference call with her father had delayed her for hours. Darcy had finally pulled into the parking garage at eleven, exhausted yet filled with a nervous anticipation.
A quick check of the computer brought up Kel’s itinerary for the day. After breakfast, he’d played 18 holes of golf, then had two beers in the bar along with a late lunch. At four p.m., he’d enjoyed a deep-tissue massage with Cynda, then bought some toiletries at the hotel gift shop. He’d made two phone calls to his home phone in San Francisco and watched an action movie on pay-per-view before ordering room service—a steak and baked potato with apple pie for dessert. He’d also left three messages on her voice mail and a note at the front desk.
Darcy floated on her back and stared up at the ceiling of the pool house. The reflection from the underwater lights swirled in a soothing pattern above her and she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Swimming always exhausted her. Whenever she found herself facing a sleepless night, when her mind was plagued with business worries, she’d come to the pool and swim laps until her head cleared and her body relaxed.
Resisting Kel Martin was what really worried her. The temptation to go to his room was almost overwhelming. She’d sat in her office for fifteen minutes considering her choices. Take a swim, try to sleep or sneak up to Kel’s suite and see if they might be able to enjoy a repeat of yesterday’s activities.
Darcy stroked to the far end of the pool where a huge glass wall overlooked the grounds. Outside, a full moon hung low over the horizon and a chilly winter wind buffeted the high pines. As she made a neat kick turn, her gaze caught sight of a figure strolling across the wide stone terrace outside. Probably one of the maintenance staff, she thought as she started another lap.
But when she returned
to that end of the pool again, she saw Kel standing on the deck. He was dressed in an old T-shirt and a faded pair of jeans that hung low on his hips. His feet were bare and his hair tousled, as if he’d just crawled out of bed.
“The pool is closed,” she said, grabbing onto the edge and tucking her knees to her chest.
He raked his hand through his hair. “I couldn’t sleep. Too many things on my mind.”
“How did you know where to find me?”
“The front desk clerk said you sometimes swim here late at night. I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Darcy’s hair was plastered to her forehead and she submerged once more and brushed it from her eyes. She watched as Kel’s eyes drifted from her face to her chest.
“When you retire from baseball, you ought to consider a career as a private investigator,” she said.
“Maybe so.” He squatted in front of her, his elbows resting on his knees. “I need to find something to do with myself pretty quick.” He shook his head, a rueful smile twisting his lips. “I’m pretty much done with baseball.”
His words were so thoughtful, so direct, that Darcy felt as if she had been offered a glimpse of the real Kel Martin for the very first time. “How do you feel about that?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. You’re the first person I’ve told. I was supposed to have surgery in the post-season and I just didn’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Another shoulder operation, a year of rehab, all for a chance at another year or two at most. If the arm didn’t come back, I’d probably bounce around the league. I was thinking, instead, maybe I should get a start on the rest of my life.”
“Isn’t baseball your life?”
Kel shook his head. “I thought so, but I know better now. I’ve had a good run. My arm has lasted longer than 95% of the guys in the league.”
“Will you miss it?”
“It’s not real—the money, the fame, the women. I knew it wasn’t real from the start, but the past few years it was starting to feel…like normal life and that scared me.”
“And what will you do now?”
“The things all guys do sooner or later. Marriage, a family.” He chuckled softly. “But right now, I’m thinking about taking a swim.”
He stood, then reached down for the hem of his T-shirt and tugged it over his head. Darcy couldn’t help but stare. He really did have a beautiful body, lean yet muscular, his wide shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. Her gaze followed a light trail of hair that began at his collarbone and disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans.
“It’s not like people won’t remember you,” she said, searching for anything to distract her from a careful study of his crotch. “You—you pitched a no-hitter, a perfect game. People will remember that.”
“I didn’t realize you followed my career.”
Darcy’s smile faded as she pushed away from the edge of the pool, swimming to the middle. “You were all over the papers. It was kind of hard to miss.”
“You followed my career,” he repeated.
“What if I did?”
“I like that,” he said. “I like knowing that you thought about me once or twice in the five years we were apart.”
“More than once or twice,” she admitted.
“Me, too,” he said. “I thought about you quite a bit.”
She watched him from the water as he unzipped his jeans and skimmed them down over his hips and knees. She’d expected boxers, but he hadn’t bothered with underwear. “You—you didn’t bring a suit,” she stuttered, stating the obvious.
“I wasn’t planning to swim,” Kel said, standing naked in front of her. “I understand the whole theory of skinny-dipping is that everyone takes their clothes off.”
Darcy shook her head. “Oh, no. I run this hotel. If someone walked in and found me in the pool, naked, with a naked man, the staff would never stop talking about it. If you come in, I’m getting out.”
Kel stepped to the edge of the pool and dove neatly into the water, swimming to the center. He came up in front of her, grabbing her waist as he did. Darcy screamed and tried to kick away from him, but Kel held tight.
“I can’t seem to get enough of you,” he said, gently tugging down one strap of her tank suit and dropping a kiss on her shoulder. “Why is that?”
“You’re seriously demented?”
He captured her mouth and plunged his tongue inside in a lightning-quick assault. “I think it’s all the chocolate I’ve been eating,” he said, his mouth now trailing up her neck to her ear. “Have you been eating chocolate? Because you taste delicious.”
“I may have had a few pieces,” she admitted.
He tugged the other strap down and her tank suit gaped in the front, exposing the tops of her breasts. Kel tugged a bit harder and the suit was suddenly around her waist. “That’s much better,” he said.
Darcy stared at him for a long moment. Why did she even bother fighting him? All her resolve just disappeared the moment he touched her. With a resigned smile, she skimmed the suit down over her hips, then kicked it off. “Satisfied?”
“Not yet, but I will be,” he teased. “And so will you.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
Kel yanked her naked body against his, his eyes fixed on hers. “I missed you today.”
Darcy moaned softly, tipping her head to the side. “Why do you insist on torturing me?”
“Because you seem to enjoy it so much,” Kel said. He drew back, then traced the shape of her lower lip with his finger. “You do enjoy it, don’t you, Darcy?”
She hesitated for a moment as Kel waited for her answer. He needed to know she wanted him as much as he wanted her. But was she ready to admit that? He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, his tongue invading her mouth as his fingers wove through her hair.
“Tell me you want me,” he murmured against her lips. “I want to hear you say it.”
“I want you,” Darcy said, dragging her mouth across his. Her body conformed to his as he pulled her legs up around his waist, his erection brushing against her suggestively. They bobbed in the water, kissing and touching, Darcy marveling at the slippery feel of their naked bodies touching underwater.
“If we do this here, one of us will end up drowned,” he said.
Darcy unwrapped her legs from his waist. “Then come with me,” she murmured. She swam to the end of the pool and climbed the steps to the deck, turning to face him as she did, unfazed by her nakedness.
A stack of fluffy white towels, embroidered with a gold “D,” sat in a nearby basket and Darcy grabbed one and wrapped it around her body. Then she turned back and watched as Kel followed her.
The sight of his shaft, hard and ready, sent a thrill racing through her. He was hers tonight, to enjoy for as long as she wished. Darcy picked up a towel and took it to him, slowly rubbing it over his damp skin and kissing the spots that she’d dried.
Kel closed his eyes, enjoying her little seduction, and for the first time, Darcy realized the power she held over him. Yes, he could seduce her, but she could just as easily seduce him. She slipped the towel around his neck and pulled him into another kiss, his desire pressing against her belly, hot and hard.
Darcy reached down and touched him, and Kel sucked in a sharp breath. Then, she stepped away from him and walked toward the spa. She could be a tease if she wanted to and Darcy wanted to return a little bit of the torment he’d lavished on her.
Each of the marble-lined steam showers were like small rooms, shower heads on three of the four walls with a low bench against one side. Darcy dropped her towel, then stepped inside and turned on the water, adjusting the temperature. A moment later, Kel joined her, grabbing her waist and pressing her back against the wall.
They stood under the rainfall of water, kissing, laughing, exploring each other’s bodies slowly and deliberately. Darcy ran her fingers over the scar at his shoulder, then kissed it, as if that could somehow make it bette
r.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. Kel cupped her breast in his hand and then bent and gently sucked on her nipple.
“I’m too small on top.”
He shook his head. His palms covered her breasts, his thumbs teasing at the hard peaks. “You’re perfect exactly the way you are,” he said. “See how we fit?” He straightened and pulled her against him, his hands firm on her hips. “As if we were made for each other.”
“I’m sure there are other women in this world who fit,” Darcy said, reaching around and placing her hands over his.
“Not like you,” he murmured. “Not like you.” He reached down and slipped his finger inside her. “See,” he whispered. “Perfect.”
Darcy held her breath as he slid in and out of her, teasing her closer to her release. But this wasn’t going to be about her, at least not yet. She drew his hand away and wrapped it around her neck. “I think it’s time I torture you for a change.”
“Please do,” he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender.
She pressed a kiss to his mouth, then trailed her lips lower and lower, down his chest to his belly, dropping kisses on his wet skin as she went. Then, kneeling in front of him, she slowly took him into her mouth. Kel groaned, furrowing his fingers through her wet hair in an attempt to control her.
The water seemed to heighten the experience, her palms sliding over his flat belly and narrow hips as she drew him in and out of her mouth, her fingertips exploring every hard angle and rippled muscle. As she brought him closer, with a hand to her head he urged her to slow her pace. But Darcy needed his surrender, wanted to feel it and taste it. Finally, with a frustrated growl, he bent down and drew her to her feet.
“We can’t stay here,” he said in a ragged voice. “We don’t have a condom.”
“We don’t need one,” Darcy replied.
He caught her gaze, confused. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll take care of you,” she said, her hand drifting back down over his abs to his belly.
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