Before Colt could do more than touch her elbow and send sparks of desire shooting through her, Yanni noticed her. “Kim! There you are my beauty. I’ve been waiting all night.”
“Hi, Yanni,” she called out, forcing a happiness on greeting her friend that she wasn’t feeling. Colt had her too confused and stressed.
Colt jolted as if he’d been shot. Kim glanced at him and his face was tight. “Yanni?” he murmured.
Kim smiled, victorious. This should get Colt to back off for a minute. She’d already dropped hints about how handsome Yanni was, right after she’d been stupid enough to tell Colt she hadn’t dated anyone in the past five years. Yanni was the perpetual flirt and constantly asked her out, seeming to get bolder with every rejection. They always teased and laughed together, though she’d never agreed to date him. Yanni would help her to convince Colt to stop trying to kiss her at every turn.
Colt did the exact opposite of what she’d been hoping for. He extended his hand across the bar to Yanni and said, “Colt Quinn, Kim’s boyfriend, and you are?”
Yanni’s dark eyes narrowed. He quickly shook Colt’s hand and then planted both hands on the bar. “You have a boyfriend, sweetheart?”
Kim wanted to sink into the warm water and hide from both of them. Her great idea wasn’t working out so great. She couldn’t say no and risk their cover, but if she said yes Colt would win, and claim her lips again. Maybe that was a win for her too. The kissing at least.
Both men were staring intently at her.
“Temporary boyfriend.” She winked at Yanni. “Colt’s just here for a very short visit.”
Yanni grinned while Colt’s face tightened.
“So that’s how it is,” Yanni said.
“No that’s not how it is,” Colt said. “Excuse us, please.”
Colt tugged at her hand. Kim was tempted to tell him where to get off, plop down at the bar, and let Yanni whip her up a piña colada. Heaven knew she could use something to clear her head, or maybe make her forget about the mess she was in. The stalker being close should bother her more, but she’d been dealing with that stress for so long it was second nature to push it away. Colt Quinn was a mess that she didn’t know how to escape.
“I’ll see you soon, Yanni,” she murmured and let Colt pull her through the pool toward the walkway.
Colt glanced back at Yanni and his grip on her hand tightened.
They walked on the pathway past several pools. The large children’s play area appeared on their left, and they walked past the pool where the slides exited. Colt was missing some of the best pools, and throwing off the way she usually spent her time at the hot pools, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Where’s a quiet place we can talk?” he asked.
There were many quiet places they could talk but she loved the pool at the very top. “Keep going,” she said but then she murmured, “I don’t want to … talk to you.”
Colt’s jaw tightened, and she could see a muscle popping along it. “It’s about the stalker not … us.”
She nodded, and they walked quietly side by side, greenery draping above them framing the trail, passing pool after pool. Finally they came to the highest pool. There was a large waterfall above it, feeding the hot water into the pool. Tile beds were placed throughout the shallow pool. Two other couples were on beds, but the beds were far enough apart they wouldn’t overhear a conversation. This pool was quiet, except for the waterfall, and dimly lit. The steam leaving the water gave it an ethereal feel.
Colt directed her toward a bed farthest away from the waterfall, surrounded by greenery and very private. He finally released her hand and Kim laid down on the bed, her abdomen, arms, and legs in the water. It always surprised her how comfortable these beds were.
Colt laid down, much too close, his arm pressed against hers.
Kim turned her head to face him at the same moment he turned toward her. Their lips were inches apart, and the remembrance of that brief kiss was too close to her heart. She leaned back and muttered, “What’s going on?”
Colt licked his lips and searched her gaze, but thankfully he kept things professional. “Yanni could be a prime suspect for your stalker. I don’t want you near him until he’s cleared the background checks. Do you know his last name?”
She shook her head, highly doubting Yanni was the stalker.
“It shouldn’t be hard to find since he’s employed here. How long have you known him?”
She thought about it for a second. “Almost a year.”
“Have you dated him?”
She shook her head again, hating to admit that to Colt, but she needed to help find the stalker not try to make an old boyfriend jealous.
“That’s good.” He shifted on the bed, and the entire side of his body pressed against hers.
Kim turned her head so she wasn’t facing him and swallowed hard but her throat was still dry. Colt had fallen silent, as if he were thinking, but he wrapped his hand around hers, lifted their joined hands and rested them on his leg then shifted in even closer. Kim squeezed her eyes shut. It was too much. She couldn’t keep fighting how much her body yearned to be close to him. She searched her mind for something, anything to say to break this tension.
“Why did you react like a jealous boyfriend if you think Yanni’s a suspect?” she asked.
Colt lifted their joined hands up and brushed his lips over her knuckles. Kim’s stomach plunged and then filled with a pleasant heat. He spoke against her knuckles, his breath brushing the back of her hand and doing crazy things to her insides. “I’m sorry for reacting like that, love, but I am a jealous boyfriend.”
Kim took some calming breaths and resisted turning onto her side and kissing him right on that smirky mouth of his. Her body was trembling with desire for him, and she was in so much trouble of falling all over again.
Finally, she opened her eyes and whispered, “You are not my boyfriend.”
Colt’s blue gaze reflected hurt. “I’d do anything to be much more than your boyfriend, love.”
Kim’s jaw dropped open, and the insinuation of them being more—engaged, married, who knew what he meant—it made her equal parts full of yearning and full of frustration. She chose to focus on the frustration.
Ripping her hand free, she scooted away from him on the bed. “You stay on your side,” she demanded when he tried to move with her.
Colt lifted his hands and tilted his head to the side. “Kim ... Please don’t shut me out again.”
Fire filled her chest, luckily it was the fire of anger, not desire, this time. “You are the one that chose to shut me out five years ago. Stay over there, and don’t you dare talk to me about being a boyfriend or more again.”
Colt’s blue eyes were full of the most beseeching look she’d ever seen. She closed her eyes, lay back on the tile bed, and ignored him. She wished she could truly shut him out and relax like she usually did in this tranquil spot but lush greenery, waterfall sounds, soft lighting, and warm water were no match for the angst Colt created in her. She clenched her fists and bit at her lip when she wanted to scream in frustration and beat her fists on his chest. Dang him for showing back up and upending her stable, boring life.
Chapter 8
Colt laid on the tile bed with Kim so close yet so far away. He’d messed up with her, again. How many times would he get close only for her to shove him away? He didn’t blame her. He knew his mistakes from years past were going to take a long time to heal. The main worry he had now was, would they ever heal? One of the things he loved about Kim was how strong-willed and determined she was. Would those characteristics keep them apart?
The waterfall cascading down and the quiet, dim atmosphere were almost enough to want to relax. He couldn’t allow his guard down while protecting Kim, and he couldn’t relax knowing he’d damaged this amazing woman, and she might never be whole again. Crazy how many years he spent thinking she was the one in the wrong, the one who’d damaged him.
He turned his head
until his cheek was against the tile, and he could study her. Her eyes were shut, and though she looked like she was relaxing there was a tightness in the lines of her body that showed she was anything but relaxed. He admired the way she looked in her one-piece, floral suit. She was beautiful and desirable, no doubt about that, but the depth of her strength, the closeness and fun, light-filled relationship they’d once shared was what truly pulled him in.
Did she like that Yanni joker at the bar? The guy had obviously been into her. Colt hadn’t missed the death glare the man shot him as he pulled Kim away. That guy could so easily be her stalker. He was a few years older than her, American, and there had been something in his eyes that Colt didn’t like.
“Stop staring at me,” Kim gritted out, barely opening her mouth to speak.
Colt chuckled and couldn’t resist brushing the dark hair off her shoulder. Her body trembled under his touch, and he let his fingers linger on her warm, firm flesh. “Sorry. You’re just so pretty to stare at.”
Kim’s eyes flew open, their dark depths pulling him in. “Look at the scenery. It’s much prettier.”
“Not to me.”
She rolled her eyes and shut them again. Colt trailed his fingers down her arm, and then entwined their fingers together.
“There’s nobody here but us,” she muttered. “Stop with the fake boyfriend crap.”
How many times did he have to tell her it wasn’t fake? He didn’t release her hand, but he didn’t move closer to her on the bed like he wanted to either. “Why is it every time we get close, you pull away again?”
She turned to look at him; her dark eyes beseechingly beautiful. “Because I wise up and realize that all you’re going to do is break my heart.”
Colt’s own heart seemed to crack. “Why would I do that?”
Kim snorted and yanked her hand free. She sat up on the bed and pointed at him. “Don’t give me your crappy lines, Colt Quinn. I loved you, and you cheated on me and broke my heart. I’m not giving you a chance to do it again.”
“Kim …” His voice got low and husky. “I would never cheat on you again. I’d do anything to make this right and have you forgive me.”
“Don’t,” she warned. Springing to her feet she splashed out of the pool.
Colt stood and hurried after her. She ran down the path, and he rushed to keep up. The inlaid rock path was vicious against his bare feet. He caught her, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and lifted her off her feet.
“Stop,” she yelled.
Colt pulled her in close and whispered in her ear, “Please calm down, Kim. You’re going to make a scene, and we don’t need that with your case.” He hoped to rationalize with her, for her case, but also for her to not shut him out again.
Kim wilted in his arms, leaning back against him for a brief second before stiffening. She tilted her head to meet his gaze. “Fine,” she whispered, “But can we please get out of here?”
He held her gaze, praying she’d see how sincere he was, how much he loved her, but her dark eyes were giving nothing away. “If that’s what you want,” he finally said.
“I want to be home where you don’t feel the need to touch me.”
Colt always felt the need to touch her, but now definitely wasn’t the time to say so. “We can go,” he muttered.
He released his hold on her, but took her hand again as they walked to pick up their towels and flip flops and then go to the locker room. He felt eyes on him. Assuming it was one of Sutton’s men he didn’t look around and give the man’s position away, but as they got their stuff and walked toward their car he caught a glimpse of a well-built man with a long, dark ponytail disappearing behind the front desk.
Chapter 9
Kim went straight to her room to shower after they got home from Baldi, and she didn’t come back out, even though she really wanted water and Tylenol to calm her aching head. She slept horribly, and the headache wasn’t all to blame. She wondered if Colt was sleeping on the floor outside her room, she wondered if there was sincerity in any of the pretty words he flung around, and she wondered how she could stay strong and not beg him to kiss her. They needed to find the stalker so she could go back to her safe, scheduled boring life.
At five-thirty she was up and dressed to run earlier than usual. She eased open her door and didn’t see Colt on the floor. The guest bedroom door was open, and she didn’t see him in there either.
Walking slowly downstairs, she stopped short when she spied him on her living room floor. He was wearing nothing but some cotton shorts and pounding out pushups with military precision.
“What are you doing?” she yelled then she clutched her head. She shouldn’t have yelled.
Colt leapt to his feet with his hands out. “Kim! Are you all right?”
She released her head, folded her arms across her chest, and bit at her lip. “I’m fine,” she sneered, she was so far from fine it was ridiculous. “What are you doing?”
His brow furrowed. “Push-ups.” He gestured around. “You don’t have any weights so I was using body weight.”
Her eyes roved over his body without her mind’s permission. He was so beautifully sculpted she was suddenly out of breath. She made it up to his face, and his lips were turned up in the most irresistible, and infuriating, smirk. Her face burned, and her shoulders tightened.
Rushing past him, she hurried into the kitchen, pulled out a glass from the cupboard and filled it full. She drained it in three large gulps, not even caring that the water was lukewarm. Refilling the cup, she yanked out the Tylenol, but her hands were not cooperating and she was shaking so bad she couldn’t get the stupid thing open.
Colt approached her from behind. He rested his hand on her back. “You seem out of sorts,” he said quietly.
Kim dropped the Tylenol on the counter, whirled on him, and pushed out a huffy breath. “I seem out of sorts? How would you feel if the situation was reversed and I was doing pushups on your living room floor without my shirt on?” As soon as the words were out she knew they were the wrong ones.
Colt’s blue eyes focused in on her. He took a step closer, and she backed into the countertop. “First of all, you could do pushups on my floor without a shirt on any time.”
“Stop it,” she gritted out.
“Second of all, if the situation was reversed, I pray I would give you a chance to explain, so we could forgive and forget and be together like we’re meant to be.”
Kim couldn’t catch a full breath with him so close and her head pounding like it was. “I … I need Tylenol,” she gasped out. “My head’s killing me.”
Colt nodded but didn’t move out of her space. He reached past her, his bare chest brushing against her arm, sending a thrill straight through her, and picked up the pill bottle. Opening it, he tilted it into her hand. She took the two pills and reached for her water, but then her arm brushed his, and she started sweating.
“Can you back up?” she growled. His warm, musky cologne was doing a number on her insides.
Colt held up his hands and backed away a couple steps, a knowing look in his eyes and that appealing smile on his lips. Kim threw the pills in her mouth, followed them with a long drink of water, and then set the glass down.
Colt stepped closer. “Are you okay?” he asked in a soft, concerned voice.
Kim was too short, definitely vertically challenged. There were so many issues and problems with them, but that was the one that bugged her right now. Her gaze was focused in the wrong spot, right at the top of his chest, and she absolutely loved the way the smooth mound of his pectoral muscle was displayed. She let her eyes trail up his shoulders and neck to his handsome face. Was she okay? What did he think? No unstable woman would be okay in this situation.
“No, I’m not okay! I have a headache, I didn’t sleep well, and you’re not giving me any space.”
“Do you need space, love?”
“Yes! And why do you smell so good? Nobody should smell that good when they’ve be
en working out.”
Colt smiled but it wasn’t his usual smirk. He put his hand on her lower back and directed her to the kitchen chairs. “Sit, please,” he said.
Him touching her had her warm all over. She was such a wimp when it came to this man, but at least she wasn’t concentrating on the pain in her head. She sat and Colt came behind her. He lifted her hair out of the way and started kneading her neck and shoulders. Kim relaxed into his hands and closed her eyes. It felt so incredible she couldn’t possibly pull away or yell at him. He worked on her neck and shoulders for a while then started massaging her scalp. Kim moaned and surrendered to his hands.
After a few blissful moments, he walked around, pulled out a chair, and sat close to her. His fingers started at her forehead and worked the tension out there before moving across her sinuses and cheeks. His hands on her face were intimate and felt so good she could hardly resist moaning again.
As he massaged her temples and the side of her head, she made the mistake of opening her eyes. His blue gaze was fixed on her, and when he caught her looking his gaze deepened to that enticing look she didn’t know how to resist. Kim had never been so tempted to lean forward and kiss the dickens out of someone. Shutting her eyes quickly, she tried to shut out how he made her feel, but it was near impossible with him so close, his musky cologne surrounding her, and his fingers tenderly helping her headache go away.
He stood and massaged through her scalp again. She leaned into his fingertips. Then working his way down the back of her head, his fingers seemed to pull the tension out. He finished with her neck and shoulders, gradually going to a feather light touch before he lifted his hands away. “Better, love?”
Quinn Family Romance Collection Page 75