by Leslie Kelly
“It’s okay,” he told her, trying to keep her calm with his voice as he edged along the side of the pool. “He’s not going to bother you.”
“Snake. Oh, God, a snake. I hate snakes, Leo,” she said, whimpering.
“I’m not a big fan either, darlin’, but I don’t think he’s paying too much attention to you. He just wanted to take a swim.”
“Aren’t there j-jungles, rivers, entire oceans?” she said, panic rising in her voice. “Why my pool? Why now when I’m naked and jumped in without looking!”
His mind tried to make him think about that naked part but he was too focused on the way her voice was shaking and the danger the animal posed to her. If it was a boa, it wasn’t poisonous, which was a good thing. But he doubted anything he said was going to make her feel better.
“Listen to me now,” he said as he spied the pool supply closet tucked up against the corner of her bungalow. Hopefully it would contain a skimmer; he doubted the maintenance men would carry them room to room every day. “I’ll take care of it, Madison. But I need you to very calmly get to the edge of the pool and climb out.”
“I c-can’t...”
“Of course you can. I’ll watch it so you can turn around.”
“No.”
“Just move slowly.”
“Have you forgotten the naked p-part?” she groaned, though he wasn’t sure if her voice was shaking due to fear of the snake or embarrassment over her—gulp—nakedness.
“I won’t look,” he promised.
And he wouldn’t. He was focused on the snake and the closet and would not allow himself to cast so much as a glimpse at her lithe form gleaming beneath the water. Not while he still had an unwelcome visitor to contend with.
It was just his luck to catch her skinny-dipping when she was in real physical danger.
He edged sideways, noting there was no lock on the closet and finding himself very thankful for that. Reaching it, he yanked the door open, tore his attention off the snake long enough to assess what was inside and gratefully spotted not only a skimmer on a long pole, but also a sizeable bucket that had once held chemicals but was now empty. A lid lay beside it on the concrete floor of the storage closet.
Looking back to assure her, he realized she had moved closer to the wall but still hadn’t taken her eyes off the snake. “Okay, it’s time to climb out now, Madison,” he told her as he retrieved the items from the closet. “Once I try to grab him, he’s going to panic and swim away.”
She didn’t argue anymore. From the corner of his eye, he saw her do as he’d said and put her hands on the pool’s edge. Then his attention zoomed right back to her swimming companion.
He moved to the edge of the pool, placing the bucket close by and trying to gauge just how quick he’d have to be if he wanted to swoop that sucker up and drop him inside it. Part of him thought about just leaving it, getting her inside and calling the hotel to deal with it. But he knew if he did, she would never have another moment’s peace. It could easily slither away and if it did, she’d be envisioning it returning every time she closed her eyes. Hell, his bungalow was right next door...so would he!
“Ready?” he asked, not glancing toward her, though he saw her vague shape standing on the far side of the pool. He had a quick impression of hands crossed in the Eve-old woman’s modesty pose, but that was all. “Madison?”
She only groaned.
He took a deep breath, then plunged the skimmer into the water, an inch below the animal, and jerked his arms to lift it out of the pool. It immediately squirmed and almost fell over the side, but luck was with him. He was able to flip it right into the waiting bucket.
The snake immediately began to slither up to escape, but he covered the opening with the skimmer, blocking its exit while he grabbed the lid. Then he switched them, catching the angry animal inside, grabbing a large, decorative rock to place on it so the lid wouldn’t pop back off. It had taken no more than thirty seconds, but his heart was racing, and his breaths were choppy and forced, as if he’d just run a block wearing his protective gear and carrying a ladder.
“Oh, my God, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
He turned just as Madison threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook. She shuddered, her entire form quaking.
“It’s okay, it’s over.”
“I hate snakes. I’m terrified of them. When I saw that thing in the pool a second after I’d leaped in, I thought I’d have a heart attack and die.”
“Well, it’s done. I’ll call the front office and have them send somebody down to take care of it.”
She shivered again. “I can’t even look at one of them. I know it’s irrational, it’s stupid, but I just... I’m offended by them, somehow. Does that make any sense?” She pulled back a little and rubbed away some moisture that had appeared in her eyes. “My rational mind understands why snakes are needed for the environment, and I know the chances of ever being bitten by one, much less dying, are slim to none. But they just offend some deep, primal part of me.”
He believed her. There was no way he couldn’t. Her voice was hoarse, shaking, and her eyes were slightly wild. She looked almost on the verge of hysteria.
He slid his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him, and stroked his fingertips in the hollow of her back. “It’s okay. It’s over. Shh.”
Her head dropped onto his shoulder, and they stood there for few long moments. He could feel her gasping breaths, not to mention her racing heart thudding against his. He continued to whisper consoling words to her, brushing his lips against her damp hair, then against her temple where the pulse fluttered wildly. He would have thought she would have begun to calm down by now, but if anything her heart seemed to be pounding even harder against his chest.
His bare chest.
Which was pressed against her bare chest.
Which went along with her bare everything.
Holy shit. In the excitement, he’d momentarily forgotten what she wasn’t wearing. She’d been—and was now—completely naked.
He should let her go, spin around, turn his back and toss her a towel. A nice guy would do that. The hero she’d called him would do that.
Leo didn’t do that.
He just couldn’t. Not yet. Not when she felt so good—so pliant and womanly. Now, when she was curled up against him like she needed his warmth to revive every cell in her body, how could he possibly step away from her?
He continued to stroke the small of her back, then let one hand glide down to brush against the top curve of her buttock. She sighed against his neck, pressing her lips against his raging pulse, telling him not to stop. Considering stopping hadn’t even been on the top ten list of possibilities, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Her body was all lush curves and softness, and he loved the texture of her skin beneath his fingers. He continued to stroke the curve of her bottom, tracing a line to her hip, which he cupped in his hand. She was so perfectly shaped, with the indentation of her waist designed to be wrapped in a man’s arms, those hips intended to be clung to by someone buried to the hilt inside her.
“Leo,” she groaned, kissing his neck again.
Her warm, soft tongue slipped out and tasted his earlobe, and he groaned low in his throat.
Her invitation wasn’t voiced, but it was clear just the same. He didn’t know whether they would have ended up like this if not for her fright. He had no idea whether she’d been tortured by the same kind of long, restless, sleepless night he had, filled with erotic dreams and even more erotic fantasies. He didn’t even know if this was going to go anywhere else. All he knew was he had to kiss her.
So he did. Not saying another word, he lifted a hand to her hair, sliding his fingers into the tangled ponytail, and tugged her head back so she was looking up at him. Giving her face a searching glance, he dropped his mouth onto hers.
Soft at first. A tiny shared breath. Then they both fell into the kiss.
It was easy, so easy. And so good.
Her tongue met his with a languorous thrust, and he drank deeply of her, exploring every bit of her mouth. He found himself wanting to memorize the shape of her, the scent of her, the feel of her. They stroked and licked, tangled, gave and took. She tasted sweet and minty, delicious, and having his mouth pressed against hers felt as natural and right as coming home after a long time away.
His hand still cupped her hip, and he stroked her, held her tightly against him. With his other one, he traced a path up her midriff to the side of a full breast, pressed flat against his chest. He was dying to see her, to let his other senses be filled by her, but right now, memorizing her taste was enough. It had to be enough.
She was groaning, sighing, and her own hands explored, too. She tangled one in his hair, fingering it, twisting it, holding him close as if afraid he might end the kiss before they’d both had their fill.
Her other hand dug into his shoulder before sliding down his arm. Their fingers curled together, then she reached between them to stroke his stomach. Her hand drifted close, so damned close, to his rigid cock, which was so hard, it had pushed up beyond the top of his swim trunks.
“Oh, God,” she groaned against his mouth, realizing what had happened as she caressed the swollen tip.
His body was helpless to resist the age-old urge to thrust toward her touch. Those soft, delicate fingers flicked lightly over his skin, the tip of her thumb smoothing out the moisture that seeped from him.
Before he could think or breathe or move, she’d tugged the trunks farther away from his groin, making room for her hand. She slipped it down, rubbing her palm all along the back of his cock, her long nails scraping ever so delicately on his tight balls.
He groaned, again rocking toward her, loving that she responded to his blatant need by wrapping her hand around him, at least as much as she could, and squeezing lightly. He heard her whimper. The sound seemed to convey both excitement and perhaps nervousness, as if she had just figured out, since her fingers couldn’t close entirely around him, how much he had to offer her.
She didn’t have to be nervous. He could make her wet enough to take every inch of him. And he was desperate to do it. More than he wanted to live until sundown did he want to sink into her—her mouth, her sex, somewhere wet and hot and slippery. And tight. Oh, God, yeah, tight.
She stroked him, up and down, matching the movements with each warm thrust of her tongue. He edged away, just enough to slide his fingers over one full breast, until he could tweak the hard nipple between them. She hissed into his mouth as he played with her, stroking her into a series of slow shudders.
She made no sound of resistance at all when he moved his other hand from her hip, back around to her bottom, so he could toy with the seam separating those lush curves. A tiny stroke, another, then she relaxed enough to let him play a little more. She was pliant in his arms, arching a bit in invitation, and he dipped his fingers farther...enough to get wet, to sample the juices of her body, hot and slick and welcoming.
He had time to mentally process the fact that her plump, engorged lips were completely bare—want, want, want—when she whimpered. “You— We...”
He didn’t know what she was about to say—to ask, to demand. Because before she had a chance to continue, they both heard a thumping sound coming from the ground near their feet.
She obviously realized what it was before he did, because she yanked back and leaped away so fast she almost fell into the pool. Leo got the tiniest glimpse at her utterly gorgeous, naked body—God, those breasts were a thing of art—before he focused his attention on what had made the sound.
Mr. Snake was trying to get out of his container. The lid on the bucket was jiggling up and down, and the whole bucket was a bit wobbly. He pulled his trunks up and retrieved another, heavier rock and replaced the one he’d put on there, being sure to leave uncovered a small hole in the old lid. He didn’t like the intruder, but he also wanted to make sure the critter would get enough air during the few minutes it took to get somebody down here to get rid of him.
While he resecured the prisoner, Madison grabbed a towel off the ground and wrapped it around herself, sarong style. By the time he straightened and returned his full attention to her, she was covered from breast to upper thigh. He mourned that he had lost his chance to see that incredible, luscious body he’d felt pressing against him, and he knew there would be no diving back into the crazy-hot kiss they’d been sharing. Much less all the other crazy-hot things they’d been doing...and had planned to do.
“Wow,” she whispered, lifting a hand to her mouth. That hand was shaking, those lips were trembling, her voice was quivery. Whether she was more freaked out by the snake or by the embrace, he didn’t know, but he sure hoped he had a leg up on the slithery reptile.
“I guess I should apologize,” he said, not really sure why. If she hadn’t enjoyed that, he’d turn in his membership as a dude.
“For saving my life?”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t think it’s poisonous.”
“I meant, you saved me from a heart attack. I really don’t think you understand how much snakes terrify me.”
“I think I have a pretty good idea.”
She was already shaking her head in disagreement before he’d finished his sentence. “I’m not just being a wimp. Believe me, I’m not scared of much.” She thrust a hand in her hair, knocking the ponytail holder out altogether so that those honey curls bounced around her shoulders in a thick, sexy tangle. “I don’t usually go around fainting, and I don’t remember another time in my adult life that I have ever screamed with terror. Except, maybe, the first time I went skydiving.”
Okay. So she was pretty brave.
“But snakes. Oh, God, snakes. They’re my Achilles’ heel. My sister, Candace, she can’t stand spiders. Me? Hell, a guy I dated had a pet tarantula and I used to walk around with him sitting on my shoulder.”
“The guy or the tarantula?”
She punched him lightly on the arm. Frankly, he preferred it when she used that hand to squeeze his cock.
But they’d moved past that moment. It was over...at least for now. Sanity and reality had intruded, and she was going to focus on the snake rather than on the near sex.
Letting her get away with it, knowing she probably needed to regroup and think about what had almost happened, he rubbed his upper arm, as if she’d hurt him, and grinned. “Sorry. I got the point, you’re okay with bugs.”
“Yeah, no big deal. I’d protect Candace from spiders, she’d protect me from snakes, and Tommy would protect us both from guys who didn’t take no for an answer.”
“Tommy? Your brother?”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Some of the high color began to leave her cheeks, and he watched as she clenched her hands together in front of her.
“No, a friend. Boy next door. We grew up together.”
“Okay.”
He wondered if that was really all, considering how skittish she’d gotten when she’d mentioned the guy. But it wasn’t his place to pry.
“Anyway, I know I have ophidiophobia. It’s irrational and I’ve tried to get over it. I’ve studied, I even got myself hypnotized once.”
One of his brows shot up. “Really?”
“Well, it was at one of those girls’ naughty-panty party things, with a bunch of women drinking wine and buying fancy underwear. A friend of one of my college roommates was there and she swore she could hypnotize any of us into losing weight or quitting smoking. So I asked her to try to un-ophidiophobia me.”
He was having a hard time paying attention, his mind still back on the whole panty party concept. Jeez, did chicks really do that? And how did one sign up to be a salesperson?
“It didn’t work.”
“No?”
“When she got me under and told me to visualize a snake curled up peacefully at my feet, I apparently threw up all over the saleslady’s panty box.”
&
nbsp; Oh, did he need her to change this conversation. But because he was a masochist, he replied, “Guess you bought a lot of underwear that night.”
“Yeah, right. You hurl on it, you buy it.” She wrapped her arms around herself, clinging to the towel, and continued, “So, you see, it’s a big deal to me. I was on the verge of a full-on panic attack, and you saved me, and I appreciated it so much, and that’s why I threw myself into your arms. It wasn’t... I didn’t...”
“I get it. You weren’t trying to take advantage of me.”
She nibbled her lip. “Right.”
“Understood.”
“And you’re not, uh, mad?”
Oh, sure. Because every dude would be really angry about a beautiful, naked woman throwing her arms around him to express her gratitude. Or half jerking him off until he’d become nothing but nine inches of sensation.
“Not mad. I promise.”
She looked relieved.
“Now, how about I go in and call the front desk and ask them to send somebody out here to get rid of our friend.”
Her eyes rounded into circles. “I’m not staying out here by myself with that thing! He might tip the bucket over. He could...”
“Come with me then,” he said, cutting her off and pulling her into her room. He shut the screen door behind them. “We’ll make the call together.”
She looked visibly relieved. “Okay. And then you can hand me the phone so I can call the airline. Because there’s no way in hell I’m staying here and risking another run-in with the Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
His heart skipped a beat and his stomach turned over. “You’re leaving?”
She blinked, as if finally thinking about the words she’d said. She glanced at the closed door, shivered, then looked back at him. “That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? I mean, there are snakes everywhere.”
“Yes.”
“I’m overreacting.”
“Just a little.”
“The thing is, I really don’t know if I could ever be comfortable walking around the grounds again by myself.”