His first desire was to pull her to him, but he resisted. Not just yet. After all, they barely knew each other. If he thought about having any kind of serious relationship with her, rushing in wouldn’t be the best idea.
Would it?
And what long lasting relationship could they possibly have? He was a small town man and she was a chic, sexy New York clothing designer. What in the world did they have in common?
Besides their obvious attraction for each other.
Still, Eli took a step back, but it didn’t seem to faze Nell at all. She smiled at him as she came closer. Pretty soon she’d back him right over his head. He wondered wryly if that was a metaphor for something.
“Yes, this is much better,” he finally replied as Nell reached out with both hands and slid them over his shoulders.
“I didn’t realize how warm it was out of the water.” Nell made small talk as she continued to close the space between them, but just as her body was about to come into contact with his, she dipped her head under water.
Eli sucked in his breath in anticipation of her next move, but when he felt her legs brush against his, he blew the air out of his lungs. She was a tease, but in this case it was a game he didn’t mind playing. It just served to build the sexual tension in his mind and body.
She surfaced several yards away, in shallower water so that the tops of her breasts seemed to float on the dark surface, tantalizing and ripe. Her fair skin was a bold contrast with the inky black water. His pulse quickened in expectation of what might happen. Pulling his eyes away from her tightened nipples, he gazed into her eyes, just as dark as the pond and the sky over their heads. She waited for him, her lips parted expectantly.
His growing arousal was impossible to overlook. This woman was a silent siren he couldn’t ignore and she was waiting to be caught. He pushed through the water until he stood so close that her delicate heat radiated against his chest. He didn’t touch her. Not yet. It was more sensual just to be so close and not to reach out.
“So, are we going to swim?” His mouth hovered, an inch from her ear, and whispered the words.
“I don’t think so,” she whispered back. He felt her breath on his cheek. His mouth grazed over her wet hair.
“What are we going to do then, Nell?” He still didn’t touch her. He wanted her to lead the way, to be the one to reach out and fuel the fire that burned throughout his body and mind. Just one touch and he’d be lost to her.
God, what did she want to do? She wanted him to make love to her. She wanted to wrap herself around his body and feel his touch on every inch of her skin. He’d be an incredible lover, she was certain. Passion radiated from his body, infusing the water between them.
She laid the palm of her hand against his chest. It was cool and wet but there was a steady heartbeat underneath the muscles. She knew if she were to allow her hand to wander further down his fit body, perhaps let it track under the water and along his hips, she’d find another strong pulse. Just the idea made her breath snag in her throat and her heart kick into a rapid staccato beat.
He was waiting for her to do something. Nell could feel Eli’s eyes bore into the top of her head, but her gaze remained on his chest. She splayed her fingers, her pinky trailing over one of his nipples. The tempo of his heartbeat increased.
She closed the space between their bodies. The touch of his skin, mixing with the cool water, created a strange combination of heat and chill. Her breasts brushed against him as she let her hands slide up over his shoulders until they locked around his neck. The results of her teasing and touching pressed insistently against her and she longed to wrap her legs around his waist and take him in. Instead, she pulled his head down to taste his lips.
Nell sank into the kiss with delicious urgency as Eli stroked his hands down her back, then into the water until his fingers hugged her buttocks. Nell moaned against his mouth. A rush of erotic sensations blossomed between her thighs.
The next step should’ve been so natural. His mouth left hers to taste the damp skin of her jaw and neck, nibbling the tender flesh of her earlobe while his fingers boldly explored her thighs. One hand swept up over her hips, her waist, and cupped her breast. She didn’t know what sensation was more overpowering, the way he played dangerously near the apex of her legs, or his mouth that nipped at her aroused nipple, skimming it with his tongue and teeth.
Cool water lapped against her lower back in a touch that melded with Eli’s.
“Woo-hoo! Go faster!”
Nell hadn’t even heard the boat engine in the background, but the sound of someone yelling out struck her like a two-by-four between the eyes. Eli jumped as well, abandoning all the wonderful things he’d been doing to her, pulling her down so their shoulders protruded from the water.
The light from the boat moved swiftly across the inky blackness of Long Bow Pond, but Nell could see the four people on board the small craft. A laugh bubbled from her chest, mingling with the shock that still stirred her heart and belly. She wrapped her arms around Eli’s neck and pressed her face into his shoulder, the laughter continuing to roll out, pushing thoughts of making love right out of her head.
“I don’t think they saw us,” Eli murmured against the top of her head. Apparently he didn’t share her complete humor over the situation, but there was a hint of a smile in his voice. “Why don’t we get out of the lake before we give someone a real show?”
Chapter 5
The sound of a cartoon theme song roused Nell from the fog of sleep. She shifted her feet until they came up against a solid object. Pushing herself onto her elbows, she blinked away the blurred vision. Autumn, perched on the end of her bed, legs crossed, clutched the bear Nell had given her for her fourth birthday.
“Hey Sweetie,” Nell murmured, her voice rough and drowsy.
Autumn’s brown eyes shone. A smile spread across the child’s face. “Morning, Aunty.” She scooted on her bottom until she could cuddle against Nell.
“What are you watching? Oh, baby, I need to introduce you to Bugs Bunny.”
“What? No way, Smurfs rule.” Gwen marched through the door, much too wide awake for this early in the morning, a hand over her extended belly and a smile on her face.
“No way,” Nell scoffed. Their biggest battle as children had been which cartoon ruled. In all these years, neither backed down nor found common ground.
“And what are you doing in here, Miss Autumn? Your poor aunty needs her beauty sleep. Go on out and watch the TV in the kitchen. Your cereal is ready for you.”
Autumn scrambled off the bed and scampered out the door on quick little feet.
“Beauty sleep? As if,” Nell protested, her words broken by a wide yawn.
“Attractive. So, you going to fill me in? You got in pretty late.”
“We had a very nice dinner and coffee at his place,” Nell replied. Her sister wanted more, expected more, but Nell had no desire to go into any details and reveal that she and Eli had been seconds from having mad, passionate sex while taking a late night skinny dip.
The intrusion of the boaters had definitely put a damper on her libido and brought her back to reality. Not that she had any health concerns when it came to Eli; she was more worried about the other consequences of unprotected sex.
She studied Gwen’s belly and wondered what it would be like to be pregnant. Not necessarily with Eli’s baby, but with a baby in general. Her life wasn’t ready for that, at least not yet. And if I continue the way I’m going, I’ll never be ready for motherhood.
“That’s it?” Gwen’s protest snapped Nell out of her reverie.
She chuckled and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “You ask that like you’re shocked. No, I didn’t sleep with him, though the thought did enter my mind. But we were very adult and restrained ourselves.”
Barely. Best to keep the skinny-dipping story to herself.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” Gwen, however, sounded distinctly disappointed.
Nell g
rinned and kissed her sister on the top of her head. “I’m off to clean up.”
In the shower, Nell shampooed the smell of Long Bow Pond out of her hair. As the suds slid down her body she tried hard to keep her thoughts off Eli, but her mind continued to taunt her with the memory of how his hands had followed the same path as the rich, fragrant bubbles.
Holy hell, this was so not the time to be thinking of him making love to her. With a snarl, she turned off the hot water faucet and bit back a squeal as freezing water sluiced over her.
“Babies? Love?” She said against the assault of the chilly liquid. “Friggin-A!”
Eli waited in the cab of his truck for the others to arrive at the old Goodwin house. He’d nearly left to take a drive “around the block,” anything to avoid looking overly eager to see Nell again, when in reality that couldn’t be closer to the truth. It was bad enough to be up for hours after he’d dropped her off at Gwen’s, sitting on the deck in the dark and staring at the pond.
He cursed the late night boaters over and over again, but it was probably fortunate they broke up what was about to happen. Had it gone any further, there was no telling what the outcome would’ve been.
Not that he didn’t intend to see it to that conclusion. How could he not, after tasting her and holding her against him? But he would plan more carefully and have protection nearby.
His mind was wandering too close to dangerous territory when Mark and the women pulled in. How the hell could he get out of the truck, with the results of his fantasizing for all to see? Much better to lure Nell into his vehicle and drive back to the lake so they could continue where they’d left off.
“Come on, Eli, daylight’s a-wasting!” Mark called.
Eli reined in the erotic images his mind had drawn of Nell. “Down boy,” he muttered to himself, opening the car door just as Nell was passing. The door trapped her and although it wasn’t intentional, he decided it was well timed.
“Good morning,” he murmured, dipping his head so his mouth grazed her ear.
“Hi.” Her voice was wispy and pleasing.
He would’ve bet she was blushing. When he pulled back a few inches, sure enough a wash of pink colored her cheeks. Her pale green eyes twinkled. So, she wasn’t as shy as her voice indicated. There was a definite flirty curve to her full lips.
Eli couldn’t resist, bending his head further to claim her mouth in a swift kiss. There was a deliciously sweet taste on her lips and he longed to linger, but Mark was calling them and Nell ducked away in a graceful movement.
He’d have her where he wanted eventually. Until then, he could enjoy the view of her khaki shorts-clad bottom and the curve-hugging black tank top she wore.
In the meantime, it was going to be a long day. The painting was nearly done, but they still had to deal with the shutters. Nell had taken up a paintbrush and was working on the trim. Though his mind should’ve been on what he was doing, he stole long looks at the way her body stretched out when she reached for a spot just above her, how her shorts shifted up, revealing the sexy way her thighs curved into her buttocks.
“Put your eyes back into your head, bud,” Mark joked as he passed by.
“I would if I could. She’s so fine to look at,” Eli replied. “Where have you been hiding her?”
Mark shook his head. “She’s refused to come up here until now. Has a phobia about this town.”
Eli was about to question that when his pager hummed against his hip. “Damn,” he growled at the intrusion. Just when he was so close to getting more information on the woman who’d been taking up far too much of his thoughts.
He switched the pager off and shrugged. “Duty calls. I’ll be back if and when I can.” He threw a glance at Nell, who’d paused and was shooting him a questioning look. Wanting nothing more than to go kiss her goodbye, instead Eli waved and headed to his truck at a jog.
“I don’t care what you have to do! Get him out of there and call me back.” Nell paced the kitchen at an agitated speed, stopping abruptly before spinning on her heel and walking the other way. “No, wait a minute, put him on the phone.”
There was a pause.
Eli hesitated just outside the kitchen door, unsure whether he should enter or not. Through the screen he watched Nell’s jaw clench, the corner of her lip twisted in a sneer. Her fingers beat a quick, impatient tattoo on the counter. Eli stood his ground. Even Mark and Gwen had disappeared, but Eli intended to take in this new side of her. The steel in her voice sent a pleasant rush through his blood. Damn, she was hot when she got riled up.
“Listen you ass, you have three seconds to get out of my office or Adrianna is going to call the cops. You have no right to be there!” She paused, then said, “No way, you’re not getting your hands on any of my work. You had that chance and you blew it.”
Another lengthy pause, probably so the party to whom she was yelling could respond.
“Damn right. We’ll deal with this when I get back to the city, Javier. I’m not the little girl I used to be, so watch out. Give the phone back to Adrianna.”
Eli backed down the steps and out of earshot, suddenly feeling guilty about listening in to her private conversation. Bet she’s a hellcat in business. The thought made him grin even as he tried not to be concerned about her ex-husband’s sudden appearance in the picture. It was obvious there was no love lost between the two.
“Not a good time to go in there,” Gwen called, a worried look on her face. She was sitting in an old swing attached to a thick oak branch.
“Guess not. Hope everything’s okay.”
Gwen laughed. “If it’s not, she’ll make it all right soon. She’s a total badass when it comes to business. Most people are scared of her. She’s like a mama grizzly guarding her cub.”
“Remind me not to get on her bad side,” he replied dryly and watched the door. Maybe Nell wasn’t going to come out.
“No problem there. She usually gives fair warning before she explodes.”
“How long have you known her?” Eli wanted more information. Who better to get it from than a friend?
“I’ve, um—years,” Gwen replied and bit her lip. Then her eyes widened and she rubbed her belly. “Oh wow, the kiddo just did a back spring. I think I’m going to head inside. Mark is out in the barn looking for Dad’s old weed whacker.”
Eli stared as Gwen pushed herself off the swing and beat a hasty, wobbly retreat back to the house. Getting information about Nell wasn’t proving an easy task.
“We’ve got to get our stories straight right now because Eli is asking me about you and how we met,” Gwen said as soon as the screen door slammed behind her. She wore an ‘on the warpath’ expression, her eyes wide and lips tight.
“Crap,” Nell muttered. Deep down she knew it was bound to happen, but she’d hoped to provide him all the information he wanted instead of him asking Gwen. Or Mark. “Where is he now?”
“Out in the barn with Mark. Now, where did we meet? College? Is that believable?” Gwen paced the kitchen. It looked like she was talking more to herself than to Nell.
“You don’t think Mark would blow my cover?” That was a worry far more unnerving than Gwen coming up with a few lies. “You clued him in on this, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I told him,” Gwen replied absently. “It would have to be college. I mean, where else would we meet? Okay, maybe you could be from some small town up north.”
Nell tuned her sister out, shoved aside her recent conversation with her assistant, Adrianna and subsequently the words she’d had with Javier. Damn, if Mark didn’t remember and Eli asked him questions, then her whole cover would be blown.
She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. It was Sunday and she’d gotten what she paid for. If he found out her true identity, then what was the big deal?
Nell bolted out the door anyway, jogging across the lawn to the barn where Eli stood with Mark, examining a sorry-looking weed whacker.
“Hey guys,” she greeted breezily, wrapping
her hand around Eli’s arm. “Can I borrow him for a moment, Mark? Thanks, sweetie.”
Without waiting for a reply, she pulled Eli away from the barn and around to the opposite side of the house. As soon as they were out of Mark’s sight, Nell stopped, turned to face Eli and slid her arms around his neck.
“I’ve been waiting all day to do this,” she whispered, pressing her fingers into his hair. She eased his head down until her mouth met his. Heat curled from the spot where his lips absorbed hers with a drugging fervor. Nell wanted to wind herself around him, his body, his essence. She couldn’t get close enough.
Thoughts of teaching him a lesson were pushed aside. She willed herself not to remember him as the boy who treated her and her tender feelings with total disregard, but a man who lit a fire in her body that couldn’t be quenched with a simple kiss. Eli’s tongue gained entrance, making sweeping, swirling patterns against her own. Nell moaned into his mouth. She pulled back a fraction, spilling feathery kisses on his lips, his jaw and the crook of his neck.
“Man,” he sighed. “You sure have a way of making work a lot more fun.”
“Mmm. Best thousand I ever spent.” Then she slapped her hand over her mouth with a giggle. “That didn’t come out right,” she said between her fingers.
“Makes me feel like a high priced gigolo.” Instead of looking insulted, Eli gave her a wink and a wicked smile.
“I’m sorry. I . . . wow, usually I have a smoother style.” But too many things flustered her. She had no idea what Mark might have already told him about her, and she’d need to do some lying herself, which made her distinctly uncomfortable. But she didn’t have a choice, and it wasn’t like this would be a long-term relationship.
“Let me make dinner for you tonight and I’ll forgive you.” He planted a soft kiss on her neck, then another on her chin.
The man was the kissing-est guy she’d met. She liked it. “I’m getting the better end of the deal. You make dinner, I’ll bring dessert.”
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