by Anthology
“I should let you get back to your lunch.”
Disappointment washed through her again. What was it about this man? He drove her crazy with his presumptions and the way he pushed his way into her life and her town, but whenever he wasn’t around, there was nothing she wanted more than to see him. And kiss him.
The thought flashed through her so quickly it made her cheeks flame. Her first instinct was to keep her head down, so he wouldn’t notice. But why did it matter? Discarding the bun on the plate, she looked up and took a chance. “Why don’t you stay?”
He was busy with his resort opening in less than a week and he had far more important things to do than to sit in a pub and have lunch with her. She knew that and the practical side of her brain told her not to get her hopes up that he might actually want to spend time with her. But the other part of her brain, the part that had completely dominated every thought and feeling since they shared that kiss, wouldn’t listen. And despite what Sam knew, she was still disappointed when he said, “I can’t.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a tenderness that sent sparks of desire shooting through her body. “It’s just that I have—”
“You don’t need to explain to me.” She pulled back, just far enough so he couldn’t touch her. She had no business feeling any of those things when clearly it wasn’t the same for Trent. “I get it.” She picked up her spoon and dug into her soup, which was quickly cooling.
“Samantha.”
She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. She’d taken a chance, albeit a small one, and it was easy to see where he stood. If he didn’t have time, she certainly wasn’t going to give any more of hers. She shoved a spoonful of soup in her mouth and if she hadn’t been so preoccupied with the man standing next to her, she might have noticed how delicious it was.
“Look at me.”
She took a big bite of the bun and kept her gaze focused on the bowl in front of her. She would not look at him; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing—
“Please.”
She looked.
“I don’t have time right now.” His low voice was full of something Sam didn’t recognize. Lust? Maybe. “But tomorrow?”
Her heart did a strange flipping, squeezey thing but she was determined not to let this man get to her. She couldn’t afford any more hurt or expectations. Besides that, all she really wanted from him was another kiss. Nothing more and definitely not anything that required either one of them to make a commitment beyond the festival.
She smiled, making sure to look as unaffected as possible. “We’ll see. Actually, I have plans for this afternoon anyway.”
“Is that right?” He leaned up against the bar and gave her a look that made it very clear that he didn’t believe her.
She put another spoonful of the soup in her mouth, and took her time swallowing before she said, “It’s such a beautiful day I thought I’d go for a swim. You have to take advantage of these days when they come up. Before you know it, the summer season will start and things will be too busy.” She was babbling and she knew it, but she couldn’t make herself stop, so she shoved another bite of soup in her mouth.
“A swim, huh?”
She nodded.
“Is the offer still open?”
“What offer?”
“The other day, you told me we should go for a swim sometime.”
Of course she’d said that, but she hadn’t meant it. Had she? “I thought you didn’t have time today?” She narrowed her eyes and watched carefully for his response.
He leaned in, resting on the bar, inches from her. “That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before swimming was on the table. I’m ready when you are.”
~ ~
The words were out of his mouth before he even realized what he’d agreed to. Swimming? In the lake? Never mind that the water was probably cold enough to freeze him on the spot, he had a to-do list a mile long and Dylan would kick his ass if he found out Trent had blown off work for swimming.
But it didn’t matter. None of it did. He couldn’t say no to her, not that she’d even asked him, but that was a small, unimportant detail. There was something about Samantha. Maybe it was the fact that she tried hard to ignore the heat between them? The key word was tried. Because Trent wasn’t blind: he could see the way her skin pinked when he was near, the way her breathing got just a little bit faster. He noticed everything. Because he felt the exact same way.
He couldn’t get her or the sweet heat of her mouth out of his head. He wanted more. Needed more. And wasn’t that the real reason he found himself walking down the beach to where she was waiting?
He kicked his shoes off, leaving them by the grass, and tucked his socks inside before picking his way across the sand. Samantha was right—it was a beautiful day. The sun warmed his face and the sand beneath his feet. It almost felt like summer already. The water would be refreshing and a nice way for him to clear his head and get refocused for the rest of the day.
“Are you coming?” Samantha turned around and called to him before she faced the water again.
He had his mouth open to reply, when she pulled her t-shirt over her head and rendered him speechless. She was gorgeous. Her hair, released from the ever-present elastic, fell in dark waves over her bare shoulders. Recovering his senses, he jogged the rest of the way to where she was standing in nothing more than a red bikini top and her jeans.
“Where’s your suit?”
Trent looked down at his black dress pants and buttoned up shirt. He hadn’t thought of a suit.
She shrugged. “That’s too bad.” She smirked before turning her attention to the button of her jeans. Trent had to fight the urge to take care of the task for her. And when she slid the denim down her hips and shimmied out of her pants, leaving them in a pile at her feet, it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself.
She was delectable, with her body curving in all the right places. Dangerous places that encouraged every dirty thought he’d ever had to flood his mind. He looked to the lake, and then back at Samantha. Suit or not, he was getting in the water with her.
“Who needs a suit?” Trent almost laughed out loud at the look of horror on her face.
“You can’t…it’s a…” Her gaze drifted down the length of him, and Trent could only imagine the dirty places her own mind was going. He’d like nothing more than to go there with her.
He slowly unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled it from his arms. He folded it and placed it next to her messy pile of clothes before looking at her. There was heat in her gaze as she checked him out, and Trent took his time, relishing the fact that he wasn’t the only one affected.
“You can’t skinny-dip.” She finally found her words. “It’s a public beach.”
Trent raised his eyebrow and slid the leather of his belt through the buckle.
“Trent.” Samantha put her hand on his before he could unbutton his pants. The heat of her hand had an immediate and very dramatic effect on him, and there was no way she could have missed it. She snatched her hand away and stared at him as a blush crept over her. “You…you can’t.”
“Relax.” He attempted to apply the same advice to himself. “I’ll swim in my shorts.”
“Oh.” Her face pinked further, the blush spreading to her chest, and dipping between her breast. “Of course.” She dipped her head and before Trent could say anything else, Samantha ran into the water, where she pointed her arms over her head and dove gracefully beneath the surface.
He wasn’t going to let her get away that easily. Grateful she was already in the water and couldn’t see his very obvious arousal, Trent stripped his pants and ran to join her. He imitated her dive, only when he broke the surface, the air was sucked dramatically out of his lungs, leaving him breathless. When he surfaced, he struggled to regain his breath and composure.
“It’s…it’s…friggin’ freezing!”
Her laughter rang out, and if he h
adn’t been experiencing some form of shock, he would have taken offense. A splash of water hit him in the face. He wiped his eyes and looked to the source. Her hair was slicked back, the water giving her an exotic quality that had Trent’s body reacting once again, despite the frigid water.
“Don’t be such a baby,” Samantha said. “It’s not that cold.”
“You’re crazy. It’s like ice in here.”
“If you don’t want to swim, go back to the beach.” She turned away from him and dove under before she surfaced and glided into easy, long strokes that took her away from him.
Hell no. There was no way he was getting out. Not when that exquisite water nymph was only a few feet away. Accepting her challenge, he dove under, kicking hard, and pursued her.
His years in swim club as a child paid off, and it wasn’t long before he’d caught up with her. Before he could overthink it, he grabbed her slippery leg and pulled her back, using his strength to bring her close.
“What the—”
Trent brought his mouth to hers, kissing away her protests. He let his hand slide down her smooth back, resting on her buttocks and the tiny scrap of fabric between him and her skin. Just as she had the other day, Samantha’s body responded to his kiss, and soon the temperature of the water was not an issue because there was more than enough heat between them.
Her hands gripped the hard muscles in his back and one slick leg wrapped around him, locking her to him. A primitive groan came from his throat and he pulled her up against him, hard. He let his free hand travel down her body and cup the swell of her breast before moving to the base of her head, deepening the kiss. He wanted her closer still. Needed her closer.
Damn, he needed a lot more than that. He’d never felt a need so deep and all-consuming with another woman.
Samantha was the one to break the kiss, pulling back so suddenly that Trent lost his grip on her, and she deftly turned and dove under the water, putting distance between them.
“You should probably go in,” she said when she surfaced. “Before you freeze to death.” She was far enough away that Trent couldn’t read the look in her eyes, but not so far that he couldn’t see her chest still rising and falling from the passion they’d just shared.
She was giving them an out. Things between them couldn’t go any further and they both knew it. As much as every fiber of his body yearned to have her, Trent knew better. It was different with Samantha. More intense, more…real. And he knew enough to know he needed to stay far away from real. That wasn’t his style.
“You’re right.” He ran his hands through his wet hair, slicking it back. “Besides, I should get back.”
He didn’t wait to see whether she would say anything more. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it if she did. As it was, it took all his focus and determination to turn and swim away from her.
~ ~
Damn that woman.
Trent pushed down on the accelerator, and despite the fact that he knew he was going too fast for the mountain roads, he needed to put distance between him and Samantha quickly, before he turned his car around, barged back into her bar and showed her exactly how much he wanted to be with her. But he couldn’t do that.
He pushed the car further and hugged the corner of the road, needing the release the speed gave him. He was too close to the line. Too close to caring about her and the incredibly sexy way she pretended not to want him, even though her body and her kisses screamed out the exact opposite. The way she tried to be tough when he knew there was a soft woman underneath that hard exterior who was yearning for escape.
The lights in his rearview mirror quashed his growing desire for the woman he’d left down the mountain.
“Shit.”
Trent immediately slowed the car and as soon as he could find a safe place to pull over, he did so. There was no point dragging it out.
“License and registration.”
Trent had them ready and he handed them over to the officer, who flicked his gaze between the cards and Trent.
“You’re that resort guy,” the officer, whose tag said Anderson, said. He didn’t say it with disdain or anything else that would give Trent the idea he wasn’t welcome. But given that the topic of the Springs resort was a hot-button issue with most of the townspeople, Trent thought it would be prudent to use caution.
“I am.” He nodded. “Sorry about the speed,” he said after a second. It was just as easy to get it out of the way. They both knew he’d been speeding; there was no point denying it.
“These roads are no place for showing off,” Anderson said. “By the time you meet another vehicle, it’s too late.”
Trent nodded solemnly and waited for the officer to hand over his ticket, but to his surprise, Anderson handed his license and registration back. “Slow down, okay?”
“Thank you. I will.” He turned to shove the cards back into his wallet, and when he straightened up, he expected the officer to be gone; instead, he was leaning against the car, his arm on the window.
“How are things going up there?” he asked. “You’re getting ready to open?”
“Only a few days now. We’re just putting the final touches on things. The official opening is the day after the festival,” Trent said.
Anderson smacked his palm against the roof of the car. “Well, you’re doing good things, Harrison. I know the people of Cedar Springs really value the business you’re bringing in.”
Trent smiled. At least one woman didn’t share that sentiment, he thought. At least she hadn’t, but maybe things were changing. “Thanks, man.” He pushed thoughts of Samantha from his head. “Everyone’s been really welcoming.” It wasn’t entirely true, but with any luck…
“I’ll let you get back at it then. But slow down.”
“Absolutely.”
Trent waited until the officer got back into his patrol car before he eased back out onto the road, this time making sure he stayed well within the speed limit.
When he walked through the main doors, his agitation only increased. And not because of the almost speeding ticket he didn’t get, but because of the damned woman he still couldn’t get out of his head. Hooking up with Samantha, in any kind of way, would be nothing but trouble. What had his father always said about women? They were more trouble than they were worth and they always ended up costing you in the end. Somehow, Trent knew the cost would be higher than simply money if he got involved with Samantha. She obviously had a chip on her shoulder and the last thing Trent needed was a project. He didn’t have the time or patience to convince her that he wasn’t the enemy. But damned if he didn’t want to try. All it would take would be another kiss, maybe a—Dammit.
He had to stop thinking of her. He kicked a tool bag that was lying in the middle of the foyer. Kurt, his head maintenance man, looked up from the fountain he was working on.
“Trent?”
“Don’t tell me that fountain is broken, too.” Kurt had been working overtime to get everything working in time, and even as he came down on the man, he knew it wasn’t fair but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “These fountains should be working by now.”
“Sorry, Trent. I think it’s a faulty pump.” The other man ignored his boss’s mood. “It hasn’t worked properly from the get-go. We have more pumps in storage. I’ll get it fixed.”
“Good.” Trent swallowed hard and tried to rein in his mood a little. “What the hell is the problem with all the water, anyway? If it’s not one of them, it’s another. And the whole image of the resort is based on water. The features have to be perfect.”
“They will be. I’m going to figure it out,” Kurt said. “Everything will be fine by Sunday.”
“It better be.”
Kurt raised an eyebrow but wisely decided to get back to work rather than add any more fuel to what looked like could be a very explosive fire.
“You’re not distracting our number-one handyman with stupid requests again, are you, brother?” Dylan called from the other side of
the lobby. He smiled and made his way across the marble floor to Trent.
“I’m just trying to make sure everything is perfect.”
“It will be.” Dylan turned to Kurt, who was packing up his tools. “Room 302 has a light switch that isn’t working. Can you take a look at it?”
“Absolutely, boss. I’m on it.” Kurt gave a quick look in Trent’s direction before making his escape.
“I need him to fix these fountains.” Trent slapped his hand against the side of the basin and stalked away toward the pools. “The water is…dammit.” He didn’t trust himself in his current mood to be around people. He needed space.
But that didn’t stop his brother from following him. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“She got to you.” There was just a touch of humor in Dylan’s voice that caused Trent to spin around and face his younger brother.
“I don’t—”
“Save your breath, brother. You’re totally and completely a mess for that woman.”
Trent shook his head, but didn’t bother objecting. There was no point. And Dylan would know the signs, considering he’d just recently fallen completely in love with a woman who had messed him up just as badly. The fact that Carmen and Dylan had managed to work through their initial rocky start actually gave Trent a glimmer of hope that there might be the possibility of a relationship with Samantha.
“No,” Trent said more to himself than to deny his brother’s accusation.
“Yup. You’re screwed.” Dylan laughed again. He didn’t need to stick around and watch the obvious enjoyment his little brother was getting from the situation. He turned and pushed open the door that led to the gardens. “Hey,” Dylan called.
Trent froze, halfway out the door. The laughter in Dylan’s voice had been replaced by something else. He didn’t turn around but he waited and listened.
“He was wrong, you know.”
If he’d punched him, Dylan couldn’t have impacted him more. Without having to say it, Trent knew exactly who Dylan was referring to. He squeezed his eyes shut against the flood of emotions he didn’t want to feel and inhaled deeply. He struggled to keep it together and not let the impact of his brother’s words show.