by Lori Foster
Today was the very first time they’d ever had real physical contact. Five years ago he’d been so conscientious about keeping things strictly platonic. Occasionally, when she could manage it, they’d bumped shoulders. Once she’d sat beside him, their hips touching, until he’d casually scooted away. Mostly she’d devoured him with her eyes and done explicit things to him in her imagination.
In real life, he’d always resisted her.
And remembering that prompted the second reaction of how-dare-he-think-he-can-touch-me-now? Because she was here to prove something, right? And it wasn’t that her heart played ping-pong the second he laid a finger on her.
Those two thoughts were quickly followed by a third as she realized he was more out of the water than in it. “You’re not naked,” she accused.
A lopsided grin only made him more attractive. “Was I supposed to be?”
She looked at him, standing there with the water only to midshin, fitted trunks molding his hips and...other parts.
Jerking her fascinated gaze away, April complained, “According to rumor, yes.” She could feel a rush of heat throbbing in her face.
“Is that disappointment I hear?”
Yup. In part anyway. Forcefully, she brought her gaze back to his. “You could have told me right off instead of letting me think—”
“About me naked?” He stepped closer, and his voice went low, sort of rough and suggestive. “I like the idea of you picturing me that way.”
Heavens, he smells good, April thought. Like sun-warmed skin, fresh air—and salty man.
In other words, delicious.
Noticing that wasn’t at all appropriate to her purpose. Unfortunately, every breath she took filled her head with the scent of him.
Boone’s smile leveled into interest. “Want me to skin them off?”
At the seriousness of his tone, April stared at him. His eyes were darker with his back to the sun, his thick lashes lowered, his expression intent.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. If that’s what you want, I’ll lose the trunks.”
What she wanted...? Oh yeah! She wanted payback. She wanted them on equal footing. Tit for tat, as he’d said. This wasn’t, however, how she’d expected things to go. “You’d really do that? Right here, where anyone could come by and see?”
“We’re all alone,” he pointed out. “Unless someone else sneaks into the cove on a paddleboard, we’d hear them before they reached us.”
She let the taunt about her sneaking pass. “Still...”
Letting him think she considered it, April looked around. On the distant shore, a heron spread its wings and took flight. The lake remained undisturbed, silent except for the songs of nature, the soft drone of frogs and crickets.
He waited, showing no sign that he bluffed.
Flustered by his willingness, she nodded at the dog. “Sunshine is looking.”
The dog cocked her head.
Boone gave her a knowing grin. “She’s been with me awhile and follows me everywhere, so it wouldn’t be the first time she’s seen me naked.” He absently stroked his fingers through the dog’s scruff, then had to swish his hand in the lake when he came away with dark fur.
Watching him, April noted the flex of his thighs, how his abdomen contracted as he bent to the water, the hank of wet hair that fell over his forehead.
From the day she’d met him when she’d still been just a girl, his nearness made her hyperaware of things she never noticed about any other guy.
As he straightened, their gazes caught and held. “We could go up to the house.”
That sultry suggestion snapped her out of her daze and she jumped, her backbone going rigid, her lungs compressing. “No.”
The way he looked at her, she knew he saw too much.
Things she didn’t want him to know, never wanted him to see—like the devastation he’d done to her heart when he moved away.
She tried to cover the slip with a silly laugh. “I should really get going.”
“April,” he murmured, with a touch of...desperation? “You have to know I wasn’t rejecting you that day. If you’d been older, if I hadn’t been moving, things would have turned out differently.”
Dear God, did he really plan to jump right into it? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She started to stand, anxious to accomplish a graceful retreat.
Only he didn’t back up, and if she continued to her feet, they’d collide.
Body to body.
Breathless at the thought, she sank back to her seat on the rock wall.
“I think you do,” Boone countered. Flattening his hands at either side of her hips, he leaned in. “I saw you naked, and now you want to see me the same.”
He was so close that heat shot through her—embarrassment, yes, but also something else.
Something she hadn’t felt since Boone Barton had left town. “I wasn’t naked,” she whispered, hating that five years later she still went red-hot over that stupid indiscretion. She could cover her embarrassment if it wasn’t for the blush.
“Just topless,” he agreed, and his gaze dropped to her mouth. “Believe me, I remember.”
From the intensity of his expression alone, she felt kissed and it turned her voice to gravel. “You’re already shirtless, so consider us even.”
That wasn’t her original plan, but now she only hoped to leave without creating more cause for embarrassment.
“You’ve seen me shirtless plenty of times.” He watched her in a way he never had before. “There’s nothing new in that.”
Sure, around the lake swimsuits were as common as sunshine. However, few men looked like Boone, and the ones who did were usually related to her. Everyone knew cousins didn’t count.
Coming out of her spell, April shoved against his chest. Or rather, she meant to shove. Once her palms flattened against him... Sensory overload.
Something warm and liquid uncurled inside her, making her draw a slow, deep breath. His skin felt hot, a little damp, and she loved the texture of his chest hair.
“April...” he murmured with what sounded like yearning.
Shoot! Catching herself, she finally gave him a push.
It didn’t budge him at all, but he got the message.
With cautious reluctance, he moved away, his attention never leaving her face.
April shot past him, wading into the cool water hip deep. Her heart hammered. Needing a distraction and fast, she asked, “Where did my board go?” Since she needed that board to get home, she should have thought of it earlier.
Boone moved up behind her; she felt him there, every pore of her body attuned to his proximity. She knew he was looking at her, that he was considering her panicked reaction.
Spotting the board with the paddle floating a few yards behind it, April pointed. “There it is.”
Sunshine executed another grand splash and began swimming out. “Damn,” Boone said, calling out, “Sunshine!” but the dog didn’t slow.
“Torpedo,” April corrected, seeing the small wake left behind the animal. “Where is she going?”
“After your board,” he said on a sigh. “It’s liable to come back with teeth marks.”
Finally, she faced him. “You’re kidding?” That board was heavy.
“Fetch is her favorite thing in the world—next to me, that is. Mention anything you want, and she’ll do her damnedest to get it.”
“But how could she know I meant my paddleboard?”
Boone shrugged. “You pointed, she saw, end of story.”
Wow, amazing. “Smart dog.” She scowled at him. “How dare you call her dumb ass?”
With a roll of his eyes, he said, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
Right. Where would she go? She’d gotten here on that board, but she di
dn’t say so as he did his own smooth dive into deeper water.
April watched his arms slicing through the water. He was a strong swimmer, but no match for Sunshine. The dog stayed well ahead of him.
Left alone near the shore, her thoughts drifted.
Nothing had gone as expected, so April wasn’t sure what to do next. At least without Boone near her, she could think more clearly. She’d come here for a reason...yet it all felt different now.
Boone had a dog that he obviously loved.
He’d offered to remove his trunks for her—and he’d invited her up to his house.
He’d touched her, she’d touched him—and sadly, it wasn’t enough. Will I always want him?
Seemed so.
Now what to do about it?
Hand shielding her eyes, April watched as Sunshine headed back...the front of the board caught in her teeth. “Unfreaking believable.” She liked that dog a lot.
Boone stopped Sunshine’s efforts before she could get very far. He easily levered up onto the board, then pointed to the paddle and Sunshine was off again.
Stretching out on his stomach, Boone used his arms to propel the board back toward her. It was too wide for April to do that, but then she was more than a foot shorter than him.
She came to a sudden decision: if she left now, everything would be the same. Her awkwardness today would only reinforce his memory of her. She wanted...no, needed him to see her as a woman, not an awkward teen.
So she went up the rock wall, over to the dock and walked out to sit on the end, her feet in the water.
This, too, brought back memories.
She’d practically grown up on the lake, spending each summer swimming, boating, skiing, tubing. She and her sisters had often received spontaneous invitations from guys riding by in their boats.
It was one reason their dad hovered so badly, or so her mother claimed.
Never in her life had April wanted for male attention. She’d never missed a dance or party, and always had her pick of dates.
It was only Boone who’d turned her down, even when she stood before him, breasts exposed...
Offering her virginity.
When she was fifty, she’d probably still remember that awful day with remorse and humiliation. Boone wasn’t the one who got away. He was the one who’d never, not once, shown any interest.
Well, except for today.
He seemed to be noticing her now.
April wasn’t quite sure what to do with that information, because in her heart she knew why she’d really come here today.
Boone was back, and it wasn’t just the humiliation she hadn’t gotten over.
It was the man himself.
* * *
SEEING HER ON the dock, his dock, gave Boone a sense of satisfaction. She was here, with him. Yes, she’d come with an agenda, but somehow he’d turn that into more. He had to.
For five long fucking years, he’d thought about this, returning to Buckhorn County, to her, to his home.
Finally, he’d have the opportunity to correct mistakes.
To reclaim lost opportunities.
April didn’t seem to know it, but she’d plagued his dreams no matter how he’d tried to forget her. Back then, before everything in his life had changed, she was the kindest, gentlest girl he’d ever known. Always smiling at him, stroking his ego with the way she watched him. Making him want things he had no right to.
In his early twenties, he couldn’t claim a lot of redeeming qualities, but he’d had enough sense to steer clear of involvement with a seventeen-year-old. No matter how she’d tempted him.
He’d planned to bide his time, to wait until she was of age—and then he’d lost his chance. Hell, he’d lost everything.
What he needed to do now? Explain.
And hope it was enough to overcome the past.
Unfortunately, she didn’t seem real receptive. No, the lady had shown up with an all new attitude, flaunting her stellar body in a bikini so skimpy it made his mouth go dry. Gone was the worshipful girl determined to seduce him, and in her place was a woman calculating to...do something.
Get an eyeful, yeah. She’d wanted that, but probably not for the reasons he’d prefer. She’d wanted to even the score, but she also wanted more.
What exactly? Boone had yet to figure that out, but once he knew, he’d give it to her—and hopefully they’d build from that.
As he paddled toward her, he took in the incredible picture she made. At eighteen, she’d been hot. All slender limbs and newfound sexuality. Resisting her hadn’t been easy.
Now, April was only a year younger than he’d been when he’d turned her down. Maturity had added a little weight, making her curves more noticeable. Still long-limbed, but instead of a concave stomach framed by hip bones, her belly had a slight, sexy curve. Her breasts were fuller, her thighs softer.
And Lord help him, her ass was amazing.
Her pale blond hair wasn’t as long, her blue eyes not quite as innocent.
Now, today, he found her physically irresistible.
That wasn’t the reason for his punching heart and heated tension, though. If it was only her looks, he wouldn’t be so determined.
So fucking needy.
It was the woman herself that he’d dreamed about for so many years.
CHAPTER TWO
WHEN BOONE REACHED the dock, April said, “Thanks.” And maintained her casual pose.
“No problem.” She wasn’t leaving yet, and that gave him hope.
He went past, wading up to the shoreline and then lifting the board up and over the rock wall to put it on the grassy slope. When she was ready to go, he’d put it back in for her.
But at least this way, he’d have a chance.
As Sunshine drew nearer, Boone whistled so she’d bring the paddle ashore. The dog traversed the rocks easily, bounded up the shoreline and dropped the telescope paddle at his feet before sitting back for praise.
Of course Boone gave it. Sunshine was his buddy, his constant friend, his most loyal companion.
He loved her, and she loved him. Period.
When she shook, spraying water and fur, he laughed, then left her to relax in the sunshine.
The dock rocked a little as he walked out to the end. April watched him over her shoulder, but as he neared, she turned away—and that left him free To look at her.
God, she was sweet in that sexy bikini, her hands braced beside her hips, her wet hair clinging to her lightly tanned back. Her head dropped forward, watching her toes stir the water.
The deep breath he drew didn’t really help, and then he sat next to her and wondered how he’d survive this getting-reacquainted period when all he really wanted to do was lock her down as his own.
Old-fashioned. Too possessive. He knew that, just as he knew how he felt. He wanted her. Now, tomorrow, forever.
Somehow he’d make it happen.
They sat in silence a moment, but knowing that wouldn’t do, Boone said, “My dad passed away.”
Tipping her face toward him, she nodded. “I’d heard.”
“He had lung cancer. That’s why we moved.” And another reason why I didn’t dare touch you. “We weren’t sure how much time he’d have, and he wanted to be nearer to his brother, my uncle Frank.” Boone watched her delicate feet moving in the water. She’d painted her toenails and they looked pretty.
Everything about her was pretty—her sun-kissed cheeks, her vivid blue eyes now filled with compassion, the rope of her wet hair.
How she treated others, her dedication to her family, her love of animals and her involvement in the community.
April Kasper was pretty inside and out.
Voice hushed, tentative, she asked, “You moved to Arizona?”
“Prescott, yeah. Fresh air for Dad, and Uncle Frank was
there with him while I worked, so he wasn’t alone.”
Her gaze kept skipping over his body, and coming back to his face. “What kind of work did you do? I’m guessing something physical?”
When he looked at her, she hurried to say, “I mean, because you’re fit. Even more fit now than you were...” Her voice tapered off. “Back then.”
It amazed Boone that she’d chat with him, all things considered. Maybe she’d stick around as long as he avoided anything too personal, or mention of that fateful day when he’d turned away from the sweetest gift ever offered.
“Construction,” he said, realizing a few too many seconds had passed. “Frank owned the business but he was ready to cut back, so he made me foreman. I learned everything there is to know about building a house from scratch, pouring a driveway or a parking lot, repairs and remodeling.” He’d spent long, hot days in the relentless Arizona sun, but they hadn’t seemed as long as the empty nights. “You’re right that it made me stronger.”
“Sounds like you’ve kept busy.”
“As busy as I could.” Working had helped him deal as his dad had steadily declined. Boone never knew what he’d find when he got home. Each week took a toll. Treatments were a hell unto themselves. His dad lost his appetite and his muscle. Hair fell out and bruises set in. He got one infection after another—
“Hey.” April touched his hand, her gaze searching his. “You okay?”
No. Fuck no, he wasn’t. Scowling, he turned his face toward the sun, now hanging lower in the sky though it’d be hours before it completely disappeared. “Here in the cove, I see spectacular sunsets.”
Smiling, she withdrew and allowed him the shift of topic. “I’ve always loved a good sunrise or sunset. It’s like Mother Nature painted the most perfect picture.”
Relieved that she hadn’t pressed him, he nodded toward the opposite direction. “Sun rises over there, but I can’t see it because of the trees.” He missed her touch. He wanted it back, but not out of pity.
Interest, affection, lust—they’d work better than pity any day.
The dock rocked again, and they both looked to see Sunshine padding toward them. When she got close, she wagged her butt, snuffled against April’s ear—which made April laugh—then stretched out between them. With a lusty, toothy dog yawn, she rested her head on her paws. Expression worried, she glanced at April, then Boone, and apparently satisfied, she closed her eyes.