“You didn’t count us off. You can’t have a race without a count.” He neglected to mention the real reason for his less than speedy entrance.
Luke watched as she did a leisurely backstroke, her shapely legs kicking through the water. He realized this was the first time he’d ever been alone with Ellie. It was incredible to think it, that he’d known her for fifteen years, and they’d never spent more than a few moments alone. He wondered why that was, but got his answer quickly as Ellie smiled at him again and her face lit up.
Being alone with her was dangerous, which was why he’d always made sure someone else was around whenever he was with Ellie. He could trace it back to her eighteenth birthday, when he’d first realized that Elenore Dawson had become a woman. A beautiful, alluring, sexy woman.
A woman who was totally off-limits.
His dating track record was impressive. He’d been with many women, and his past encounters all had one commonality—they were brief. He wasn’t ashamed of his love ’em and leave ’em past. In his line of work, settling down wasn’t really an option, as he constantly traveled the country, moving from assignment to assignment. When he was home he tried to spend as much time as possible with his father, who’d been a mess ever since Luke’s mom died ten years ago.
Making a commitment to one woman was nearly impossible considering his conflicting loyalties. He’d learned that the hard way with Robin. While her betrayal still infuriated him, he found himself unable to let her shoulder all the blame for their break-up. Robin had wanted him to devote every second of the day to her, she’d wanted full and total control of his heart, and that’s the one thing he hadn’t been able to give her.
He’d never felt guilty about the casual affairs he engaged in, but he knew that, with Ellie, casual wouldn’t cut it. Josh would kill him if he got involved with Ellie, if he kept things with her light and deprived her of a real future, a family, his heart. So he’d never let himself act on his attraction to her. Hell, he hadn’t even been sure there was an attraction.
Until now.
“The water feels wonderful, doesn’t it?”
She swam over to him again, brushing damp strands off her forehead as the water bobbed over her tanned shoulders.
“Yeah. I rarely have time for swimming anymore.”
Treading water, she suddenly grinned. “Weren’t you on your high school swim team?”
He suppressed a groan as he remembered the designated Speedo he’d had to wear back then. “Don’t remind me. It was my dad’s idea, not mine.”
“I think Josh might have taken me to one of your meets.” She splashed him. “Didn’t you have to wear a g-string or something?”
He saw the playful twinkle in her blue eyes and glared at her. “No, it wasn’t a g-string, Elenore.”
A wave of laughter bubbled out of her throat. “Do you still have your g-string? Do you model it for your girlfriends?”
“Oh, that’s it.” With one swift move, he reached out and dunked her under the water, enjoying the shriek of surprise she let out before she went under.
She shot up to the surface, water sputtering from her mouth. “You’re really going to get it, Russell!”
She launched herself at him, pressing her hands against his shoulders and trying to push him under. He fought against her attempts, until they were both laughing and spitting water from their mouths.
“Okay, okay, game over!” she cried out as he cupped his hands and shot a spray of salty water into her face. “I need to catch my breath.”
As he watched her push her hair out of her eyes, he realized he was actually having a good time. So good a time that he’d forgotten all about his goal. What was he doing? He was supposed to bring her home, not frolic in the ocean with her.
“Let’s go in,” he suggested.
She looked disappointed, but she nodded. “Okay.”
They swam toward the shore, and it wasn’t until he saw her step onto the sand that he remembered.
The thong.
Don’t look at her.
He diverted his gaze to his feet, and when she said, “Here’s a towel,” he finally looked up.
She’d wrapped a fluffy pink towel around her waist, thankfully shielding her barely-there bikini. As he dried off, he tried to regroup. All right, so she’d distracted him during that swim. And yeah, that sexy thong had made him reconsider telling his college friends that he was a boob man and made him realize he was most definitely an ass man.
But he was focused now. And ready to start pressuring her to go back. People always caved under pressure. You just needed the right amount, and they always caved. Ellie would be no exception.
“So, do you have a show tonight?” he asked, tossing the towel on the lounge chair.
She shook her head. “It’s my night off.”
Perfect. “So, you want to have dinner tonight?”
He saw the reluctance in her eyes. No matter how confident she’d been a few minutes ago, he knew she didn’t want to have dinner with him again. Because she’d give in. They both knew she would.