“Let me go,” I said. Disappointment and frustration about the day rose, coupled with embarrassment, making me angry all over again.
“Not until you agree to stay.” Water stuck to his dark eyelashes.
Why? I wanted to ask. I flailed a moment longer, my thighs rubbing against his as our feet kicked.
“Stay,” he whispered.
And that soft plea did something to me. Like pinching a lit candle’s wick, what was left of my anger turned into a smoky, sizzling residue.
“Fine,” I said, and he let me go.
I swam to the ladder and climbed out, sensing him close behind me. My heart still banged against my ribs.
“Sweet!” Blake hollered across the pool. “I’ll order Chinese food for lunch.”
He jogged to the house and I trudged over to where I’d left my bag by the rail. I dug through it for a dry set of clothes, and when I stood up and stepped backward, I bumped right into Kaidan and spun around.
He was dripping wet, and his eyes had gone stormy. Oh, heavens. He stood so close—in kissing distance. His pungent citrusy scent lay in a cloud all around us. My knees nearly buckled under me.
“For the record,” he ground out in a guttural whisper, “I was more myself with you during those three days than I’ve ever been with anyone in my life. It’d be easier if I could be fake with you, but you bring out everything in me, little Ann. All of it.”
His sudden fierceness frightened and excited me. He was not in his right mind. I blinked several times before taking a step back and running into the rail. I could do nothing but stare as he went on.
“And however it is that you think you still feel about me, I can assure you it’s nothing more than a classic case of someone who wants the one thing she can’t have. If you had me and got it out of your system, you’d realize the good boy’s the one you really want.”
Frustration tore through me. I shut my eyes and counted to five before responding. “Those are your insecurities, Kaidan, not facts, and I wish you would stop taking them out on me.”
Slowly he shook his head back and forth, not moving away. Any second now I was going to let loose a psychotic scream. I had to get away from him for a minute. I looked toward the bungalow. I tried to step to the side, but he moved to block my way.
“Excuse me,” I said as patiently as I could. “I need to change my clothes.”
I was about to attempt stepping around him again when I caught his stormy eyes roaming over me, savoring the sight of the damp outfit clinging to my skin. What happened next is what I’ve dubbed the I-don’t-know-what-came-over-me moment.
Still facing him, I grasped the bottom of my shirt and slowly peeled it over my head to reveal the bikini top. I let the shirt drop to the deck with a soaking smack. I’d never seen him so surprised. He seemed to become even more shaken when he caught the punishing look in my eyes. That’s right, Kai. I wasn’t the only one suffering from wanting the one thing I couldn’t have. I unbuttoned my shorts and shimmied them down my bottom and thighs, taking my time until they fell. I stepped out and kicked them aside, still watching him.
I was no goddess, but a look like that from Kaidan Rowe would make any girl feel empowered. A dangerous thrill passed through me, imagining how wound up he must be from not working, and how a single action from me could make him swoop down and attack. And yet, I wasn’t done torturing him. It was cruel and risky, but I didn’t care.
Playing it cooler than I ever had in my life, I gave him one last sweltering look before bending down and slowly picking up my wet clothes, then sauntering over to retrieve my bag and heading toward the bungalow area, all the while feeling the heat of his eyes. When I heard the groan that my retreating backside elicited from deep within him, I swung my hips a little more.
God forgive me, but it felt good.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HEIGHTS
Lunch started off tense after our heated moment. Thank goodness for Blake. Kai was warm toward him, reserving his coolness for me. I watched, keeping quiet. They fought over the last piece of General Tso’s shrimp, and I had to laugh when the little thing went flying in the air and landed in a wet footprint next to the pool.
“You can have it,” Kaidan graciously offered, and Blake shoved him one last time.
“I gotta go test out the new dirt bike before my race tomorrow,” Blake said. “What are you two gonna do today?”
We managed a brief glance at each other, both shrugging.
“When are you leaving?” Blake asked me.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“And then the Dukes will be heading home the next day,” Blake mulled. It was rare and extremely nice to have a couple of days with no fear of lurking Dukes or whisperers. Blake ran a hand through his hair and looked back and forth between the two of us. “Want to see the bike?”
We walked around the house to the garage, where Blake pressed a code on a keypad to open the doors. One half of the massive garage was thrill-seeker central. There were toys for every extreme sport imaginable: snow skis, water skis, snowboards, dirt bikes, a four-wheeler, Jet Skis, helmets, and all sorts of gear for hiking and mountain climbing.
“All you need in here is an airplane,” I told him.
“I’m working on that.” Blake smiled and began to wheel out a shiny black dirt bike. “They just delivered it yesterday.” He grabbed a leather riding jacket from the wall, put it on, and climbed astride the bike. It revved insanely loud.