A few minutes later they were placing the thick hotel towels on a few lounge chairs and kicking off their sandals. The day was hot, like most June days in Miami and she knew the crystal clear water in the pool would be amazing. It would feel even better because she didn’t need to hide from the manager. She undid her sarong then performed a flawless dive into the deep end. When she came up, Chris stood near the edge, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face.
“Perfect form,” he complimented. “I’m almost embarrassed to dive in now.”
She stared at his trim, fit body. Yeah, she’d say perfect form, too, just not in diving. Right now she honestly didn’t care what he could do in the water. He executed a neat dive himself, moving through the pool right to her side.
When his head split the surface she looked thoughtful and quipped, “Not bad, but you could have gotten more height and your feet weren’t pointed. I can’t give you anything higher than a six point five without someone crying foul.”
“A six point five,” he grouched gliding closer to her in the cool liquid. “What are you, some sort of diving expert?”
“Captain of my high school diving team,” she replied smugly. “I was also on the varsity swim team for three years. I had a few people offer to coach me to go further but my parents couldn’t afford it.”
The pain of talking about her family hit her and she quickly changed directions. “What about you? Captain of the football team?”
He laughed shaking his head. “Nah, I was an incredibly skinny kid. But I could swing a mean bat. I wasn’t captain like you, though I managed to play varsity a few years.”
She eyed his wide shoulders with appreciation. For a skinny kid he sure had filled out nicely. “I used to swing a mean bat myself. With three brothers you don’t get a chance to be girly too often. My sister and I were always pulled away from playing dolls to round out a team whenever there weren’t enough kids in the neighborhood.”
“You’ve got a big family, huh?”
* * * *
Meg’s eyes grew moist at his words even thoughshehad first mentioned her siblings. It obviously bothered her to talk about them and Chris didn’t want to make her sad. He looked around trying to find something to get her mind off the subject when Javier wandered into the patio area. He was staring straight at Meg, who had floated a few feet away from him into the deep end. Javier’s face turned to stone.
“Hey, sweetie,” Chris called out, seeing the spark come back into her eyes at his teasing. Feisty was much better when the alternative was disheartened. He took a few strokes to reach her then began to tread water.
“Someone requires a little convincing,” he whispered moving his eyes in the direction of the scowling manager.
She glanced over and a huge smirk lit up her face. Something outrageous was coming. Sure enough her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she giggled loudly.
“Chris, honey, you know I can’t swim all that well. You’ve got to hold me or I’ll sink right to the bottom.”
The sweet-as-honey tone dripping from her mouth almost made him lose it. He’d play along any way she wanted it. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her in next to his body and kicked out a bit until his feet were touching the bottom.
“I’ve got you, sweetie,” he promised, his tone equally charming. “I’ll hold you as long as you need me to.”
“Well, that might be for a long time,muffin,” she teased, her eyes twinkling. “You know I always need you desperately.”
There were parts of him that wished she meant that. As she pressed her silky curves against those parts, he knew this assignment wouldn’t be quite as easy as he thought. Lounging by the pool took on a whole new meaning when there was a gorgeous, sexy siren wrapped around you, teasing you without even realizing it.
Her body stiffened and her eyes moved to the side even though she faced him. Keeping the manager in her peripheral vision? Was she still nervous about getting kicked out of the hotel? As his guest, it wouldn’t happen. The owner had told management he was a VIP and they were to give him every courtesy there was to offer. Javier certainly wouldn’t want to lose his job over this little cocktail waitress who he’d been playing cat and mouse with for a while. Chris hoped he’d let it go.
He sure as heck didn’t want Meg to let go. This little game she was playing was enjoyable. She hated being thought of as a sex object and all that came with it. But he’d seen her at work and as much disdain as she had for the customers, she’d still flirted, cajoled, and been playful with them. She may not like that game but she was definitely skilled at it. He supposed after all this time she’d gotten good at hiding her real emotions.
Her eyes followed a frowning Javier back inside the building. He could tell when she realized her soft curves were pressed intimately against his chest. She turned her head to stare at him and froze. Her body tensed and he hated that she didn’t feel comfortable with him. They’d only met a few days ago and it hadn’t been under the most normal of circumstances, but hell, he’d slept with women he’d known less. She obviously wasn’t that kind. And he didn’t want her type anyway. They made things too complicated.
“Thanks for the warning,” she breathed out softly not making any attempt to loosen her grip on his shoulders. He wasn’t in any hurry to break their connection either. They swayed in the water for a few seconds then he lowered his head to whisper in her ear.
“We need to make people around here believe we’re a couple. See us all lovey-dovey or it won’t seem real. You okay with that?”
She swallowed then cleared her throat with a soft, “Yeah. You’re right, we can’t let anyone suspect we aren’t the real deal. I’m not too sure the manager believes us. I’ve been sneaking in and out of this resort for a year now. There’s a little history between us and it may take some time for him to truly buy into our being together.”
“First rule of undercover work, never slip out of character. You never know who’s watching.”
“I agree,” she said, her face moving closer to his.
Chris gazed into her blue eyes, seeing a tiny spark of trust. That was new and he liked it. If she didn’t trust him this undercover deal wouldn’t work. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “A kiss might convince people we’re actually together?”
When the pink tip of her tongue appeared momentarily, he stifled a groan. Why did he think this would be an easy assignment? And he’d just suggested a kiss? If simply seeing her tongue skim across her lips sent his cock twitching, what would a kiss do to him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out; yet he was also dying to know. But she hadn’t answered his question.
