The lapping water rocked him gently, but he held her firm. “Should I put you down now?”
“You’re a pain in my butt.” She splashed water in his face.
He shook his head. “You’ve done it now, Tyger. Nobody splashes water in my face and gets away with it.” Holding his breath, he took them both under the water for a few seconds. When he came back up, she gasped for air and rubbed the excess liquid from her face.
She glared. “All right, put me down. This means war. You’re going to get it now, Brad Montgomery,” she threatened with a grin.
“Ooooh, I’m really scared.”
For the first time since meeting her, a different woman emerged. Stress lines were absent from her face, and when she laughed, her face brightened. When her laughing eyes met his, the golden specks inside the gray sparkled. Tiny drops of liquid clung to her lashes and made them look like specks of diamonds glittering on her face. Something within his stomach jumped, and a feeling he hadn’t experienced for quite some time grew inside of his chest.
Although he knew her feet would touch the bottom of the pool, she still clung to him in a playful action. His arms were reluctant to release his hold, but this strange new desire sweeping through his body made him let go and step back.
Breanna must not have sensed the change in him, because she cupped her hands and splashed water into his face. When he turned his back to block himself against the water, she jumped on him and tried to dunk him under. He kept her from accomplishing this goal, but when the desire inside of him kicked up a notch, he knew he had to get her off him before the new sensation took over completely.
He dipped them beneath the water until she finally let him go, and then he quickly swam away. When he surfaced and looked her way, she remained in the same spot he’d left her. Her laughter let him know she wasn’t aware of the crazy, unexplained emotions jumping inside of him.
Breanna continued to splash water toward him, coaxing him to come back and take some more. That was the problem. He couldn’t take any more without wanting much more. Shaking his head, he rubbed his forehead. She certainly wasn’t the kind of woman he usually dated. So why was he thinking about her that way now?
The more he watched her, the prettier she became. All relaxed and smiling, her face held a natural beauty. Without those large-rimmed glasses, she was a very enchanting woman.
He mentally shook the idea from his thoughts. There was no way he could think such things. He didn’t know what had happened to him just a few minutes ago, but he must stay away from her for the rest of the night. If he didn’t, he’d take the chance of enfolding her in his arms and keeping her that way for the remainder of the party.
Funny, but that wasn’t such a bad idea.
* * * *
AT TWO O’CLOCK IN THEmorning, Pat Gurrister announced the party was over. Brad agreed, since some of the guests had disappeared from the swimming pool about an hour before. Although he had the time of his life, he knew when to call it quits.
After waving goodbye to the last guest, he walked beside Breanna back to her apartment. It wasn’t fair to let her cleanup by herself, and he’d promised her she could count on him to help.
Breanna sighed heavily as she stared at the living room. “Well, I guess it could be worse.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I’ve been to parties where the house was completely destroyed. This is nothing compared to what I’ve seen.”
“Before we get started, I’m going to go change into some dry clothes,” she said, pulling her wet T-shirt away from her body.
He didn’t want her to leave. He liked seeing her in wet clothes. He took her hands in a loose hold. “No, don’t go. You can’t change now. If you do, I’ll be the only one wet. Besides, you’ll have to wait until you’re a little drier, then your clothes will come off easier.” He laughed. “If you tried to take them off now, you’d have to ask for my help.” He grinned, teasingly. “Which, of course, I wouldn’t mind giving.”
Her lips tugged into a grin, and an adorable pink blush covered her cheeks. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll take your suggestion and wait until I’m a little drier.” She looked back at her messy floor and blew out a gush of air. “Where do we begin?”
“This room is as good as any.”
Alongside Breanna, Brad started to clean, picking up paper plates and napkins, empty cans and bottles. It relieved him the guests weren’t very messy when it came to the food, so there weren’t a lot of food spills to clean up. Breanna vacuumed while Brad straightened, and when one room was completed, they moved to the kitchen and then to each room after that until they ended up in the bedroom.
She glanced at the bed and frowned. Brad noticed the comforter was halfway to the floor. Some of the guests must have been in here.
“Hey, Tyger. I’m sorry about your bed. Some people can be so irresponsible and not have any respect for others’ property.”
He leaned against the door-frame and crossed his arms over his bare chest. The coolness from his damp hair made him shiver. But because his hair was still bound with a rubber-band, it would take longer to dry. He reached back and removed it, then shook his hair. When he looked up, he caught Tyger staring at him, the color of her eyes turned darker than he’d seen before. He liked seeing her this way. Liked it too much.
“I didn’t expect everything to go perfectly,” she said then quickly looked away. “Besides, I don’t care right now. I’m much too happy.” She picked up the pillows scattered on the floor and tossed them on the bed.
Her damp jeans clung to her legs perfectly, and it surprised him to see how slender her body really was. He would’ve never guessed this when he saw her at the office this morning.
She glanced around the room, and then looked at him over her shoulder. She smiled. “Oh, Brad. I can’t believe how happy I am right now.” She swung her arms out and fell backward onto the length of the bed in blissful exhaustion. “And it’s all due to you.”
He liked the blissful expression on her face – the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled. “Me?” he asked innocently, stepping away from the door-frame and closer to the bed.
