“Oh no.” He was afraid he’d upset her and she’d desert him there—which would be inconvenient, since he didn’t know where he was. He might still be in Puerto Rico, like she said, or she could have transported him to Hawaii for all he knew.
At last, she reappeared next to him, perfectly dry and dressed in her silk toga. Her long waves of white hair, also dry, ruffled in the breeze.
“Oh, that’s not fair. I thought we could shower together,” he said when he’d collected himself.
She shoved him off the rock ledge and into the cold water.
When he came up sputtering, she chuckled. “What were you saying about something being unfair?”
He laughed and swam to the rocks in front of her.
Something about Gaia stirred his senses on a level he couldn’t even begin to explain. So far, he’d tried to keep it casual. She was too into her work, and quite frankly, so was he…as usual. He needed to learn to relax and get his priorities straight. He had always wanted to explore the chemistry between them, but the timing had never seemed right. Until now.
Right now, there wasn’t anywhere else he wanted to be. There wasn’t any more important undertaking he wanted to do.
Some would probably claim kismet. They’d say something about the stars and moon being in perfect alignment. That was when true souls connected—or something like that. Aaron didn’t believe in all the cosmic mumbo jumbo, but he did have to admit there was something perfect about this evening. About this unexpected opportunity that had magically presented itself.
He pulled himself out of the water and watched her eyes grow as she saw the rivulets of water cascade down his body. His T-shirt stuck to his hard chest. He was in his late fifties, but he didn’t feel old. He had kept himself in shape, and apparently she’d noticed. She licked her lips.
She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Aaron fought the natural desire to chuckle at her speechlessness. Perhaps he’d stunned her into silence.
He wondered how Mother Nature herself would respond to sexual pleasure. He imagined she was a powder keg of passion, waiting to be ignited. And tonight, he had the overwhelming desire to light the fuse.
“Tell me,” he said in a low tone as he reached her. He leaned forward and rested his palm on the rock wall behind her. His body practically curled around hers, his erection pressing against her hip. His head dipped so he merely had to whisper in her ear. “How do you like to be touched, sweetheart?”
He heard her body humming with a curious vibration that seemed to leave her seriously off-kilter.
“Calm down,” she muttered.
“I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t be sorry. I was talking to myself.”
These were definitely uncharted waters, at least for him. Maybe for both of them. Finally, she smiled, took a step back, and produced two martinis in her fists. She handed one to him and took a generous sip of her own.
“Is this some sort of stalling tactic?” he asked.
“Why on earth would you think that?” She rolled her eyes. As he was deciding if she was being sarcastic, she continued, “Why are you wasting your time trying to seduce me when there are probably hundreds of beautiful girls that would love to get their hands on you?”
“Only hundreds?” He grinned at her, his eyes twinkling with mischief. At least he hoped so. He wanted her to know he was toying with her. Then he whispered, “I’m only interested in you. I want only you, darling.”
Gaia sucked in a breath, her nipples tightening behind the flimsy swath of silk that barely covered her breasts.
“What’s it gonna be, Gaia?” He set his martini on the ground and moved away from the rock wall and closer to her. His fingers toyed with the top button of his faded Levi’s. They were still wet, and she stared at how they were plastered to his muscular legs. It looked like Gaia’s mouth was practically watering.
“How about if I help you decide?” he said, a teasing smile playing on his lips. He clenched his fist full of wet black cotton and tugged the hem of his T-shirt from the waist of his jeans, then up over his head. Gaia’s gaze dropped to his abdomen as he peeled the material from his body, exposing a wide expanse of taut muscle and damp skin.
An unbidden sigh escaped her lips.
But dammit, he was human. Aaron Samuels was a doctor and a decent human being, but human nonetheless. And she was Gaia, Mother Nature, goddess of all. How could they be a couple?
And yet, some mystical inner force had brought them together. She reached out her hand toward Aaron’s chest. Her fingers just barely skimmed his well-defined abs. He stayed perfectly still and let her run her hands up over his pectoral muscles and then step into his embrace.
He was equally enraptured. He liked the way she touched him. The pad of one finger just barely skimmed his nipple, and his jaw clenched.
He knew if they continued, they wouldn’t stop with mere touching. But common sense had long since abandoned him, and now what ruled was passion in his usually sensible brain.
Taking one small step forward, he closed the gap between them. Their thighs brushed. Their torsos slowly melded together. The hand that had previously touched his pecs now rested on his forearm as his own hand gripped her hip and yanked her that much closer to him.
