rose to her feet. Caught up in the moment, he jumped up and applauded. Lessa let out a whoop of joy.
Sabrina motioned to the driver to spin around. Rick knew that this would push Lessa outside of the wake, something which he thought was too dangerous. “No!” he shouted to Sabrina, but it was too late. Lessa sped outside the wake and in a split second, her slight form was lost in a spray of water.
He dove out of the boat, certain that no one could escape a fall like that unscathed. But once again, she surprised him.
“Did you see me?” she asked, bobbing in the water and grinning from ear to ear.
“You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt,” he said gruffly, grabbing the skis.
“Lessa, I’m so sorry,” Sabrina said, as they climbed back onboard. “We were getting too far out, so I turned the boat…”
“You should’ve told her to drop the rope,” Rick said angrily. No matter what Sabrina said, he knew better. It was intentional, and she was damn lucky that Lessa wasn’t hurt. As it was, he thought, glancing at the big pink mark on Lessa’s leg, she was going to have a hell of a bruise. “Do you have an ice pack?” he asked Sabrina.
“It’s not necessary,” Lessa said.
But Rick didn’t listen. He helped her to sit down before holding the ice pack against her leg. “We’ve had enough. Let’s head back.”
Sabrina shrugged innocently and they drove back in silence. Rick’s initial joy over Lessa’s achievement faded into anger. What had she been trying to prove? It was stubbornness mixed with a sense of competition. She should’ve known when to throw in the towel, known when to say enough was enough. And as a result, she got hurt.
When they got back to shore, Rick made a point of keeping his arm around Lessa, helping her off the boat and down the dock.
“I’ll see you at dinner,” Sabrina said with a cheerful wave.
When they were out of earshot, Rick said, “What the hell were you doing back there-trying to kill yourself?”
“What are you talking about? I was waterskiing.”
“You know very well what I’m talking about. You were trying to prove something. And your competitive nature almost got you seriously injured.”
“I guess I should be touched that you’re so concerned.”
Why
“I know that,” she said, before shrugging off his arm. As she did so, her bathing-suit strap fell down over her pale, white shoulder. The wind gently blew the strands of her still-wet hair. Her eyes sparkled and her pale cheeks flushed with anger. He felt a sudden urge to kiss her.
“So how do you think it went with Sabrina?” she asked.
He forced himself to look away. The sight of her bare, slender body was enough to confuse even the most resolute intentions. “Hard to say.”
“I think Sabrina is still interested in you.”
“I told you that’s over.”
“Yeah, well, she had to look high and low to find a suit that skimpy.”
“That’s just how she dresses.”
“And the way she kept touching you. Pretending to fall against you and putting on a show with the lotion.”
“Jealous?” he teased.
“Me?” she asked. “Hardly. But I think Sabrina is.”
But he knew better. Sabrina’s flirtation was merely a test to see if he bit. He had no doubt that her line about her advisers reviewing the contract was just an excuse to stall for time. He and Lessa still had a lot of work to do if they were going to convince Sabrina. They needed to prove that their love was tempestuous and passionate. A love capable of desperate breakups and tearful reunions. “At dinner I’m going to ask Sabrina to dance. I want you to act like a jealous lover. I want you to storm out.”
“Storm out? In other words, you want me to act like an idiot.”
“No. I want you to act like a woman who believes her lover is flirting with another. I want you to act like a woman who cannot bear the thought of the man you love touching another woman.”
“The man I love…” Her voice drifted off as the implication sank in. “Not all women behave so immaturely.”
“True, but we are selling the whole firing as an act of passion. She needs proof. And she certainly didn’t get it on the boat.”
“Did it ever occur to you that the firing could’ve been your fault? Perhaps you quit because you saw me flirting with another man. And you couldn’t stand the thought of me touching another.”
“Sorry, sweetheart, but Sabrina knows me, remember?” he said, touching her cheek. His eyes hardened and he took her hand. “I’m not the jealous type.”
Five
“So I’m not only immature enough to fire you over a love squabble, but I’m also jealous. What exactly do you see in me?”
What Rick saw was a woman with beautiful green eyes and exotic cheekbones. A woman with one of the most seductive bodies he had ever seen. A woman so stubborn and determined, she would suffer bruises and sprains without the slightest complaint until she learned how to water-ski. Instead, he said, “Perhaps you excel in other areas. Perhaps you’re skilled-”
“In the bedroom? Is that what you were going to say?” She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away.
“Actually, no. I was shooting for a good listener or cook, but I’d be more than happy with bedroom skills.”
They walked back into the bungalow and shut the door. The air-conditioning was off and the room felt like an oven. She turned on the air conditioner and said, “This is going to be one long evening.”
“Do you want to shower first or should I?”
“Go ahead,” she said, sitting on top of the air-conditioner vent. “I’m set for a while.”
Her long, slender legs were splayed out before her. The other bathing suit strap fell down. His eyes grazed down her neck and onto her bare shoulders. He swallowed and attempted to look in the other direction, then yanked off his shirt.
“You’re not going to get undressed right here, are you?” she asked.
“No.” In fact, he wasn’t thinking about undressing himself, but her. What the hell was going on here? This was a business relationship. She was Alessandra Lawrence, the chairman of the board. The one who had fired him.
So why did he want to rip off her suit and take her right on the bed? Because Alessandra Lawrence just happened to be a beautiful woman. He always suspected as much, of course. But with her conservative suits and reserved manner, he’d never seen her as anything more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’d had her pegged as an uptight prude. He had not expected a spirited and feisty athlete. Nor had he ever expected her to look so good in a string bikini.
But there was something else that gave him pause. She had a quality, a way about her. There was a spark there. A connection. But whatever it was, it needed to be ignored. She was off-limits. Forever and always. This whole thing was make-believe. And he needed to keep it that way.
He let the freezing cold water of the shower pound against him as he shut his eyes, trying not to notice his body’s reaction to the woman just outside the door.
What had she gotten herself into? She was alone in a hotel room, ogling Rick Parker. She was-God help her- attracted to him. But how could she help it? They had spent the afternoon playing boyfriend and girlfriend. She had run her fingers over his raw muscles, felt the power of his kiss. And now here she was, only one closed door away from a naked Rick.
But, she attempted to reassure herself, it was normal, completely normal, that she feel some sort of attraction.
