Still Waters

green. Beyond it she could see a formal dining room, raised two steps above the level of the entryway and living room. It, too, was immaculate. It seemed unused, like a display in a furniture-store window. 'It seems very… big.'

'Too big for one person, you're probably thinking. And you're right.' Zack's jaw seemed to tighten, then relax. 'I'm thinking seriously about doing something about that.'

Maddy's breath caught in her throat. 'Do you… live here… all alone?' It was hard to imagine someone as casual-appearing as Zack, with his jeans and polo shirts, his undisciplined hair and sunburned skin, living in a place as cold and empty as this. Maddy hated to think of Theresa living in such an environment. And surely the county- adoption caseworker would agree that this was no place for a child.

'I have a housekeeper.' Zack's voice was dry. Maddy glanced at him guiltily and saw a sardonic smile on his lips. 'So you don't have to worry about being alone with me. And now,' he said briskly, dismissing that subject and putting his hands on her shoulders, turning her the way one would a confused and balky child, 'quit stalling. Bathroom's down that hall-first door on your right. Did you bring a towel?'

She snapped her fingers. 'Oops-I left it in the car. I'll just go-'

Zack's arm made a barrier across the door just in time to thwart her escape. 'No, you don't. I think I can probably find you something.' His eyes were amused, but sympathetic.

'I'm sorry,' she muttered, feeling ridiculous. 'I guess maybe I am a little nervous.'

'No!' He put a hand on his chest and looked incredulous.

She stared resentfully at him for a long, tense moment, then gave an embarrassed giggle. 'Okay, I'm sorry,' she said. 'Really. I'm being pretty silly.'

'Yeah, you are.' He put his hands on her shoulders and smiled disarmingly at her. 'Do I look like a maniac who drowns gorgeous blonds in my hot tub?'

She focused on his dimple and shook her head. 'No.'

'Oh, what a relief.' His smile broadened and became irresistible. 'Besides, Dahlia wouldn't allow it. Maddy… look. I'm here to help you get over your fears, not make them worse. Everything we do tonight will be pleasant. Enjoyable. Even… fun.' His voice was soft and deep-throated. It soothed the rough, raw edges of her fear like warm oil. 'Trust me. Nothing's going to hurt you tonight, or scare you. Okay?'

'Okay.' She nodded, but somewhat dubiously. She did trust him not to hurt her. So why was she still shivering?

It wasn't until she was closed into the privacy of the bathroom and facing her own reflection in the mirror that she realized it wasn't the water she was afraid of at all. It was Zack. Just… Zack.

The problem, she decided as she peeled off her sweater and folded it neatly, was that he kept giving off conflicting signals. Not that she was adept at reading such signals, granted, but she'd had enough of the wrong kind of experience to know when a man was putting the make on her. She just wasn't hearing the usual warning bells and sirens with Zack. And yet he'd already taken more physical liberties with her than she'd tolerated from any of the men she'd dated in recent memory.

What did he want from her? On the one hand, he courted her trust. And on the other… what?

Maddy pulled on her suit, the plain black one she had bought for her first lesson at the public pool, and surveyed herself critically in the mirror. Damn the suit, anyway. It had seemed so practical. She'd had no idea when she bought it that it would be so… revealing.

'You really are cold, aren't you?' Zack said when she finally found the courage to rejoin him. She glanced down at herself and groaned inwardly.

'Don't worry,' he went on. 'The hot tub will take care of those chills.' He sounded comforting. Maddy tried to hide her telltale nipples behind a folded towel.

'H-hot tub?' She stumbled a little as she followed Zack down a short flight of carpeted stairs to a sumptuously appointed room that appeared to be a combination den and game room. The carpet was thick, chairs and sofas big and comfortable, tables cluttered with books and magazines. One end of the room was dominated by a huge stone fireplace, the other by an equally enormous pool table. In between, wide glass doors opened onto a covered patio made jungly by potted and hanging plants. Beyond the greenery, Maddy could just see the turquoise glitter of the pool.

'We'll start with the hot tub,' Zack said, pulling open the sliding glass doors. His hand on her back was uncompromising. With a perfectly straight face he added, 'It's a terrific way to warm up.'

'Hot tub,' she repeated, balking suspiciously. 'I thought you were supposed to teach me to swim.' She glared at him accusingly. 'I may be from Indiana, but I know you can't swim in a hot tub.'

'Hey, who's the teacher here? Quit worrying about the swimming part. Right now it's your fear of water we have to deal with. First things first. And the first thing I'm going to do'-he firmly removed the towel from her frozen fingers and dropped it onto the deck's rough paving stones-'is show you some of the sensual properties of water.' His jacket joined her towel.

'Sen-sensual?' Inexplicably, Maddy had begun to shiver again.

Zack moved away to flip switches and punch buttons. He returned to hold out his hand to her in a gesture that was very much like an invitation to dance. 'Yes… sensual. As in, 'appealing to the senses.' Your fear of water isn't all-encompassing. You don't get hysterical when presented with a glass of iced tea, do you?'

'Of course not!'

'And you take showers, don't you?'

'Yes, of course I do. That's ridic-'

'We're making progress! Baths?'

'Yes!'

'You see? We've just got to narrow the scope of your fear even further. If we eliminate all the things about water that don't frighten you, let's hope that, by the process of elimination, we can get to what's really bugging you. Come on, Maddy-take my hand.'

Fascinated against her will, she put her hand in his larger, warmer one, and allowed herself to be led to the edge of the tub.

He stopped and murmured, 'Listen.'

'What?' She stared at him, confused.

'Hush. Listen to the water. Hearing's a sense, too. Don't you know that the sound of running water is considered to be a terrific natural tranquilizer?' Keeping a firm grip on her hand, he stepped into the bubbling water. Maddy had no choice but to follow.

'Ever been in a hot tub before?' he asked casually as he guided her into the whirlpool bath.

She threw him what she hoped was a disdainful look. 'Of course I have. I didn't just fall off a hay wagon, you know!'

He grinned disarmingly and peered closely at her. 'Let's see.' He picked an imaginary straw out of her hair, shook his head, and flicked it away. Maddy found herself grinning back, and curled her free hand into a fist and pounded it once, in gentle reproof, on his smooth chest. He captured it and, holding both of her hands between his, said softly, 'Maddy, sit down.'

Without taking her eyes from his, she lowered herself into the frothy bubbles. Warmth, churning, caressing, tingling warmth enveloped her to her chin.

Maddy hadn't lied. She had been in hot tubs before. But not like this. She wasn't sure why, but this was… different. The sensations were indescribable. And delicious. The water stroked her body like fingers, magical, sensitive fingers. And the churning seemed to be inside her…

Zack's mouth had curved in a smile, but as she gazed at him it seemed to blur and soften. He let go of her hands and touched her face, drawing his thumb across the film of moisture on her upper lip. Her lips parted in response. He touched her warm cheek with the backs of his fingers, then lifted a strand of her hair and delicately tucked it behind her ear.

'Maddy… close your eyes.'

It was an easy command to obey. Her eyelids had grown so heavy, it was almost a relief to let them drift softly down.

'Feel the water… go with it. Let it hold you…'