But when she returned to that end of the pool again, she saw Kel standing on the deck. He was dressed in an old T-shirt and a faded pair of jeans that hung low on his hips. His feet were bare and his hair tousled, as if he’d just crawled out of bed.
“The pool is closed,” she said, grabbing onto the edge and tucking her knees to her chest.
He raked his hand through his hair. “I couldn’t sleep. Too many things on my mind.”
“How did you know where to find me?”
“The front desk clerk said you sometimes swim here late at night. I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Darcy’s hair was plastered to her forehead and she submerged once more and brushed it from her eyes. She watched as Kel’s eyes drifted from her face to her chest.
“When you retire from baseball, you ought to consider a career as a private investigator,” she said.
“Maybe so.” He squatted in front of her, his elbows resting on his knees. “I need to find something to do with myself pretty quick.” He shook his head, a rueful smile twisting his lips. “I’m pretty much done with baseball.”
His words were so thoughtful, so direct, that Darcy felt as if she had been offered a glimpse of the real Kel Martin for the very first time. “How do you feel about that?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. You’re the first person I’ve told. I was supposed to have surgery in the post- season and I just didn’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Another shoulder operation, a year of rehab, all for a chance at another year or two at most. If the arm didn’t come back, I’d probably bounce around the league. I was thinking, instead, maybe I should get a start on the rest of my life.”
“Isn’t baseball your life?”
Kel shook his head. “I thought so, but I know better now. I’ve had a good run. My arm has lasted longer than 95% of the guys in the league.”
“Will you miss it?”
“It’s not real-the money, the fame, the women. I knew it wasn’t real from the start, but the past few years it was starting to feel…like normal life and that scared me.”
“And what will you do now?”
“The things all guys do sooner or later. Marriage, a family.” He chuckled softly. “But right now, I’m thinking about taking a swim.”
He stood, then reached down for the hem of his T-shirt and tugged it over his head. Darcy couldn’t help but stare. He really did have a beautiful body, lean yet muscular, his wide shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. Her gaze followed a light trail of hair that began at his collarbone and disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans.
“It’s not like people won’t remember you,” she said, searching for anything to distract her from a careful study of his crotch. “You-you pitched a no-hitter, a perfect game. People will remember that.”
“I didn’t realize you followed my career.”
Darcy’s smile faded as she pushed away from the edge of the pool, swimming to the middle. “You were all over the papers. It was kind of hard to miss.”
“You followed my career,” he repeated.
“What if I did?”
“I like that,” he said. “I like knowing that you thought about me once or twice in the five years we were apart.”
“More than once or twice,” she admitted.
“Me, too,” he said. “I thought about you quite a bit.”
She watched him from the water as he unzipped his jeans and skimmed them down over his hips and knees. She’d expected boxers, but he hadn’t bothered with underwear. “You-you didn’t bring a suit,” she stuttered, stating the obvious.
“I wasn’t planning to swim,” Kel said, standing naked in front of her. “I understand the whole theory of skinny- dipping is that everyone takes their clothes off.”
Darcy shook her head. “Oh, no. I run this hotel. If someone walked in and found me in the pool, naked, with a naked man, the staff would never stop talking about it. If you come in, I’m getting out.”
Kel stepped to the edge of the pool and dove neatly into the water, swimming to the center. He came up in front of her, grabbing her waist as he did. Darcy screamed and tried to kick away from him, but Kel held tight.
“I can’t seem to get enough of you,” he said, gently tugging down one strap of her tank suit and dropping a kiss on her shoulder. “Why is that?”
“You’re seriously demented?”
He captured her mouth and plunged his tongue inside in a lightning-quick assault. “I think it’s all the chocolate I’ve been eating,” he said, his mouth now trailing up her neck to her ear. “Have you been eating chocolate? Because you taste delicious.”
“I may have had a few pieces,” she admitted.
He tugged the other strap down and her tank suit gaped in the front, exposing the tops of her breasts. Kel tugged a bit harder and the suit was suddenly around her waist. “That’s much better,” he said.
Darcy stared at him for a long moment. Why did she even bother fighting him? All her resolve just disappeared the moment he touched her. With a resigned smile, she skimmed the suit down over her hips, then kicked it off. “Satisfied?”
“Not yet, but I will be,” he teased. “And so will you.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
Kel yanked her naked body against his, his eyes fixed on hers. “I missed you today.”
Darcy moaned softly, tipping her head to the side. “Why do you insist on torturing me?”
“Because you seem to enjoy it so much,” Kel said. He drew back, then traced the shape of her lower lip with his finger. “You do enjoy it, don’t you, Darcy?”
She hesitated for a moment as Kel waited for her answer. He needed to know she wanted him as much as he wanted her. But was she ready to admit that? He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, his tongue invading her mouth as his fingers wove through her hair.
“Tell me you want me,” he murmured against her lips. “I want to hear you say it.”
“I want you,” Darcy said, dragging her mouth across his. Her body conformed to his as he pulled her legs up around his waist, his erection brushing against her suggestively. They bobbed in the water, kissing and touching, Darcy marveling at the slippery feel of their naked bodies touching underwater.
“If we do this here, one of us will end up drowned,” he said.
Darcy unwrapped her legs from his waist. “Then come with me,” she murmured. She swam to the end of the pool and climbed the steps to the deck, turning to face him as she did, unfazed by her nakedness.
A stack of fluffy white towels, embroidered with a gold “D,” sat in a nearby basket and Darcy grabbed one and wrapped it around her body. Then she turned back and watched as Kel followed her.
The sight of his shaft, hard and ready, sent a thrill racing through her. He was hers tonight, to enjoy for as long as she wished. Darcy picked up a towel and took it to him, slowly rubbing it over his damp skin and kissing the spots that she’d dried.
Kel closed his eyes, enjoying her little seduction, and for the first time, Darcy realized the power she held over him. Yes, he could seduce her, but she could just as easily seduce him. She slipped the towel around his neck and pulled him into another kiss, his desire pressing against her belly, hot and hard.
Darcy reached down and touched him, and Kel sucked in a sharp breath. Then, she stepped away from him and walked toward the spa. She could be a tease if she wanted to and Darcy wanted to return a little bit of the torment he’d lavished on her.
Each of the marble-lined steam showers were like small rooms, shower heads on three of the four walls with a low bench against one side. Darcy dropped her towel, then stepped inside and turned on the water, adjusting the temperature. A moment later, Kel joined her, grabbing her waist and pressing her back against the wall.
They stood under the rainfall of water, kissing, laughing, exploring each other’s bodies slowly and deliberately. Darcy ran her fingers over the scar at his shoulder, then kissed it, as if that could somehow make it better.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. Kel cupped her breast in his hand and then bent and gently sucked on her nipple.
