drink, then refilled his glass before glancing at her. 'Beautiful night, isn't it?'
All of a sudden she felt like a schoolgirl, which was ridiculous considering how intimate she and Grey had been. Absently double-checking the knot holding the towel in place, she looked up at the twinkling stars in the clear night sky. 'Uh, yes, it is.'
His warm and lazy gaze did a slow, appreciative perusal, from the haphazard knot of hair on her head to the tips of her bare toes. 'You gonna get in or are you gonna stand there all night?' Amusement tinged his voice, but his eyes were all golden heat.
Her stomach fluttered. 'I'm, um, not dressed.'
Standing, he set their glasses of wine on the rim of the tub, then stripped off his shirt and tossed it on the chair he'd just vacated. 'I won't be either in a second.' Unbuckling his leather belt, he unzipped his fly and hooked his fingers into the waistband of his jeans and briefs.
She sucked in a breath, though his boldness shouldn't have surprised her. The man didn't possess an ounce of modesty. 'Grey!'
'What?' The look he gave her was a stirring combination of innocence and sin. 'It's not like you've never seen me naked.' The jeans and briefs whooshed down his legs, and she averted her gaze, though from the corner of her eye she saw a flash of smooth, muscled skin and the toned curve of his buttocks as he stepped into the spa.
'Ahh.' He sighed contentedly as he stretched his arms along the rim. 'This feels great. Your turn.'
She wasn't about to give him a free show. 'Close your eyes.'
The rogue laughed, the sound deep and throaty. 'I thought I'd stripped you of all inhibition long ago.'
He had, and she'd be the first to admit that she'd done things with him that had shocked her sensibilities in the beginning. Eventually, though, she'd gained enough confidence to freely explore her sensuality and desires. But that had been before, when she'd believed they had a future together. The uncertainty of their relationship made her more discreet.
'Eyes closed, Nichols.'
He grunted a complaint but complied. 'For crying out loud, Mariah, I've been intimate with that cute little mole on the inside of your thigh and that bunny-shaped birthmark on the curve of your breast and you're worried about me seeing a glimpse of…oh, man,' he groaned as she stepped into the spa, completely naked.
Mariah froze, her gaze darting to his wide-eyed one as he stared at her breasts, the indentation of her waist and the juncture of her thighs with a hunger that sent her pulse into a tailspin. Quickly, she sat across from him, submersing herself to her shoulders in the hot water.
She glared at him. 'You promised not to look!'
He dragged a wet hand over his jaw. 'I'd never be so foolish as to promise any such thing. Do you realize how long it's been since I've seen you naked? Since we've made love?
Beneath the froth and caress of water her nipples tightened into aching points. She could give him the exact days, narrowed down to the hours and minutes if he really wanted to know. 'I have no idea.'
'It's been too long,' he said. 'Much too long, don't you think?'
She gave a one-shoulder shrug. 'I haven't thought much about it at all.'
He took a drink of wine. 'So, is Richard going to wonder where you are this weekend?' The change of subject made his features tighten and turn grim.
She wasn't sure why, but she took pity on him and divulged the truth. 'Richard and I aren't dating any longer.'
A low, audible sigh of relief escaped him, though his gaze never left her face. 'Why not?'
She stretched out her legs and her foot touched his at the bottom of the spa.
Grey trapped her foot between his ankles, and before she could rescind the move he reached down and caught her leg and settled her foot on his hard thighs. She gasped and jerked back, but lost the match.
'Relax, sweetheart. I only want to massage your foot.'
She should tell him no, but he was already rubbing those incredible hands and fingers of his along her sole and heel. It felt too wonderful to fight, and as long as he didn't explore above the calf, she'd be okay. She relaxed slightly, trying not to think how close the foot resting in his lap was to his-
'Richard wasn't any good in bed, was he?' Grey asked abruptly.
She choked on incredulous laughter. 'We never got that far!'
'Good.' His thumbs pressed into her arch, the satisfied gleam in his eyes slowly fading. 'Who's next on Jade's list of eligible bachelors?'
'No one.'
'And what about your father's?'
She smiled and sank deeper into the water until her neck rested on the rim. Her earlier tension gradually ebbed from her body. 'Don't you think I can find my own dates?'
'Oh, absolutely. I just know your father when it comes to his single, available daughters.'
She tilted her head and bravely settled her other foot on his knee for equal treatment, wiggling her toes. 'Do you now?'
'Yep.' Beneath the eddying water, his finger slowly slid between her toes, caressing the sensitive skin there. She shivered, and a smile lifted his mouth. 'Remember how we met?'
How could she forget that monumental moment when she'd looked into his gold-brown eyes for the first time and become a devout believer in love at first sight? 'Yes, I remember. We met through a consultation appointment.'
'Your father set us up.'
'He referred you to Casual Elegance,' she corrected. Lifting her glass of wine from the side of the spa, she drained the rest of the pale liquid. A languid warmth within her mingled with the heat of the spa's jets, making her lazy and lethargic.
'He set us up, Mariah,' he said, the skin around his eyes crinkling in humor. 'As soon as I mentioned I was building a house he told me his daughter was the best interior designer in southern California. So I let him set up an appointment with you.'
She frowned, recalling her father's enthusiasm when he'd called months ago to set her up with a potential client who owned his own security firm. As much as she loved and adored her father, she wouldn't put it past him to do a little matchmaking, just to speed up the process of one of his daughters getting married.
'You didn't have to see me,' she said quietly.
'Your father insisted, and since he was about to become a major account for Nichols' Security I figured it couldn't hurt to see his daughter about a consultation.' He stroked his hand along her ankle and cupped her calf in his palm before kneading the taut flesh, loosening the muscle. 'Though I have to admit I expected to find a spinster.'
A tiny groan of pleasure slipped from her. Instinctively she flexed her foot. 'And what did you find instead?'
He gazed at her with a tenderness he rarely displayed. 'Instead I found the woman of my dreams.'
She rolled her eyes to dispel the softening of her heart. 'And I thought you were the most arrogant man I'd ever met.'
He grinned wolfishly. 'I knew what I wanted.'
She shook her head at his presumptuousness. 'And it wasn't to see carpet samples.'
'No, it certainly wasn't that,' he agreed. 'And we didn't get much business done that night, did we?'
She reflected on that evening, and how he'd deliberately steered their conversation away from business, and onto more personal topics…such as, was she seeing anyone? 'Not after you said you just
'I didn't need it. Your eyes said you wanted the kiss as much as I did.'
Scooping a handful of frothing water, she trickled it over a dry patch on her shoulder. 'You obviously saw what you wanted to.'
'You didn't object.' He leaned forward, his thigh flexing where her foot rested. 'In fact, if I recall correctly, your
