Seduced

help the slight accusatory note in her voice. At the moment, she felt as if she were completely naked.

His expression turned adorably sheepish. 'Well, it is… kind of.'

'Kind of?' She lifted a brow and lowered her gaze to his arousal. 'Do you have that kind of reaction to other women you see in bathing suits?'

He grinned unrepentantly. 'Not exactly.' He pushed his fingers through his thick hair and drew a deep breath. 'You see, mybrain knows that what you're wearing is equivalent to a swimsuit, but myeyes are finally seeing the incredible body you hide beneath loose, baggy clothing, and my hormones take over from there. I always knew you'd have gorgeous breasts and great legs, but my fantasies didn't do you justice. In reality, you're so much more perfect, in every way.'

She felt her body flush from head to toe from his compliment, and his direct, candid stare caused her heart to flutter in her chest. The man was a rogue, a flirt-she knew that, but she wasn't immune to his flattery. She'd never been appraised so openly, had never felt so desirable and sexy, despite the no-nonsense cotton underwear she wore.

It was a novel experience for her to feel so attractive. All her life she'd been cautious with the opposite sex and extremely reserved, having learned through her mother's experience with her father, along with her sister's first marriage, that men weren't always what they seemed. Her brief relationship three years ago supported that theory, as well.

She'd applied the same philosophy to Ryan, more so because of his profession. His career alone, his ambition and drive, identified him as the type of guy she ought to avoid at all costs. By his own admittance he preferred short-term relationships, which went against her more traditional values.

But the man… he was kind, and caring, and sincere, a direct contradiction to what his profession implied and what she'd always believed. He had a way of weakening her defenses, and tapping into intimate longings she could no longer suppress.

Unable to sort out all the confusion in her mind at the moment, she focused on the one thing that was clear-cut and undeniable-her attraction to Ryan. It was an incredibly heady experience to know that she starred in his fantasies, and for today, she was going to enjoy his attention and interest without expectations or promises.

He tipped his head, causing a lock of dark hair to fall over his forehead. 'Ladies first,' he said, waving a hand toward the tub.

She climbed into the bubbling, churning water, and sank into its depths. She groaned as her entire body softened, lulled by the silky heat of the water, the jets pulsating gently against her muscles, and the intoxicating scent of strawberries.

'You like?' Ryan asked as he settled himself at the opposite end. Their legs tangled as they both tried to find a comfortable position, their skin slick from whatever bath product he'd put in the tub.

She rested her head against the rim, uncaring that the hair brushing her shoulders was getting wet. 'Oh, I definitely like. This iswonderful.'

'I'm glad you approve.' He handed her one of the glasses of wine, and took the other for himself. 'But it gets better than this.'

'Impossible,' she said with a smile. She took a deep drink of the pale pink liquid, and wasn't surprised to find it flavored with a hint of strawberry, too.

He winked at her, then reached for something within the basket. 'You just close your eyes, relax, and let me show you how good it gets.'

Taking another quick sip of her wine, she set the half-empty glass on the ledge, then did as he instructed, allowing her sumptuous surroundings to draw her into a blissful state of tranquility… until she felt Ryan's fingers curl around her ankle.

She tensed at first, then grew pliant once again as he began washing her with a silky, soapy sponge. He spent an inordinate amount of time on her legs, tickling her feet playfully until she laughed and begged him to stop, then moved on to find an erogenous zone behind her knee that made her gasp and squirm. The sponge glided upward along her thighs, dipping between them, but he didn't stroke her intimately as she expected. In fact, it seemed as though he was deliberately avoiding doing that

Water sloshed in the tub and lapped around her shoulders as he shifted his position and moved closer. He continued to pamper her, gently scrubbing her belly, then past her heavy, sensitive breasts to her chest, her collarbone, and her arms. Although he'd diligently evaded all the places that ached for his touch, he'd managed to arouse her to a breathless pitch of need

'There's nothing like good clean fun, huh?'

She shivered at the husky timbre of his voice, and blinked her lashes open, meeting his dark brown gaze that told her he was just as affected as she was. She smiled, and made a grab for the sponge, which he relinquished with ease.

'I think it's my turn to getyou clean,' she said, anticipating the task. Sitting up on her knees for leverage, she lathered the sponge with the fragrant soap and returned the favor of scrubbing his sleek, muscled skin. She reveled in the sight and feel of the taut cords of muscles across his chest, down his belly, and along his thighs. His flesh was smooth and slick from the water and soap, and when she moved behind him, she couldn't resist running her fingertips along his perfectly sculpted back.

A shudder coursed through him, and his breathing grew shallow… the only indication that he was affected at all by her ministrations. A private, satisfied smile curved her mouth. Emboldened by a sexual confidence unfamiliar to her, and wanting to see how far he'd allow her to go, she cruised her flattened palms along his lean sides, and stole around to his chest. Her fingers stroked slowly, provocatively, over his erect nipples, and awareness sizzled. She rubbed her breasts against his back, and widened her thighs to slip closer.

His body tensed, and she closed her eyes and grew bolder. Her splayed hands roamed south, and then her fingertips grazed his fierce erection beneath the fabric of his swim trunks. With a low, vivid curse, he grabbed her wrists and turned around, nearly pulling her under the water with his abrupt move. He caught her just in time with one hand behind her back and the other grasping her bottom, and she instinctively curled her legs around his to keep her from sliding lower. She gasped as their bodies came into direct, intimate contact.

His gaze darkened, but the gold around his irises glittered with the bright flame of desire. 'I think you're enjoying yourself a little too much,' he murmured.

She flashed him a sassy smile while attempting to regain her equilibrium. 'Wasn't that the purpose of your lesson?'

He helped her back to a sitting position, then reached into the basket and rummaged through the contents. 'Yeah, I suppose it was, so pay attention.' She tried to look around him to see what he was doing, but his broad, bare shoulders provided a much more interesting distraction. 'Pay attention to what?'

Producing a jar of body paint, he waggled his brows at her. 'Thereal fun is about to begin.' Opening the plastic container, he dipped his index finger into the thick brown substance and took a tentative sample. Curious, she asked, 'Does it taste good?' He extended the jar toward her, a subtle, sexy challenge in his eyes. 'See for yourself.'

She coated her finger with the flavored body paint, but instead of licking off the delicacy, she gave in to the reckless impulse to smear the sticky syrup along his chest, then leaned forward to lap it off with her tongue.

'Ummm, it tastes like chocolate.' Feeling daring and naughty, she nibbled a little more, letting her teeth graze his firm flesh, his taut nipple.

Seemingly surprised by her brazen move, he sucked in a quick breath. 'Hey.'

Lifting her head, she affected a guileless look, though she was feeling anything but innocent. 'Isn't that what the body paints are for?'

A sinful grin eased up the corner of his mouth as he set the jar nearby, then moved aside the candles sitting on the ledge behind the tub. 'I always knew you were a quick study.'

Without warning, he grasped her hips in his large hands, lifted her out of the bath, and perched her bottom on the tiled rim. A gasp of startled surprise caught in her throat, and the immediate contrast of warm water sluicing down her body to cool air washing over her damp skin caused her breasts to tighten and her nipples to pucker… which was exactly where Ryan's gaze was riveted.

Following his line of vision, she glanced down to find that the very sensible fabric of her bra and panties clung when wet, leaving little to the imagination. Her rosy nipples were clearly outlined through the cotton material, and a darker shadow creased the V between her legs.