While she donned her royal-blue bikini, she did a quick Google search. According to several articles she skimmed, Tommy was one of the best racers in the industry and had been for quite a few years. Guess that made him a celebrity.
She also couldn’t help pausing on the various pics of him with this or that woman’s body twisted around his like Saran Wrap. In every one of them, he wore a cat-got-the-canary grin. Cocky. Sure of himself. And of what was about to happen with that clinging woman on his arm.
Ugh. Stop thinking about him.
After twisting her braid into a bun and securing it with a hair clip, she hurried downstairs. She could hear the sounds of splashing and playful shrieks that indicated someone had already dived into the undoubtedly cool and refreshing pool. She was more than ready to join them.
Tommy stood on the deck, next to the sliding glass door, a copper mug in each hand, like he was waiting for her. He wore a pair of aviator shades, a baseball cap over his messy, almost- ready-for-a-cut hair, and blue and white swim trunks resting low on his hips, showing off muscles from his neck all the way down to the elastic waist of those shorts. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the legs.
Jesus, he should be a model.
She mentally picked her jaw up off the floor and shook herself. She did not need this man to know she found him attractive.
Just attractive? Yeah right, I’m practically drooling.
His smile crawled across his face in slow motion, lighting him up and drawing her attention away from the muscles to the beauty that she’d swear was descended from a Greek god. Or maybe Roman. Whichever ones were the more gorgeous.
He offered her one of the mugs and said, “I can think of a thousand compliments to give you right now and every single one could be construed as hitting on you. Which they would be, for the record. So is it corny if I just say you’re beautiful?”
She took a swallow of her drink. “Not corny. But still sounds like you’re hitting on me.”
He chuckled. “Come on, let’s go sit by the pool while I work to convince you to let me put sunscreen on your back.”
Not a good idea. “My sister can do it.”
“Sure she can. And so can I. And I happen to be more handy at the moment.”
It was true. Maddy and Elliot were already in the water, taking turns flipping each other off a giant, inflatable donut. There were half a dozen other available options to float on, but then again, they probably weren’t truly fighting over who wanted that particular toy. It was all about the fun of the game.
Maybe she needed to follow their lead and relax enough to simply relish the game. No reason she couldn’t enjoy this flirtation for what it was, right? She and Tommy were two consenting adults who were obviously attracted to each other, and even if she had no intention of actually sleeping with him, the flirting part could be fun, if she would just let it.
“Sure,” she said, smiling while he blinked uncertainly. She snagged the sunscreen off a nearby chair and offered it to him. “That would be great.”
He placed his drink on the table and accepted the bottle while tossing her a wary look. And then he rested his hand on her shoulder and gently guided her so that she faced away from him.
“I’m highly suspicious of this sudden change in attitude,” he commented as he flipped the lid and squirted lotion into his palm. His hand touched her back, a combination of searing heat and breathtaking chill that made her bite her lip to keep from moaning.
“I was going to say you should be, because I’m simply here to enjoy the flirtation. But now that I have discovered you have magic hands, I’m not so sure anymore.”
He chuckled as he massaged his way down her back to the edge of her bikini bottom. “I knew I’d win you over sooner or later.”
He had no idea. She wanted to turn around and ask him to continue the massage. On her breasts. Without the bikini.
Good thing his parents were puttering around in the kitchen a few feet away. Hell, that sampling of his touch left her not even caring that her sister and his brother were nearby, probably watching them, possibly wondering what the hell was happening between them.
Tap, tap, tap.
Camila turned around, looking for the source of the sound. She could see Tommy’s mother standing at the window in the kitchen, frantically waving. After a moment, she gave them a wide grin and a thumb’s up.
Tommy muttered something undecipherable under his breath and stepped away, and Camila’s skin instantly turned to gooseflesh, like it missed his touch.
A dose of cold water hitting her legs made her yelp and jump around like she was dancing on hot coals. Her sister was in the water, hanging on the side of the inground pool, narrowed eyes glaring up at them. “Come on in. You both look like you need to cool off.”
Tommy smirked, tossed the sunscreen onto the chair, then handed her his sunglasses and hat before diving in, cannonball style, drenching Maddy and Camila both. Camila shook her head, dropped the hat next to the sunscreen, and perched the glasses on her nose. She used the steps in the shallow end to make her way into the pool in a more sedate fashion.
As soon as she was situated on a floating lounger, Tommy swam over and draped his arms over her legs. He plucked her drink out of her hand and took a swig.
“Yours is up there,” she pointed out.
“Yours tastes better.”
A few hours ago, everything this guy
