“Don’t know,” he admitted. “Hasn’t happened yet. Pretty sure you’d be safe, though.”
Yet.
He’d done this before. Of course he had. “Why would I be safe?”
He winked. “You’ve got the right name.”
“But it wouldn’t save me from embarrassing Brady.”
“Want to sneak back out?”
Arabella didn’t hesitate. Not even figuring she wasn’t the first girl he’d brought there was enough to sway her. “No.”
His smile widened. “Good.” He closed his hand over her elbow and drew her toward the archway.
The in-ground hot tub was oval shaped and large enough to accommodate at least a dozen people. It was surrounded by several mesh lounge chairs and several potted plants that looked real. The ceiling overhead was vaulted and with the lights low the way they were, gave the impression of being open-air even though it really wasn’t.
Jay let go of her and shrugged off his shirt, pitching it at one of the chairs as he passed it on his way to the control panel. A second later, the hot tub lit up from an underwater light and the surface began churning. He joined her where she was still hovering near the chair. She’d hung her bag off the back of it and glanced around, because wondering if there were security cameras felt safer than getting caught ogling his bare torso.
She didn’t see any cameras but maybe they were just more discreetly placed here than they were in the rest of the hotel. “How many times have you done this?”
“Twice before.” He’d been wearing tennis shoes with no socks and he toed them off before stepping to the edge of the churning water. “Stepped wrong a while back and sprained my ankle.” He stood on one foot and rotated the other. “Whirlpool helped.” He stepped down onto the first step and the water swirled around his calf.
“I sprained my wrist once and the doctors put me in a sling for more than a week,” she said absently. He was slim but that only made the V from waist to broad shoulder even sharper. And slim, she realized, didn’t mean undefined. He was practically a textbook study in musculature and sinew. He had a small tattoo near his shoulder blade that she couldn’t quite make out.
“Didn’t bother with a doc. Not the first time I’ve sprained something. I know the drill.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her, catching her in the act of squinting at him. His eyebrow rose. “Ready to take the plunge?”
She could have fanned herself in the same way that Hallie had done during lunch.
There was nothing seductive about her utilitarian tankini. The only thing it had going for it was the jaunty blue-and-white stripes of the halter top that supposedly gave the impression of curves where there were none. Feeling as self-conscious as if she were stripping down to her undies, she pulled the towel from around her hips and dropped it on the chair. He hadn’t brought one, she realized. “Is it hot?”
His lips tilted. “Very.” His gaze never left her face as she gingerly dipped her toe in the water. “The water’s pretty warm, too.”
She hoped he’d blame her flush on the steam rising from the churning water.
His smile widened and he took another step down into the water. “Come on. I remember what a workout it is cleaning rooms. Fitness industry’s missing out on a whole trend if you ask me.”
She glanced over her shoulder. It was a fine time to start having reservations. “Are you sure we’re not going to get caught?” No matter what he thought, having the last name Fortune didn’t mean they had a pass on following the rules of the hotel.
“You are getting cold feet.”
“No, I’m not!” She made a face because it was so obvious to them both that she was. “No,” she said more firmly.
“I’ve known Mariana since I was a kid. She’s not going to tell a soul about this,” he said calmly. “And the only cameras down here are in the hallways that head to the lobby in one direction and Roja in the other. I’ve done my research on that score. I know where they’re all located.”
“The advantage of working in every department, I guess.”
“Something like that. And nobody should be here until the cleaning crew.” He held out his hand. “You heard Mariana. Time’s tickin’, sweetheart. So what’s it going to be?”
She looked at his palm extended to her. Even in the dim light she could see the ridge of calluses across his fingertips.
She swallowed hard and quickly placed her hand in his. His fingers closed around hers, steadying her as she stepped down into the water.
It was like being encased in comfort and she wasn’t entirely sure if that was owed to Jay’s hand clasping hers or the steaming, churning pool. Either way, she couldn’t stop a heartfelt groan. Nearly all of her nervousness floated away. Magical. “Oh, yessss.”
“Had a feeling you’d like it.” Jay didn’t let go of her hand until she stood waist deep in the water. Then he moved toward one end of the oval and sat, stretching out his arms on the travertine coping behind him. The water bubbled around his shoulders. “Jets are stronger over here.” He patted the curved tile.
She walked toward him and the tub got deeper toward the center of it, but never so deep that she couldn’t reach the bottom and still keep her chin above water. He’d said he’d used the hot tub because of a sprained ankle, but she still couldn’t help wondering if he’d been alone or not.
It was the only fly in this heavenly ointment.
She sat down near him, keeping a circumspect arm’s length between them, and pretended not to see the way his lips twitched. Unlike him, though, she slumped down as far as she could
