Gracie stared at him in wonder. “You really think I’m beautiful just the way I am, don’t you?”
“No doubt about it.” He studied her a bit. “Actually, I’m pretty proud of my handiwork.”
“Your handiwork? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve loosened up, darlin’. Another few months and that tidy, sophisticated facade will be stripped away completely.”
“And you think that’s a good thing?”
He grinned. “Of course I do. Makes us better suited, don’t you think?”
“I suppose,” she said doubtfully. Even so, she backed out of his loose embrace. “I still think I’ll like me better if I’m all cleaned up. This ought to be an occasion, after all.”
He gave a resigned sigh. “It’s not the soap and water that will make it an occasion, but if you’ll feel more confident, I’ll just relax right here on your bed and wait.”
She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Gracie?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t take too long, okay?”
“I’ll be back before you can blink.”
She stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, then leaned against it. Her heart was pounding so hard, it felt as if she’d just finished an aerobic workout and hadn’t cooled down. Of course, the likelihood she’d be cooling down anytime soon was slim to none.
She stripped off her clothes, jumped into the shower and lathered up in record time. She shampooed her hair. When she emerged, she slathered lotion over her body, then ran a brush through her hair. She eyed the dryer, but guessed that Kevin wouldn’t wait patiently for her to blow-dry her hair. She fluffed it into damp curls with her fingers instead, added a touch of lipstick and a swish of mascara and left it at that.
Only then did she realize that she hadn’t brought a single piece of clothing into the bathroom with her. Nor was there a sexy robe hanging on the back of the door. There was no way in hell she was climbing back into the filthy clothes she’d just removed. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. Her entrance was going to be very provocative. She hoped Kevin hadn’t had second thoughts while she was gone.
She wrapped herself in the most voluminous towel she owned, but the truth was, it barely made her decent. Nor was there any truly secure way to assure it would stay on for more than a heartbeat. She could only pray the makeshift knot would hold long enough for her to cross the room, otherwise she was going straight from sophisticated to scandalous.
Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the door. Sunlight spilled across the bed, bathing Kevin in gold and shadows. At the sound of the door opening, his gaze shot to her.
“Holy…kamoley,” he murmured, his voice ragged.
“Worth the wait?”
“Better than any ballgown I’ve ever seen. Get over here.”
Gracie crossed the room very carefully, one hand locked on the knot of terry cloth between her breasts.
Kevin drew a little circle in the air. “Turn around.”
Gracie’s cheeks flooded with heat, but she dutifully turned.
“If Cannon knew what you did for one of their towels, they’d hire you for an entire ad campaign.”
“The towel as fashion statement?”
“Something like that.” He reached up and touched the hand securing the knot. “What happens if you let go?”
“I’m afraid to find out.”
“Come on. Be daring. Let’s check it out.” He gently pulled her hand away. The towel stayed where it was. Kevin regarded the knot with a disappointed gaze. Then he slipped a finger into the twist of fabric and gave a little tug. The towel slowly parted and slithered to the floor.
Gracie swallowed hard, but forced herself not to look away. Kevin looked awestruck.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. “I think I like this look best of all.”
“It might not be appropriate for church on Sunday,” she pointed out, her voice shaky.
“Darlin’, this look’s not appropriate for anyone but me to see. Remember that, okay?”
“Agreed.” She surveyed him slowly, boldly. “I’ve noticed something, though.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m standing here stark naked and you have on way too many clothes.”
“I can fix that in a heartbeat,” he promised, stripping off shirt and jeans and briefs before she could blink. He beckoned to her. “Now, come on over here, so I can touch you.”
He held out his arms and Gracie moved into them. It was odd, she thought, as their naked bodies came together, fit together. It felt as if she’d just come home.
There was only a moment to savor that stunning sensation, though. Kevin knew all sorts of wicked and wonderful things to do to her body. Maybe that’s how he spent all those lazy hours in the hammock, dreaming up new and inventive ways to drive a woman crazy. Gracie was relatively certain that no other man on earth was quite as clever or adept with his fingers, that no other man had discovered quite so many erogenous zones. Her senses reached new limits, then topped them, and all the while Kevin took nothing for himself.
To her frustration, he kept her hands pinned idly over her head while he worked his magic. Only when she had come apart once, twice, three times, the incredible tension dissolving into shuddering waves of pleasure, did he finally heed her pleas and slowly enter her, shattering her all over again with his deep, penetrating strokes.
This time, though, he was with her, his body shuddering as forcefully as her own, an exultant cry ripped from deep in his chest.
In the aftermath of that, the feelings that stole over her scared Gracie to death. Contentment, powerful and soul-deep. Wonder. Joy.
And love. That was the most terrifying of all, because when she looked in Kevin’s half-shuttered eyes, she wasn’t sure she saw anything to match it.
No, what she read in his eyes was satisfaction, delight, maybe even a touch of masculine smugness. Warmth. A trace of affection, perhaps, but no more than that. He looked like a man who had made love, thoroughly and enjoyably, but not one who was in love.
Suddenly overcome with regrets, she
