Other tourists joined them beneath the awning, and soon the return boat arrived. Hattie's hip and thigh were glued to Luc's in the small, crowded craft. Back on dry land, she followed him meekly to the car. Her honey-blond hair gleamed in the unforgiving sun.
Seeing her pink shoulders made him think of Leo again. Which made him think of doing the lotion thing for Hattie, covering every inch of her creamy skin with fragrant moisture.
He knew what she was going to say, and his body said a resounding "hell, yeah!" But in addition to his need to remain in control, it occurred to him that he owed her some romance … to make up for his less than stellar behavior as a new groom. They had eight or nine hours to kill before bedtime. It was far too hot to walk the streets in the midday heat.
Fortunately, their rental was parked beneath a huge shade tree. Luc leaned his elbows on the top of the car and faced Hattie with the vehicle between them. "What would you like to do now?" he asked, wishing he could supply the answer.
She lifted the hair from the back of her neck and sighed. "I love the pool," she said. "Do you mind too much if we go back and swim? We can play tourist tomorrow."
"Whatever you want," he croaked, his mind racing ahead. Swimming as foreplay made as much sense as anything else to his testosterone fuddled brain.
In the bedroom there was an awkward moment when they both reached into suitcases with plans to change clothes. Luc held up his hands, gripping a pair of black swim trunks. "I'll use the other bathroom."
He was ready in four minutes. It took Hattie an extra twenty. But when she reappeared, he wasn't about to complain. Her hair was swept up on top of her head, leaving recalcitrant tendrils to cling to her damp neck. The white terry robe she wore covered her from throat to knee, but it molded to her brea**sts and hips with just enough cling to encourage his imagination.
He thought he had himself under control. But all bets were off when they reached the pool and Hattie ditched the cover-up. She wore a different suit this time, and he was damned glad Leo hadn't been around to see this one.
It was a neon-blue bikini. Luc was stunned. She was a sexual goddess, even more lovely than she had been in college. The bikini bottom fastened at the hips with a large gold circlet on either side. The two tiny triangles of fabric that made up the top barely met decency standards.
Luc looked around suspiciously to see if anyone else was enjoying the show, but their privacy was absolute. Nothing but flowers and water and a mermaid just for his entertainment. If there were other guests at the small inn, they were not around at the moment.
Luc made a show of selecting a chaise lounge and flipping out his towel. "I'm going to nap."
Hattie gazed at him over her shoulder, her eyes hidden behind tortoiseshell sunglasses. "Will you do me first?"
His body went rigid in shock until he saw the bottle of sunscreen she held out. "Sure."
When she was situated, he perched on his hip beside her and unscrewed the lid. Immediately, the scent of coconut assailed his nostrils. Hattie pillowed her head on her arms, a small smile tilting her lips.
Luc groaned inwardly. Giving her a taste of romance before the main event might drive him mad.
When his hands touched her back, she flinched. "It's cold."
He ran his fingers across her shoulder blades. "It won't be. Relax."
Too bad he couldn't take his own advice. Every one of his muscles was tight enough to snap. He exhaled slowly and concentrated on Hattie. His fingertips still remembered the hills and valleys of her body. His thumbs pressed on either side of her spine.
Hattie moaned.
Dear Lord.
When he hesitated, she lifted a hand and waved it lazily, her eyes closed. "Don't stop."
He smoothed one final spot of lotion into her skin and capped the bottle. "All done."
Hattie didn't answer. She was so still he suspected she had drifted off. Which irked him, because sleep was the furthest thing from his mind. He stood up and went to the deep end of the pool. After one last glance at Hattie, he dove in and started a series of punishing laps. Harder and faster, pushing his body to exhaustion.
He swam until his legs began to feel like spaghetti. And then he swam some more. When spots of light began to dance behind his eyelids, he dragged himself out of the pool and collapsed onto his lounger facedown. Hattie lay where he had left her, her almost naked body lax and limp, her skin glistening with a dewy sheen of lotion and perspiration.
Luc closed his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. He had a painful erection. His body was clenched with desire, despite the brutal workout. He was a man, not a eunuch. He might not be in love with Hattie like he'd been as a stupid kid of twenty, but he had normal male needs. If she didn't come to him soon, he'd never be able to keep up the pretense that he was in control of the situation.
It was a shock to feel hands on his back. He'd been so caught up in his own turmoil, he never heard Hattie move. She mimicked his earlier position and was now preparing to rub sunscreen into his burning skin. Thankfully, his Italian heritage made him able to endure the sun without painful consequences, but he knew he needed the protection.
The question was-who or what would protect him from Hattie?
Her hands were small, but strong. Despite the ostensible point of the exercise, this was foreplay. And Luc was strung so tightly, he wasn't sure he could bear it.
Five minutes later, his body aching with the need to roll over and pull Hattie down into his arms, she finished. He felt her touch on his hair, her fingers ruffling the wet strands.
She leaned in closer, her breast brushing his side. "I'm getting in the water. Why don't you join me?"
It was a dare. He recognized it as such and knew that this game of cat and mouse had only one possible conclusion. But it was up to him to write the script and make sure Hattie knew who was in control.
He swung to a sitting position. Now they were so close, he could have leaned forward a scant two inches and kissed her. But he didn't. Not yet.
He smiled grimly, cursing his body's weakness. "After you."
She didn't try to dive in, but instead used the ladder to lower herself into the pool. The water was only chest high where she stood. He executed a show-off dive from the opposite direction and came up beside her, shoving the hair from his face. Her eyes were wide.
He touched her shoulder. "Want a ride in the deep end?"
Hattie nodded, not speaking.
He took her hand. "Get on my back."
When she complied, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms encircling his shoulders, he shuddered. "Hang on."
He walked forward, feeling the bottom of the pool fall away beneath his feet. When he could barely touch bottom, he tugged her off his back and around until she faced him. The slightly surprised look in her eyes when she realized she was out of her depth made him smile inwardly.
Her hands clenched his shoulders, her fingernails leaving marks in his skin. Their legs drifted together and apart. He knew she felt the evidence of what she did to him.
Hattie nibbled her bottom lip. "The water feels great."
She was nervous. He liked that. "A lot of things feel great," he said, deliberately taunting her.
"You didn't let me give you my answer earlier," she said, her eyes alight with mischief.
He kissed her softly, a bare brush of mouth to mouth. She tasted like warm summer fruit. "It will keep," he muttered. "No need to rush."
Need swam between them. His. Hers. It might have been a decade, but some pleasures the body never forgets.
Her eyes drifted shut.
"No. Look at me." He cupped one breast.
Hattie's eyelids fluttered open, her gaze unfocused, her cheeks flushed despite the cool water. Her soft cry went straight to his gut.
He kicked his legs rhythmically, keeping them afloat. Now he took the other breast. Two handfuls … warm, seductive, feminine bounty. He massaged gently, moving the barely-there bikini top aside to find naked flesh.
The pleasure flooding him from touching her so intimately blurred his vision. His hands settled at her waist as he took her mouth in a ravaging kiss. They were in danger of losing all rational thought. And he was sinking fast.