Sam nearly choked on his own saliva. “Dammit, Mike. I’m sleeping with her, not getting married.”
“It always starts in bed,” Mike muttered. “Trust me. I know.”
“It’s not like you and Cara.”
Mike burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“That’s what I said when I was fighting myself.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So I can tell Cole you’ll handle persuading Nicole to wear a wire with Tyler’s old man?” Mike asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah. But not until we’re back in town,” Sam said. “How’s Cara feeling?”
“Not good. Can you talk to her when you get back? I get the feeling she’s shutting me out. I don’t understand, but maybe you can get through to her?”
Sam knew what it took for his brother to ask. “Sure thing. Once I’m home, I’ll make it a priority.”
“Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”
Sam disconnected the call and joined the women in the pool, where he spent the next half hour having water fights with a six-year-old and carrying her around on his shoulders around the pool. More than once, he caught Nicole watching him, with an expression he’d never seen before on her beautiful face. He didn’t know what to make of it, but damned if he didn’t like it.
A little while later, Sara announced it was time for Sammy to take a bath, and then she could go to her friend’s house for the rest of the afternoon and for dinner.
The little girl squealed in excitement, dumped her uncle Sam, and ran for the house.
“Wait for a towel! You’ll drip water everywhere!” Sara took off after her, towel in her hand.
Nicole laughed, leaning her head back against the chair in which she sat. “Oh my God, she’s so cute.”
“A firecracker,” Sam said.
They lay in companionable silence, enjoying the afternoon, and he was glad Nicole was able to put her problems aside. And if she wasn’t, at least she was making an effort to enjoy as much as possible. He dreaded the time when they’d have to head back to reality, but that was a while off.
Sara stepped outside to tell them she was leaving, and she pointedly mentioned she wouldn’t be back until Sammy’s bedtime at eight.
Good friend, he thought wryly, letting him know he had the all clear. Which was perfect, because he couldn’t keep his hands off Nicole for much longer.
The sun beat down overhead and beads of perspiration pooled on Nicole’s chest. She groaned, knowing that the weatherman’s prediction of one-hundred-degree temperatures had to have come true.
“I’m roasting out here,” she murmured.
A few seconds later, she squealed at the unexpected cold shot of an ice cube trailing over her stomach. She bolted upright, but Sam’s firm hands pushed her shoulders back down.
“Shh. Let me cool you off.”
His husky voice aroused her in an instant and she did as he asked, relaxing back into the chair.
He outlined her bikini top with an ice cube, first tracing the band around her chest, then moving over the swells of her breasts, taking his time, leisurely caressing her skin.
The ice, a stark contrast to her heated flesh, melted on contact, leaving droplets of water in its wake, and she arched into the cooling sensations. Sam added texture to his ministrations, brushing his thumbs over her already distended nipples, awakening her nerve endings that begged for a harder touch, but he didn’t linger in any one spot.
Instead he retrieved another cube from the Lucite bucket and worked his way down her stomach, her muscles rippling and clenching at the icy trail he created. He outlined the top of her bikini bottom, sliding the ice along her lower abdomen, keeping his fingers in the mix, stroking her aroused flesh everywhere—except where she needed it most. Every touch, every brush of his callused fingertips might as well have been directly on her sex, because the tiny bud throbbed and ached as if he were physically touching her, and she arched her hips, seeking deeper contact.
Sam pressed his lips to her stomach, lapping at the droplets of water and kissing her skin. She moaned at the intimate touch, unable to hold back the sounds of pleasure.