She hadn’t traveled all this way to rekindle what they’d shared in Vegas. She’d come to put an end to it once and for all. But unlike the certainty she’d felt in Seattle when she’d first made the decision, the thought of ending it after this lovely visit made her want to cry and she wasn’t entirely certain why.
But when she started to rise from the chair, her thigh muscles were so stiff and sore, her legs threatened to fail her. “I shouldn’t have sat that long,” she said, slowly getting to her feet.
“That’s another reason I wanted to bring you over here,” he said, starting to lead her into the great room. “You’ll feel better after some time in the hot tub.”
Karly stopped to stare at him. “Blake, are you out of your mind? I can’t get in the hot tub.”
He looked thoroughly confused. “Why not?”
“For one thing, I don’t have anything to wear.” She motioned toward the double glass doors leading from the great room to the stone patio beyond. “And for another, I know the owner of this place may be good-natured, but I’m sure he would draw the line at having someone he doesn’t know taking a dip in his hot tub.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, he won’t care,” Blake said, guiding her out of the house toward the in-ground pool and spa. “I have free rein here, which means you do, too. You can slip out of your clothes and soak for a while in the hot tub and no one will be the wiser.”
“I’m not going to go skinny-dipping in a stranger’s spa,” she said, looking around as they walked outside. If the owner had a hot tub, she certainly couldn’t find it.
The sun had already gone down and the lights around the stone patio and pool made it look as if they were standing on the edge of a tropical lagoon. At one end, a waterfall cascaded down a huge natural-looking rock formation into the pool. But when she looked closer, she realized that the hot tub was set behind the curtain of water, as if it was inside a hidden cave.
He pointed toward the waterfall. “It’s completely private. And I promise it will help to soothe your aching muscles.”
Relief from the stiffness in her thighs and lower back did sound like heaven. “The owner—”
“Won’t mind at all,” he interrupted. He grabbed a couple of bath sheets that were sitting on a lounge chair they passed on the way to the waterfall.
“Where did those come from?” she asked, beginning to realize he had this planned all along.
“I laid them out when we first got here,” he answered, looking smug. “It was while you were surveying the kitchen.”
“You had this planned when you invited me up here for dinner,” she accused.
He nodded and grinned. “Now take your clothes off and hop in.”
Five
When Karly continued to glare at him, Blake frowned. “What?”
“I’m not taking my clothes off in front of you,” she said, stubbornly crossing her arms beneath her breasts.
He tried not to remember how perfectly those breasts fit in the palms of his hands or how responsive her nipples were when he teased them with the pads of his thumbs. Obviously, he hadn’t considered the full effect of the temptation she’d present when he’d come up with this hot-tub idea.
“Why not?” he asked, grinning and putting aside thoughts of her lovely breasts. “We did a lot more than just take our clothes off in Vegas and I don’t remember either one of us having a problem with that.”
If looks could kill, she would have dropped him right there where he stood. “That was different,” she insisted.
He raised one eyebrow. “How do you figure?”
“We were married.”
He shook his head. “Not at first we weren’t. If you’ll remember I ran into you in the hotel lobby in Vegas on Monday morning just as you were arriving to check in.” He smiled. “And I made love to you for the first time that night. We didn’t get married until the following Saturday night.”
“That was a long time ago,” she said softly.
“Not really.” Reaching out, he cupped her soft cheek with his palm. “Sweetheart, we’re still married and I’m still your husband until a judge says I’m not. There’s no reason for you to feel shy with me.”