Her expression softened a little, but she was apparently going to stand her ground. “We haven’t been together in over eight months, Blake.” She shook her head. “And in three months we’ll be divorced.”
There was a sadness in her eyes that he hadn’t expected. Was she regretting her decision?
The notion that she might be having second thoughts caused a hitch in his breathing and he didn’t want to consider why. But he immediately abandoned the likelihood that she had changed her mind again. Just because she might be sorry for what had—or more accurately hadn’t—taken place after they left Las Vegas, didn’t mean anything. In light of the choices she’d made and the way things had turned out, he had his own doubts that it would have worked out between them, as well.
Fighting to keep from lowering his head to kiss her slightly parted lips, Blake dropped his hand to his side. “Follow me. There’s an entrance at the side of the waterfall. Going in that way will keep you from getting your hair wet.” Once they entered the secluded area, he flipped a switch, turning off the underwater lights in the custom-made, sunken tub. “You can put your clothes over there to keep them dry,” he said, motioning toward a lounge chair a couple of feet away. Turning his back to her, he added, “Let me know when I can turn around.”
“I still can’t believe your boss won’t have a problem with someone using his hot tub without permission,” she said.
He started to tell her she was beginning to sound like a parrot, but the words lodged somewhere between his vocal cords and open mouth when he heard the rustle of clothing being removed a moment before her jeans and T-shirt landed on the end of the lounge chair. Blake swallowed hard. Then he took a deep breath when her lacy panties and bra landed on top of the pile. Just knowing she was as naked as the day she was born and standing right behind him was enough to send his blood pressure sky-high.
The sound of her stepping into the spa caused sweat to pop out on his forehead. He hadn’t anticipated remembering how he’d sipped water droplets from her satiny skin when they’d showered together. He gritted his teeth and tried desperately to think of anything but how her lithe wet body had felt against his.
“Oh, dear heavens that feels good,” Karly said, her tone appreciative. As if it was an afterthought, she added, “You can turn around now.”
Thankful that he had switched off the submerged lights to keep her from seeing the obvious evidence of how she still affected him, Blake sat down on the side of the lounge chair and took his time pulling off his boots and socks. Maybe if he gave himself a few minutes before he got into the water with her, he could get a grip on his suddenly nonexistent control.
When he stood up to unbuckle his belt and release the button at the waistband of his jeans, he thought he heard her moan softly. “Are you all right?” he asked, unzipping his fly to shove his jeans and boxer briefs down his legs.
He couldn’t help but chuckle when Karly sent a little wave of water over the rock edge of the tub as she quickly whirled around to look away from where he was undressing. “I-I’m just...amazed at how wonderful this warm water feels.”
“I think you’ll have to agree, the hot tub was a good idea,” he said, knowing that wasn’t the real reason behind her moan.
But he kept that knowledge to himself. Pointing out that she was no more immune to him now than she had been in Las Vegas would only put her on the defensive and prevent him from learning why she had changed her mind about them.
By the time he had removed his clothes, he felt a little more in control of his body. So he walked over to the side of the heated spa and stepped into the bubbling water. Lowering himself to the stone seat beside her, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the soothing, heated water swirled around them. Just knowing that her nude body was only inches away from his was playing hell with his good intentions.
“This is an unusual hot tub,” she commented. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one made out of stones. It looks so natural.”
Nodding, he opened his eyes. “The owner told some pool designer what he wanted and the guy made it happen.”