In the Heat of the Spotlight

He wore boxers, and Aurelie could not draw her gaze away from his powerful thighs. As for what was hidden beneath the boxers...

‘Look at me like that much longer and I’m going to embarrass myself,’ Luke said, a thread of humour in his voice although she caught the ragged note of desire too. And it thrilled her.

She wasn’t sure how it could feel so different from before, when she’d wielded his desire for her like a weapon. Now it felt like a joy. She glanced up and smiled right into his eyes.

‘I don’t think that would necessarily be a bad thing.’

He nodded towards her pale pink sundress. ‘Your turn.’

He’d already seen her naked. He’d seen her in her skimpy Aurelie underwear several times. Yet this felt different too, more honest, more bare. She slid the straps from her shoulders and shrugged out of the dress.

‘Sorry. I’m wearing boring underwear.’ Just a plain cotton bra and boy shorts. Really, incredibly modest. Yet she felt nearly naked, and her body responded to Luke’s heated gaze, an answering heat flaring within her, stirring up all sorts of wants. As well as just a tiny little needle of fear. No, not fear, but uncertainty. Memory.

Luke smiled and turned towards the pool. ‘Last one in,’ he called, and dived neatly into the water below. Aurelie watched him surface, sluicing the water from his face, clearly enjoying himself. He glanced up at her. ‘Is a rotten egg,’ he finished solemnly and she laughed. Still didn’t move.

‘Are you chicken?’

‘I prefer the word cautious.’ She hadn’t swum in anything but a lap pool in years.

‘Didn’t you swim in a lake or watering hole that summer you spent in Vermont?’ Luke called up to her. ‘This is no different. In fact, it’s nicer because the bottom is sand and rock rather than squishy mud.’

She stared at him, amazed at how much he guessed. Knew. She had swum in a lake in Vermont, a muddy-bottomed pond that she’d spent hours in.

‘Come on,’ Luke called. ‘I’m right here. I promise you can scramble onto my shoulders if a medium-sized barracuda happens by.’

More trust. Funny, how trusting in these silly little things made her start to unbend to the notion of trusting him with the bigger things. Like the truth. No, she’d been honest enough about her past for one afternoon. But this she could do.

Taking a deep breath, she took a running jump into the pool. The water closed over her head and for a moment she remained below the surface, treading water and enjoying the complete stillness and silence until she felt Luke’s hands close around her shoulders and he hauled her upwards.

‘What—’

‘You want to scare me to death?’ he demanded, but she saw that telltale glint in his dark eyes. ‘I thought you were drowning.’

‘I can swim, you know.’

‘Maybe one of those barracudas had got you.’

She laughed, but the sound trembled and died on her lips as she saw Luke’s eyes darken, his pupils dilate, and she felt the pulse of desire in herself. He still held her by the shoulders, and she was close enough to see the droplets of water clinging to his skin, the enticing curve of his mouth, a mouth that she knew was soft and warm and delicious.

Then Luke let her go, easing away from her, and struck out towards the falls. ‘Come see this,’ he called over his shoulder, and Aurelie felt a flicker of disappointment. Had she wanted him to kiss her?

Yes, she had.

How novel. How exciting. How disappointing that he hadn’t.

With a little shake of her head, she swam over to join him at the waterfall.

‘There’s a little cave behind the falls,’ Luke explained. ‘Just swim underneath the waterfall and you’ll come up right into it.’

‘Okay.’

Luke dived down first and Aurelie followed him, surfacing a few seconds later into a shallow fern-covered overhang, the waterfall a sparkling crystalline curtain hiding them from the world. Luke hauled himself up onto a ledge and extended a hand to her.

They sat side by side in silence for a moment, and to Aurelie it seemed completely relaxed, completely wonderful. She’d never felt so much in accord with another human being before, and she knew she wanted to tell him. Forget the fear. Screw rejection. This was too incredible, too important.