The thought caught her by surprise and she delayed in the shadows another moment.
He wasn't hers, not really. This was temporary, even more temporary than most of the people who moved through her life. As badly as she longed for family and permanent, she was not going to find that in a wild, tropical holiday affair.
Chapter Ten
Tony saw Amber hanging back under the roof of the bar, in shadows. Her brilliant blue bikini wasn’
t nearly as skimpy as he'd been led to believe, and she looked like a goddess. He couldn't help but stare. The curve of her hip, the sexy slope of her shoulders, the sleek ponytail that curled around and was long enough to tickle the mound of her breast ... it was a package that he wasn't sure he'd have been able to resist even if she wasn't his mate.
She took a deep breath and started walking towards him, padding as gracefully as a cat, and Tony was mesmerized by the way she moved.
When she stopped at his chair, he had to catch his breath and keep himself from reaching up and pulling her onto his lap for a kiss with no care for the other guests on the pool deck. He was going to need a dip in the unheated pool, for sure.
Amber smiled at him, a slow, tentative smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. “Ready for a swim?”
“You have no idea,” Tony replied, glad that his shorts had a generous cut.
The pool was long and deep enough for laps, in both directions. The far end, overlooking the beach, ended in a broad set of steps that went out of the water to a wide lower deck with umbrellas and chairs. Palm trees were spaced along both long sides, and the near end had narrower steps between twin waterfalls that fell from the deck nearest the bar and the buffet. A tinny radio was playing American rock, with commercials in Spanish. They walked down these steps holding hands, and Amber gave a little gasp at the chill of the water.
“Ooooo, I'm not sure this was a good idea,” Amber exclaimed, shivering closer to him and laughing.
“It'll feel good once you're in,” Tony promised, but he gave his own involuntary noise of alarm as his own package hit the cold water.
Amber balked as the water hit her belly. “A chair in the sun is looking really nice right now,” she said reluctantly, but she was still giggling.
Tony took a chance. “You just have to get in all at once,” he said. “Get the shock over with.”
Amber looked up at him with big, alarmed eyes as he reached down and scooped her up. She squealed in playful dismay as he tossed her easily into the water before them before ducking himself in after her.
He was right, of course–once they were in the water, it felt no more than cool and refreshing.
Amber splashed him back, and they romped into the deeper water and then swam in leisurely fashion to the far end by the lower deck. Tony was aware of the indulgent looks a few of the guests gave them, but most of his attention was caught by his mate.
She swam easily, like a beautiful, curvy little mermaid, and when she ducked her head under the water and came out of the water beside him, he felt a rush of amazement and adoration.
They lounged at the edge of the pool, drinking in the sparkling sunlight, and Tony gathered her close to him, pausing at every step to give her a chance to protest the intimacy. He was grateful when she snuggled close to him.
“Costa Rica is as gorgeous as all the brochures promised,” Amber sighed, her bare skin against his, cradled in the water of the pool. “Pura vida indeed.”
“More gorgeous,” Tony said, smiling at her.
“You aren't looking at Costa Rica,” she said, smiling back.
“I know,” Tony said, and he leaned in and kissed her, as he'd been longing to do since he'd first seen her at the edge of the pool. “But there's a beautiful banana tree behind you,” he teased, once he finally released her mouth.
She twisted to look behind her. “That's not a banana tree,” she told him. “That's just a palm tree.”
“You sure it's not a coconut tree?”
“Quite sure,” Amber said confidently. “See the way the leaves hang, and the shape of the trunk?”
“Mm-hm,” Tony said.
“You're not looking at the tree,” Amber scolded with a smile.
“Nope,” Tony agreed.
This time Amber leaned up to kiss him first, and he drew her close against him, warm compared to the cool water around them. Her buoyancy gave the embrace an extra element of movement and excitement.