For three days and nights, they’d shared his home. His bedroom. His bed. Every night he lay beside her in the dark and called on every reserve of willpower he possessed to keep from touching her and taking what he still thought of as his. His mind filled with images, memories, of burying his body deep within hers. Tension coiled so hard and fast inside him it was a wonder he slept at all. But he would finally fall asleep, only to wake up with Teresa curled up against him, her arm flung across his chest, her head nestled on his shoulder. The scent of her filled his lungs and made waking both pleasure and agony.
Though she went to sleep clinging to the edge of the bed like the last leaf on a tree in autumn, by morning, Teresa was all over him.
She wasn’t being tortured by his plan.
He was.
Serenity dragged the tips of her bloodred nails across the back of his hand. But rather than the seductive sensation she no doubt hoped it was, all Rico felt was irritation. He drew his hand back and gave her a smile. “If there’s anything we can do to ensure your stay is a pleasant one, you must tell me.”
Instantly her grass-green eyes flashed with interest and more. No, that wasn’t what he’d meant, but women like Serenity saw only what they wished.
“Now that you mention it,” she said on a throaty purr, “why don’t you and I go to my cottage right now and have a private party? We could get to know each other better and—”
Before he could speak, he heard Teresa’s voice come from directly behind him.
“A private party?” she repeated, coming around to sit on the arm of Rico’s chair. She laid one arm around his shoulders and he felt her breast press against him as she leaned in.
Curious as to what she was up to, he didn’t say a word to stop her.
“Shouldn’t you be behind the bar mixing drinks?” Serenity asked coolly, her gaze moving up and down Teresa’s outfit of cotton-candy-pink T-shirt, white shorts and flip-flops with dismissal.
“Oh,” Teresa cooed, “I’m much more than a bartender, Ms. James.”
Rico was enjoying himself. Teresa’s hand slid back and forth across his shoulder, then moved up to the nape of his neck, where her fingers threaded through his hair with slow strokes. His skin was sizzling and every drop of blood in his body suddenly rushed south.
“Now, if you don’t mind,” Teresa said, giving the other woman a sweet smile, “my husband and I have other plans.”
“Husband?” Serenity looked from Rico to Teresa and back again. “You’re married?”
Rico bit back an oath as the actress’s voice hitched high enough to be heard at the surrounding tables. His marriage had never been public knowledge. His and Teresa’s time together had been so short that not even the media had caught on to it before she had disappeared from his life. Now, though, that looked as if it was about to change.
“Well, damn it,” Serenity said on a full-bottom-lip pout, “you could have mentioned it.” When she stood up in a huff, she punched her br**sts out to make sure he could appreciate what he’d be missing, then turned and sashayed—the only word to describe the swing of her h*ps and the long stride of golden legs—out of the bar.
When she was gone, Teresa made a move to get up, but Rico caught her around the waist and dragged her down onto his lap. Her sexy, curvy behind nestled on top of him and Rico knew a whole new world of discomfort. He groaned, but held her in place. Yes, there was pain, but there was also need and want and a hunger like he hadn’t known in five years. She wiggled, trying to get up, but her movements only fanned the flames licking at him.
“Let me up,” she said in a whisper. “People are watching.”
“You made sure of that when you walked up and rubbed yourself against me,” he told her, enjoying the memory almost as much as the feel of her sitting on him.
“I didn’t—” She broke off. “Fine. I did.”
“Question is,” he asked, “why?”
She looked down into his eyes and seemed to consider whether she would answer or not. After a long minute or two, she tore her gaze from his and muttered, “You looked like you wanted to be rescued.”
“Ah.” He hid a satisfied smile. He hadn’t needed saving. Teresa had chased off the actress for her own reasons. Maybe his plan of seduction was actually working better than he had thought. “That’s another lie. You’re very good at it, by the way, but not good enough.”
“Well, if I read you wrong and you didn’t want to be saved from a conversation with that vacuous twit, I’m so very sorry.”
A smile ticked up the corner of his mouth. “Twit? Have you met Ms. James before, then?”
“I don’t need to talk to her to recognize the type,” Teresa said, studying her fingernails now as if the secrets of the universe were scribed there.
“Which is?”
She shrugged and that little movement had her shifting on his lap again. Rico had to hiss in a breath to keep from groaning aloud. It was the sweetest kind of pain he’d ever known and he was in no hurry to ease it.
“She’s pretty and has great boobs, which she probably paid a fortune for, and that’s about it.”
Rico smirked at her. “You can tell this with a glance?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “But if you want to chase Ms. Boobs, just say so.”
He shook his head. “I’m not interested in Serenity.”
“Not how it looked from the bar.” And she was back to studying her nails.
“You were jealous.”
She stiffened in outrage and glared at him for good measure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.” He dropped one hand to her thigh and relished the feel of her sun-warmed skin, bared by her white shorts.
She shivered and tried to scoot to one side, but his other arm wrapped around her waist held her exactly where he wanted her. He continued to stroke her thigh and felt the tremble shaking her slide under his own skin, as well.
Surrounded by guests enjoying the beach, Rico felt as if he and Teresa were alone. Only the two of them in this moment. And hell, it would have been much easier on him if they had been alone. Then he could just stretch her out on the sand, strip her clothes off and give in.
“You are lying again. To me. To yourself.”
She huffed out a breath and squirmed on his lap, which only served to make him harder and her more aware of it. Instantly, she stilled. “What do you want to hear, Rico?”