“Troy—” she stepped closer, leaning into him “—tell me something…happy. Surely you’ve got some positive memories with your brother. You’re a good person. I know the colonel and your brotherhood were there when you needed them, but there had to be some kind of foundation for that goodness inside you.”
He wasn’t sure he bought into her line of reasoning, but if it would get her smiling again, he would dig deep for something. “When we were kids, we had a nanny. When our parents weren’t around we would even call her Mom.”
“She sounds sweet.” Hillary gifted him with a smile.
“She was tough as nails, just what two out-of-control boys needed. She was one step ahead of our pranks—and the first to reward us when we behaved.”
“Reward you how?”
“Take us to baseball games, swimming at the lake, building tree houses and forts.” And until now he hadn’t thought about how his home here echoed those early tree houses—on a grander scale. “She even got us a couple of puppies and taught us how to take care of them.”
“What kind of puppies?”
Hillary’s br**sts brushed his chest as they stood toe to toe. He would keep right on happy talking for this kind of result.
“Pound puppies, of course. She told us a person’s worth isn’t measured by pedigree or looks. It’s not about what something costs.” She’d been a smart woman. He’d learned a lot from her, life lessons that stuck. “I picked a lab-bulldog mutt and my brother chose a shepherd mix.”
Her smile faded. “You said you went to boarding schools, before the military school. What happened to the dogs? Did your nanny watch them?”
The water chilled around him. “When I was eight and my brother was ten, our parents fired the nanny.”
“Because you were going to boarding school?”
His eyes closed. “Because they overheard us call her Mom.” Her gasp pushed him to add wryly. “At least we knew she would take care of our dogs.”
“Your parents gave away your dogs, too?” There was no escaping the heartbreak in her voice with just the two of them, out here alone.
He plastered on his best smile. “Damn, you asked for a happy memory. Sorry about the detour.”
Sympathy shone in her eyes, along with a glint of something else. Determination. Her cool hands splayed on his chest as she stepped between his legs in a message of unmistakable seduction. “What do you say we make a great memory now?”
What the hell?
Now she wanted to make love? After he’d damn near opened a vein? Or because he’d opened that vein?
Realization dawned. She was feeling sorry for the kid he’d been, and was probably acting out of stirred-up emotions. He should tell her no. Wait until she was thinking clearly.
But then he’d never been particularly big on playing by the rules.
Nine
Hillary’s heart was in her throat. The revelations about Troy’s childhood had touched something deep inside her. She’d planned on being with him when they walked out here to the waterfall, but she’d underestimated how much he could move her. She’d deluded herself into thinking she could have a simple fling with him.
Somehow, Troy had gotten under her skin in only a few days. A few days that felt like a lifetime. She splayed her hands across his hard muscled chest sheened with water.
Troy cupped the back of her neck, his pupils dilating with arousal. “Are you seducing me?”
“Are you seducible?” She trailed her fingers down his chest.
“Totally.”
He cupped her face and kissed her, openmouthed and without hesitation. She met him just as fully, wanting everything from him, determined to rock his foundation as surely as he did hers.
The taste of morning coffee lingered on his tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him right back, her mouth, her hands, her whole body in the moment. Finally, allowing herself to feel everything, no holding anything in reserve for later. There was no later. Everything inside her screamed now.
The water swirled around her, around them both, each bold caress of his hand sending the fresh currents over her. Her feet slipped on the slick stone floor and he steadied her with his hands under her bottom. The strength of his hands thrilled her. The rasp of his callused fingertips along her skin doubled the pleasure of his touch. She sketched her foot up his calf, then hooked both her legs around his waist.
The sun shone down on her head and her shoulders, but the sparks behind her eyelids had more to do with the man than the rays. And then they sank slowly underwater. Bubbles swirled around them as the rest of the shampoo left her hair. His mouth still over hers, he pumped his feet again and again, swimming backward until the suds stopped. For once, she surrendered control and let his strength carry them through the clear waters of the lagoon.
He broke the surface and she gasped for air against his shoulder. Their bodies fit, their legs brushing underwater in tantalizing swipes. She leaned into him, sealing them skin to skin.
His erection pressed against her, a solid welcome pressure against the ache building inside her. His hand braced between her shoulder blades, and she let her head fall back as he lavished attention along the exposed curves of her br**sts. His mouth worked over her, teasing her through the swimsuit fabric until she reached a fever pitch.
Her hands fell away from his shoulders, and she reached behind herself. She untied the bikini strings at her neck. He smiled against her skin and made fast work of untying the rest. The scraps of aqua fabric floated away. The rippling surface brought her ni**les to even tauter peaks.
He tucked an arm behind her back, tugging her hair gently until she arched farther for him, easing her br**sts from the water. His mouth skimmed over one then the other, kissing and plucking as he bared her to the morning sun. He dipped his chin in the water and took her nipple lightly between his teeth, rolling and suckling, tugging just enough to send her writhing against him. Everything was brighter here, pristine when seen through the glistening droplets of water spraying from the falls. She felt like she was part of a fantasy or story or film.
From the start, she’d been drawn to Troy. They’d been leading up to this moment. Regardless of what happened afterward, she would regret it if she didn’t experience today to the fullest. She wanted him inside her. Now.
She grabbed his shoulders and raised herself up again, sliding her legs to the rocky floor, pressing her body flush against his. “Do you have birth control? A condom? Because if I’m not mistaken, we’re both one instant away from losing it.”