BTW: I Love You. Heidi Rice

annoyingly tempted.

      His offer would be a lot nicer than having to push the bike three miles down the coast road, in a rain storm, in wet jeans. No question. But she wasn’t sure about that if. Or the way the gentle rub of his thumb was playing havoc with her pulse.

      ‘You promise you’ll drive me home? No questions asked?’

      ‘Absolutely,’ he said. But she wasn’t at all sure she could trust him. He had that damn sexy and intense thing going on again.

      Or that she could trust herself. Why was her pulse doing the foxtrot?

      He released her wrist and lifted her chin with his forefinger. ‘Go run yourself a hot bath—and I’ll put the laundry on.’ Leaning up on his elbow, he gave her a quick kiss. ‘Relax,’ he said as she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth, far too aware of the sizzle where his lips had touched hers. ‘I won’t jump you again. I promise.’

      ‘All right,’ she said tentatively. Not sure how he had got the upper hand but knowing that somehow he had.

      She shot off to the bathroom as he slung the sheet back to get out of the bed. The last thing she needed was a glimpse of that very nice bum naked to make her lose focus completely.

      Closing the door behind her, she listened to his foot thump against the polished oak floorboards as he limped out of the room.

      It was only when she was neck deep in pine-scented bubbles that she discovered his promise not to jump her left him far too much room to manoeuvre.

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      ‘WHAT are you doing?’

      Rye winced at the shriek of alarm as water splashed over the rim of the tub and Maddy dunked down to her chin.

      He choked back a chuckle at her horrified expression—and shut the door. The twin spots of colour on her cheeks and the tendrils of damp hair sticking to the graceful line of her neck made it hard for him to breathe as he crossed the room.

      ‘Do you mind?’ she said, outraged, her angry eyes flashing at him again.

      ‘Not at all,’ he said, unable to contain a smile as he settled on the wicker seat beside the tub and extended his stiff leg.

      She glared at him. ‘You promised you wouldn’t jump me. Remember.’

      God, but she was gorgeous. Especially when she was miffed. No wonder she’d been the one to bring him back to life. At last.

      ‘I’m not going to jump you,’ he said, tucking one of the tendrils behind her ear.

      He ran the base of his thumb down her throat, satisfaction coursing through his veins when she swallowed convulsively. He’d lost a lot of things in the last six months, but she’d given him one of the most precious back and he intended to thank her, in the only way he knew how. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just gratitude he was feeling at the moment.

      ‘What exactly are you planning to do, then?’ she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

      He couldn’t see much of her, but imagining all that flushed, rosy flesh naked beneath the water made it hard to stick to the plan he’d worked out while loading her wet clothes into his grandfather’s ancient twin tub.

      Of course, if he had been a gentleman, he would have let her finish her bath in peace. But he’d never been a gentleman, and he’d never been all that patient either.

      He couldn’t really blame her for wanting to have nothing to do with him. He’d behaved like an utter clod earlier. Why should she believe him when he told her he could do better? He hoped a lot better. She’d hardly had the five-star treatment so far.

      ‘I plan to seduce you.’

      ‘Oh, for Pete’s sake. Will you just forget it?’

      The chuckle popped out despite his best efforts. She really did look miffed. And so damn delicious he wanted to lick her all over.

      ‘But I can’t forget it, Maddy. You gave me the most spectacular orgasm of my life.’

      Her eyes widened and the spots of colour on her cheek bloomed to a vivid red. ‘I did?’ She sounded so astonished he wanted to hug her. A little surprised himself to realise he wasn’t exaggerating. Of course the intensity of his orgasm had probably had more to do with his own situation than her, but it was still the truth.

      ‘Not only that,’ he continued, keeping his eyes fixed on her flushed face, ‘but you saved my life this afternoon.’ In truth, she may well have saved it twice. ‘I owe you.’ He trailed his finger through the water, touched the pebbled nipple peeking through the foam.

      She gasped and her pupils dilated beautifully. ‘You do?’

      ‘And I’m a man who always insists on paying his debts.’

      ‘Oh, I see.’ She looked so flummoxed and so turned on, he had to bite his cheek to keep from smiling.

      ‘The only thing is, I’m not sure I …’ She hesitated. ‘I want you to …’ Her eyes flicked to his lap and she went redder still.

      He knew what the problem was.

      He had already guessed Maddy’s brash seduction in the kitchen had been out of character. And that she wasn’t usually that sexually demanding. The women he’d bedded in the past would have called him on his atrocious performance immediately, demanding to know what the hell had happened, but she hadn’t, not at first, even though she had every right to.

      While inexperience had never turned him on before, he found that enchanting mix of bravado and naivety nothing short of intoxicating. And unbearably arousing.

      ‘Don’t worry about that,’ he said, knowing she had to have spotted the erection. ‘This is all about you.’ He’d already vowed to keep the granite slab in his pants for the rest of the night. ‘And your pleasure.’ He cupped the back of her head, nipped her bottom lip. ‘I’ve had mine.’

      After six solid months of enforced abstinence, it was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, but his sexual potency wasn’t the only thing he’d lost six months ago. He’d learned as a fumbling teenager that great sex wasn’t just about getting it up and then getting off. But, during his pity party, he’d lost sight of that too.

      He wanted his sex life back. All of it.

      Feasting on this beautiful woman, showing her what he was capable of … And, he suspected, what she was capable of too, would be more than enough pleasure for both of them.

      Stretching past her, he lifted the sponge from its dish next to the tub, dipped it into the water. ‘How about I help you bathe?’ he said as he stroked the waterlogged sponge across her collarbone.

      Her eyelids drifted shut and a little sigh issued from her lips. ‘I suppose that would be all right,’ she said, her voice thick. ‘If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.’

      His groin tightened as he watched those ripe strawberry nipples play peek-a-boo with the bubbles. He gave a strained laugh. ‘No trouble at all.’

      Maddy’s pulse hammered against her throat, her mind racing and her skin tingling as if she had been plugged into an electric socket. The slow strokes of the sponge, under her chin, down her neck, over the top of her breasts, took all of her attention.

      What was she doing? How had he talked her into this?

      She was naked in a bath tub, allowing herself to be stroked into a frenzy—and she wasn’t sure why. He’d seemed sincere when he said he wouldn’t expect anything. But wasn’t she being a bit too much of a tease, expecting him to do this and get nothing in return? Only problem was, the offer had been so tantalising.

      No man had ever offered to pleasure her without expecting anything in return. It had always been the other way round. She had planned to use him for sex originally and he had definitely used her, so maybe she was entitled