Bare Essentials: Naughty, But Nice. Leslie Kelly

just shoot him now.

      “Are you coming?” she asked when she surfaced.

      Nearly in his pants. “About the restraining order—”

      “I’m tired of shouting.”

      “So you’ll talk to me if I come in.”

      “You’re quick, Tag.”

      “Uh-huh.” He didn’t believe her. “Why are you being…nice?”

      She blinked at that.

      “Is it because I’m not in my uniform?”

      Now those eyes chilled and she dipped down to her chin. “Your uniform has nothing to do with this.”

      “Really?” Ripping his T-shirt over his head, his hands went to the buttons on his Levi’s. To hell with being stoic. To hell with restraint. To hell with not taking what he wanted when it was being offered to him. “Then why do you only talk to me when I’m out of it?”

      “Because I don’t like it?”

      He undid his first button, watching her watch him very closely, the desire unmistakable. Good. She wanted him, too. They could scratch this itch and get it the hell out of their way. But he wanted to hear her say it, wanted to hear that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

      “You look hot.” She splashed him, just a little.

      And he opened another button. “You want to watch what you start, Cassie.”

      “Oh, I’m watching.” And she was. She hit him with another splash.

      Another button.

      More desire.

      “Get in the water, Tag. Cool off.” With that, she allowed the very tips of her breasts to break the surface.

      His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he kicked off his shoes and socks.

      Then shoved off the rest of his clothes.

      And my, oh, my, Cassie thought, her body humming already, he looked amazing naked. She splashed him again for the sheer pleasure of watching water running down his big, strong, sleek form in little rivulets she suddenly wanted to lick off. Broad, tanned shoulders, hard chest tapering to a narrow waist, powerful legs…and what lay between those thighs made her breath catch. “Coming?”

      “Oh, yeah.”

      Oh, yeah. With any luck, they’d both come.

      She needed this, she decided. She deserved it. And afterward, she’d feel better. More relaxed. They could go back to ignoring each other. But damn, he looked good strutting into the deliciously cool water without so much as a wince, never breaking eye contact, until, a few feet from her, he vanished into the water.

      With the lack of a moon, she couldn’t see where he was headed, but she wasn’t stupid. Braced and ready, she let out only a cool smile when he surfaced again, slowly, confidently, only a fraction of an inch in front of her.

      He shook his hair back. Water ran down his jaw. A jaw she suddenly wanted to touch. Strange, that urge. Sex was a tool and only a tool. A stimulus. A muscle relaxant. A great way to guarantee a good night’s sleep.

      Nothing more.

      So this urge to be tender bugged the hell out of her. Forget tender. She wanted hard and fast, and then she wanted him gone. To facilitate the matter, she put her arms over his shoulders, letting him do all the work to keep them afloat.

      It also slid their bodies in direct contact. Chest to chest, thigh to thigh, and everything in between. And oh, baby, was there a lot in between. Her nipples brushed the light hair on his chest. His legs entangled with hers. And his erection…Mmm, she slid it between her legs, loving the feeling of having him there. He was hot, pulsing. Huge. And it wasn’t easy to keep her eyes open on his, to keep her thoughts straight, when her entire body had melted so that she had no bones left.

      “Cassie.” One large hand danced down her spine, cupped her bottom and pressed her against his hot, hard body as he supported her weight. “I’m ready to hear about the restraining order,” he said very quietly, keeping them above water with no apparent effort.

      “I…” He had his hand on her ass, his penis between her legs. “Um…” Her heart was pounding dully in her ears. Her nipples had long ago pebbled to hard, needy beads. And between her clenched thighs she was creamy. Rational thought escaped her and he hadn’t done anything yet. “What?”

      He let out a slow, knowing smile.

      Damn him and his unbearable control. Well, she had enough left to know she had to destroy it. Sinking her fingers into his hair, she shifted even closer so their mouths were just touching. “So. You really want to…” She wrapped her legs around his waist, thrilling to his quickly indrawn breath. “Talk?”

      Now both hands held her bottom, hard, his fingers squeezing. She was so close to him they’d melted together. And because she’d spread her legs wide, wrapping them around his waist so satisfactorily, the tip of his penis…oh, yes, nearly slid home.

      Nearly. Because he held back. Everything. “You want me?” he asked, his voice rough and serrated, his mouth so close to hers, but not close enough. His hands still gripped her bottom, holding her slightly away, so that his wonderfully hot, hard, huge erection only teased the very center of her universe.

      “I think that’s fairly obvious,” she answered.

      “Then talk to me.”

      “Uh…”

      Looking fierce and hot, and so damn sexy she wanted to gobble him up in one bite, he stroked her again. This time his chest lightly brushed her nipples, and she could barely breathe.

      “Maybe you skipped the birds and the bees lesson,” she said. “But you should know, talking has little to do with wanting you.”

      He looked down at her breasts, two hard, aching points brushing against his chest, and groaned. Slowly he lifted her up a little, dipping his head so he could rub his jaw across the very tips. “Can Pete find you here?”

      No, she wouldn’t talk about this, even if he’d forced a pathetic, needy whimper from her throat.

      “Cassie?” Another little stroke with his not-so-little penis. Her entire body quivered, dancing on the very edge of an orgasm she wanted with all her heart.

      “Can he?” he growled.

      She stared down at his mouth, wanting it on hers. At the look, he groaned low and deep. His fingers, still supporting her, glided farther down her backside and dipped between her legs. Unerringly found her flash point.

      Unable to help herself, she thrust against him and he groaned again, the sound melding with hers. She’d never had an orgasm without purposeful, calculated thought before, and yet here she was, quivering on the very edge without a thought in her head other than…more, please, more.

      They weren’t very far out in the water. Not too far to miss the fact that her cell phone was ringing. She stared at the spot where she’d left it while he stared at her.

      “You get a lot of calls?” he asked hoarsely.

      “Very few now that I’m off work.” She closed her eyes, then jerked them open when she felt his mouth slide over hers in a far too brief kiss.

      Bending his head, he sighed and rubbed his jaw lightly over her breasts, making them both moan again. “Get it,” he said and with one last perfectly aimed stroke with his fingers, gently unwrapped her legs from around him. “It might be important.”

      Walking out of the water, feeling him alongside her, Cassie wondered at the amazing control of the man. She wondered how he’d gotten that way, and—

      And all else fell from her mind as she scooped up the phone from her towel. She’d missed the call. But the caller had a New York area code that didn’t belong