Best of Desire. Оливия Гейтс

next encounter was total fantasy material.

      * * *

      Sun glinting along the crystal clear pool, Shannon tugged Kolby’s T-shirt over his head and slid his feet into tiny Italian leather sandals. She’d spent the morning splashing with her son and Tony’s sister, and she wasn’t close to working off pent-up energy. Even the soothing ripple of the heated waters down the fountain rock wall hadn’t stilled the jangling inside her.

      After making love in the pantry, she and Tony had locked themselves in her room where he’d made intense and thorough love to her. Her skin remembered the rasp of his beard against her breasts, her stomach, the insides of her thighs. How could she still crave even more from him? She should be in search of a good nap rather than wondering when she could get Tony alone again.

      Of course she would have to find him first.

      He’d left via her balcony just as the morning sun peeked over the horizon. Now that big orange glow was directly overhead and no word from him. She deflated her son’s water wings. The hissing air and the maternal ritual reminded her of Tony’s revelations just before they’d ended up in the closet.

      Could he be avoiding her to dodge talking further? He’d made no secret of using sex to skirt the painful topic. She couldn’t even blame him when she’d been guilty of the same during their affair. What did this do to their deadline to return home?

      Kolby yanked the hem of her cover-up. “Want another movie.”

      “We’ll see, sweetie.” Kolby was entranced by the large home theater, but then what child wouldn’t be?

      Tony’s half sister shaded her eyes in the lounger next to them, an open paperback in her other hand. “I can take him in if you want to stay outside. Truly, I don’t mind.” She toyed with her silver shell necklace, straightening the conch charm.

      “But you’re reading. And aren’t you leaving this afternoon? I don’t want to keep you from your packing.”

      “Do you honestly think any guest of Enrique Medina is bothered by packing their own suitcases? Get real.” She snorted lightly. “I have plenty of time. Besides, I’ve been wanting to check out the new Disney movie for my library’s collection.”

      She’d learned Eloisa was a librarian, which explained the satchel of books she’d brought along. Her husband was an architect who specialized in restoring historic landmarks. They were an unpretentious couple caught up in a maelstrom. “What if the screening room doesn’t have the movie you w—” She stopped short. “Of course they have whatever you’re looking for on file.”

      “A bit intimidating, isn’t it?” Eloisa pulled on her wraparound cover-up, tugging her silver necklace out so the conch charm was visible. “I didn’t grow up with all of this and I suspect you didn’t, either.”

      Shannon rubbed her arms, shivering in spite of the eighty-degree day. “How do you keep from letting it overwhelm you?”

      “I wish I could offer you reassurance or answers, but honestly I’m still figuring out how to deal with all of this myself. I had only begun to get to know my birth father a few months ago.” She looked back at the mission-style mansion, her eyebrows pinching together. “Now the whole royal angle has gone public. They haven’t figured out about me. Yet. That’s why we’re here this week, to talk with Enrique and his attorneys, to set up some preemptive strikes.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      Thank God Eloisa had the support of her husband. And Tony had been there for her. Who was there for him? Even his brothers hadn’t shown up beyond sterile conference calls.

      “You have nothing to apologize for, Shannon. I’m only saying it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. Cut yourself some slack and do what you can to stay level. Let me watch a movie with your son while you swim or enjoy a bubble bath or take a nap. It’s okay.”

      Indecision warred inside her. These past couple of weeks she’d had more help with Kolby than since he was born. Guilt tweaked her maternal instincts.

      “Please, Mama?” Kolby sidled closer to Eloisa. “I like Leesa.”

      Ah, and just like that, her maternal guilt worried in another direction, making her fret that she hadn’t given her son enough play dates or socialization. Funny how a mother worried no matter what.

      Shannon nodded to Tony’s sister. “If you’re absolutely sure.”

      “He’s a cutie, and I’m guessing he will be asleep before the halfway point. Enjoy the pool a while longer. It’ll be good practice for me to spend time with him.” She smiled whimsically as she ruffled his damp hair. “Jonah and I are hoping to have a few of our own someday.”

      “Thank you. I accept gratefully.” Shannon remembered well what it felt like to be young and in love and hopeful for the future. She couldn’t bring herself to regret Nolan since he’d given her Kolby. “I hope we’ll have the chance to speak again before you leave this afternoon?”

      “Don’t worry.” Eloisa winked. “I imagine we’ll see each other again.”

      With a smile, Shannon hugged her little boy close, inhaling his baby fresh scent with a hint of chlorine.

      He squirmed, his cheeks puffed with a wide smile. “Wanna go.”

      She pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. “Be good for Mrs. Landis.”

      Eloisa took his hand. “We’ll be fine.”

      Kolby waved over his shoulder without a backward glance.

      Too restless for a bath or nap, she eyed the pool and whipped off her cover-up. Laps sounded like the wisest option. Diving in, she stared through the chlorinated depths until her eyes burned, forcing her to squeeze them shut. She lost herself in the rhythm of slicing her arms through the heated water, no responsibilities, no outside world. Just the thump, thump, thump of her heart mingling with the roar of the water passing over her ears.

      Five laps later, she flipped underwater and resurfaced face up for a backstroke. She opened her eyes and, oh my, the view had changed. Tony stood by the waterfall in black board shorts.

      Whoa. Her stomach lurched into a swan dive. Tony’s bronzed chest sprinkled with hair brought memories of their night together, senses on overload from the darkened herb-scented pantry, later in the brightly lighted luxury of her bedroom. Who would have thought dried oregano and rosemary could be aphrodisiacs?

      His eyes hooked on her crocheted two piece with thorough and unmistakable admiration. He knew every inch of her body and made his appreciation clear whether she wore high-end garb or her simple black waitress uniform, wilted from a full shift. God, how he was working his way into her heart as well as her life.

      She swam toward the edge with wide lazy strokes. “Is Kolby okay?”

      “Enjoying the movie and popcorn.” He knelt by the edge, his elbow on one knee drawing her eye to the nautical compass tattooed on his bicep. “Although with the way his head is drooping, chances are he’ll be asleep anytime now.”

      “Thank you for checking on him.” She resisted the urge to ask Tony what he’d been doing since he left her early this morning.

      “Not a problem.” His fingers played through the water in front of her without touching but so close the swirls caressed her breasts. “I said I intended to romance you and I got sidetracked. I apologize for that. The woman I’m with should be treated like a princess.”

      His princess? Shock loosened her hold on the edge of the pool. Tony caught her arm quickly and eased her from the water to sit next to him. His gaze swept her from soaking wet hair to dripping toes. Appreciation smoked, darkening his eyes to molten heat she recognized well.

      He tipped her chin with a knuckle scarred from handling sailing lines. “Are you ready to be royally romanced?”