“You want me to run?” I laugh.
“Nine.” He lifts his eyebrows. He’s not joking.
Excitement fills me. “Eight.”
I bolt out the backdoor. I hear his steps behind me.
“You should still be counting!” I shout. I go for my shirt and pull it over my head as I round the pool.
“Stop!”
I turn and put my hand up. “You stopped counting.”
His eyes travel down my body. “You took your shirt off.”
“Not like anyone can see me.” Unless Mrs. Pettyford is still around. I guess he could have other staff. A pool boy even. I hadn't thought that far. “We’re alone, right?” I look around.
He makes a grab for me when I’m not looking.
I jump back. “Stop cheating!” I point my finger at him. It’s hard not to laugh. He’s being playful now. It’s as sexy as everything else he does. Being around him feels natural. I realize that it’s because I feel happy when I’m with him.
“I’ll cheat to keep you. You should remember that.”
“Kill too.” I smile.
He doesn't. He only shrugs in agreement.
“Stay,” I order before kicking off my shoes and pulling my pants down my legs.
“Pandora.” He keeps calling me that. I enjoy him saying my real name.
“Now, catch me.” I run and jump into the pool. The water is warmer than I thought it was going to be. When I surface, Gaines is standing next to the side of the pool watching me as he slowly starts to unbutton his shirt. I tread water, unable to pull my eyes away from him.
Unlike me, he strips out of all of his clothes. His boxer briefs are the last to go. I suck in a breath as I watch them slip down his muscular thighs. They aren’t the only thing that grabs my attention. I’m pretty sure Gaines and I will never work. There is no way that man could fit inside of me.
I let out a small scream when he jumps into the water. I start swimming toward the other end of the pool. It’s useless. The man is too tall. He easily catches up to me and grabs hold, pulling me into his arms. I wrap around him. The reaction is natural.
“You know your panties and bra are white?”
I look down. I am as naked as him. The white cotton shows every inch of me it was supposed to be hiding. Not that Gaines hasn't seen it already. I gasp when I feel his cock press against my clit.
“I caught you.”
“You did,” I agree.
“Soon you’ll learn. You can keep running. I’ll just keep catching you.”
I kiss him. Otherwise I’ll admit how much I really want that.
16
Gaines
I feel the second when she relents, when she finally gives in to what she wants. It so happens that it’s what I want, too.
Pulling her tight against me, I delve into her mouth, my tongue taunting hers as we spin slowly in the water, our bodies twining.
Her legs wrap around me, and the moment I feel the heat she has for me between her thighs, I groan into her mouth.
She runs her fingers through my hair as I pin her to the side of the pool and kiss her harder and deeper. The sun on my upper back has nothing on the beauty in my arms. She burns brighter than anything I’ve ever felt, and I want to dive into her flames.
Sliding one hand down her side, I enjoy the way she shivers beneath my touch. With an easy push, I ease my fingers inside the front of her panties.
She gasps as I stroke her slick clit. “Gaines!” Her eyes fly open as she clutches my shoulders.
“I know what you need.” I bite her bottom lip and ease my finger lower, then plunge inside that perfect sweet spot between her thighs. “So tight, Pandora. Have you been saving this treasure for me?”
Her nails dig into my skin as I curl my finger toward me, rubbing her inside. She pants, her eyes fixed on mine as I use my thumb to stroke her clit and my finger to feel her from the inside.
I use my other hand to grip her ass and lift her higher in the water as I kiss down her chest to her bra. Her hard nipples make a mockery of the white fabric, and I suck one into my mouth.
She moans my name as I run my teeth along the tight nub, the saltiness of the water no match for the sweetness of her flesh.
Pulling my finger out, I press it to her clit and strum it. Each time I do, she trembles, her body desperate to release every bit of tension I’m building with each passing second. I draw it out, savoring her breasts, then go back to her mouth. She opens wide for me, inviting me in, and I take every bit of herself she offers.
When I slide two fingers inside her slick cunt, she moans low in her throat, her back arching as I slowly pulse in and out of her. It should be my cock filling her, giving her pleasure and sealing us as one. But I take what she gives, and right now with her head thrown back and her body arched, she is a goddess that I’m happy to worship.
So I do, strumming her clit and sucking her breasts until she comes with my name on her lips, my fingers in her tight cunt, and my heart in her hands.
“I should, um, go.” She’s wearing one of my shirts again, her hair in languid waves still damp from the pool.
I lean against my door jamb and take her in.
Her cheeks redden as I stare. “Have you seen my clothes?”
“Mrs. Pettyford has already whisked them away to the laundry.”
She wrinkles her button nose. “Why is she always so good at that? And cooking? And being kind? And oh my God, that tiramisu.” She smiles, her gaze straying down my bare chest again and again. She can’t seem to stop looking, and I don’t want her to.
My phone buzzes in my pocket again, and this time I realize that perhaps I need Carter’s help more than I’d anticipated. After all, I intended to fuck all Pandora’s secrets out of her, but instead, I fingered her until she came and, right this second, I’d love to do it all over again. In fact, I’d love a taste of her right now.
When it comes to her, I’m weak.
“Why don’t you relax in my bed while I go get us a second helping of tiramisu?”
She drags her toe across the floor, her hands tangling in front of her. “Why do you have to tempt me with food, darn it.” Her Southern accent is decidedly adorable. How have I lived without this woman for so long?
“So we’re in agreement then?”
She rolls her eyes. “I can’t say no to that tiramisu and you know it.”
I walk to her and kiss her forehead. “Get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”
“It’s because I’m just too darn good at seduction,” she grumbles under her breath.
“Pardon?” I can’t help my wolfish grin.
“Nothing,” she sing-songs, then turns and dives onto my bed.
I get a compelling view of her ass and am hard pressed not to join her, but I promised tiramisu, and I need to see what Carter has uncovered.
“Perfect,” I say as she settles into my covers. Fuck, I need to be there with her.
Walking from the room verges on painful, but I manage it and pull out my phone to speed dial Carter. He picks up as I pad down the stairs.
“What’ve you got for me?”
He whistles, which means he’s hit the jackpot. “I found it, boss. And you’re never going to believe what that key goes to.”