Ivy felt her breath escape on a sigh. She was barely aware of the other cast members congregated around the pool. Her limbs loosened, and warmth slid along her veins. He was going to kiss her, right there in front of everybody, and she didn’t even care. Her eyes drifted shut.
“It’s been a long day,” he said abruptly, his voice rough. “Look at you, falling asleep on your feet.”
Ivy’s eyes flew open to find he’d pulled back slightly. His expression as he regarded her was unreadable. Hot shame flooded her face. She glanced around swiftly, but if anyone else had guessed how close she’d just come to attaching herself to Garrett Stokes’s face, they gave no indication.
She exhaled on a shaky breath and forced herself to smile. “You’re right.” She pushed a hand through her hair, unable to meet his eyes. She was pathetic. What must he think of her? She needed to get out of there immediately, before she did something really laughable. As if a public confrontation with Eric Terrell hadn’t been stupid enough, she’d nearly kissed a complete stranger. “I’m going to call it a night.”
“Yes, ma’am. I think that’s a good idea,” he murmured, and took the margarita glass from her trembling fingers. “Shall I walk you to your room?”
For one wild, crazy second, she was sure his words were code for Can I spend the night doing decadent, indecent things to you? In the next instant, she dismissed the thought, as alluring as it was. She’d misread his intent to kiss her, so she was no doubt imagining the suggestion in his voice, too.
“No, thanks,” she replied. “I know the way.”
Was it just wishful thinking, or did he actually look disappointed?
“Okay, then. Sleep well,” he said.
Yeah, right. Like there was any chance of that happening.
With as much composure as she could muster, she walked toward the house. Once inside, she practically sprinted up the staircase. Inside her room, she shed the borrowed T-shirt and bottoms, balled them up and hurled them into a far corner. She had no idea what she was going to wear tomorrow, but she’d be damned if she’d put those hideous clothes back on her body.
Then, clad in nothing but her panties, she shut the light off and edged under the cool bedsheets, leaving her midriff uncovered. A warm breeze wafted in through the open windows and caressed her skin, taunting her. With a groan, she turned on her side, dragged the covers up over her shoulders and determinedly closed her eyes.
“Sleep well.” Ha. She’d be lucky if she got any sleep, especially when all she could think about were hazel eyes and a pair of lips so temptingly sinful that she still ached at their loss.
IT WAS ALMOST TWO O’CLOCK in the morning when Ivy finally gave up any pretense of sleeping. Aside from the margarita she’d had earlier that night, she hadn’t eaten anything since she’d left New York, and she was starving.
But it wasn’t her stomach that kept her awake. It was the absolute stillness surrounding the hacienda. She’d lived in New York City the past five years, and the constant hum of traffic and wail of sirens had become comforting background noises that helped lull her to sleep. Even the streets of Montreal, which were quiet in comparison with New York City’s, had had their buzz. Out here, however, in the remote mountains of Mexico, the silence was almost unbearable.
An image of Garrett drifted through her mind. Was he asleep? Had he thought of her after she’d left the pool area? Had he seen how much she’d wanted him?
With a despairing huff, she threw aside the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The room suddenly felt overly warm, suffocating. Even the ceiling fan circulating the air did little to cool her heated flesh. She was restless with need. She couldn’t get his image out of her head, and the Technicolor fantasies she’d had about him earlier had only made her more hot and bothered. It was crazy, but the guy completely distracted her. Made her think about doing things she hadn’t done with any man in a long time. Too long, in fact.
She enjoyed sex. She wanted sex. Good sex. She had the distinct feeling that sex with Garrett Stokes wouldn’t just be good but totally off-the-charts amazing.
Sitting up, she scooped her hair off her neck, wishing she’d turned on the air-conditioning before getting into bed. She’d figured open windows would be more comfortable than the climate control, but she’d been wrong. A sheen of sweat covered her skin.
She switched on the bedside lamp and then padded across the room to flip on the air-conditioning. Crossing to the casement windows, she pulled them closed and thought longingly of the swimming pool and its cool, blue depths. The pool seemed the perfect antidote to her current ailment, and at this hour she was unlikely to encounter anybody.
Grateful that she’d packed her bathing suits in the smaller suitcase, she donned a simple one-piece suit and a terry-cloth robe. After retrieving a bottle of water from the small fridge, she crept down the hallway, past the closed doors of the other rooms. She wondered which room belonged to Garrett. The last thing she needed was to run into him.
She hastily suppressed a snort of laughter at the thought. Given her frustrated state, she’d probably attack him. As soon as she stepped outside, she drew in a thankful breath, inhaling the heady fragrance of hibiscus and mango blossoms. The humidity had dissipated somewhat and the temperature was cooler than it had been in her bedroom.
Despite the fact that silence had kept her awake, she realized the night was far from quiet. She stood for a moment on the walkway and listened. The sound of crickets was everywhere, interspersed with the occasional hoot of a night owl and the distant scream of something Ivy didn’t want to think about. Fireflies dotted the darkness, their blinking lights like a reflection of the overhead stars. Tilting her head back, she studied them. She had never seen stars like this in New York City. They were brilliant, and so abundant, as if some careless hand had strewn billions of diamonds across the sky.
She followed the tiled pathway through the central courtyard and around the side of the hacienda to the pool area. The patio lights had been turned off, but the lights in the pool were on, softly illuminating the water.
Ivy let her robe drop to the ground, then stood at the edge of the deep end and dove cleanly into the water. She stroked underwater to the shallow end and came up with a satisfied gasp—only to find herself staring at a pair of masculine legs.
Naked masculine legs.
Swiping water out of her eyes, she followed their length upward and saw with shock that they were attached to a very naked Eric Terrell. He held a drink in one hand and swayed as he leered down at her.
Where had he come from? Glancing around the pool area, she spotted a robe draped over a chaise partially concealed behind a cluster of potted palms. Damn. Why hadn’t she looked more closely?
“Ivy James,” he said, his voice slurred, “so nice to see you again.”
Ivy quickly averted her gaze, although she’d gotten enough of an eyeful to realize he was probably too inebriated to do much more than leer.
“Eric,” she replied in a strangled voice. She pushed herself back into the water and glided to another wall of the pool. “I wasn’t expecting anyone out here at this time of night. Um, where are your clothes?”
He laughed as if delighted she’d noticed. “Well, I guess I wasn’t expectin’ to see anyone out here, either.” He strolled over to where she clung to the side of the pool. “But now that you’re here…be a shame to let this go to waste.” He waggled his hips suggestively, as if unaware that his body wasn’t quite up to the task he envisioned it for.
Ivy laughed uncertainly. Inwardly, she cursed. How had she managed to get herself into such an awkward situation? The guy had no business coming on to her in such a crude way, but, damn it, he was Eric-Freaking-Terrell. She couldn’t just tell him where to stick it. Not