“Are you okay?”
“Just be quiet. Okay? I’m so angry with you right now. How dare you come back into my life when I specifically told you goodbye.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. I wanted you so badly I would have done anything to be the one you were looking at with that hunger on your face.”
She dropped the towel back into the tub with a satisfying splat. “Have you no pride?” she yelled. “There you are, a successful lawyer. Every woman in the field is trying to snag you. Yet you’ve been reduced to saying silly, sappy things to a woman who’s told you repeated times she doesn’t want anything to do with you. I should sue you for harassment—and use Beaterman as my lawyer while I’m at it.”
She managed to squeeze some of the excess water out of the towel by pressing the base of the bathroom trash can against the tub. Then she wrapped the towel in two other towels to avoid the prospect of the very hot water dripping on her naked body.
Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t bother to get dressed. And isn’t he going to be hot under the collar when I put this burning hot towel on his back?
“Beaterman’s an ass.”
“That’s exactly why I’d use him. He drives you crazy, and he’d bust your butt, just to impress me.” She eyed the steam coming off the towel. “This is really, really hot,” she warned him as she approached the bed.
“The hotter the better.” He grimaced again.
She felt her conscience kicking in. Too bad, since she felt like kicking him.
“No, I mean, it’s seriously hot.” She turned around just short of the bed to take it back and rinse it in cold water.
“I can stand a little heat, which is exactly why I’m still interested in you. Even if everyone tells me you’re a bitch. Even if they tell me you’re not someone to snag or bag. Even when you snarl at me.”
Tina turned around. Snarling.
“Well, you may have bagged me, but you certainly haven’t snagged me.” She leaned over the bed and dumped the hot towel directly on his back over the sheet.
Tyler made a sound, a cross between a moan and a grunt. He came up off the bed a few inches before falling back onto the bed. Those beautiful eyes actually rolled. “Damn. Damn. Damn!”
Were there tears in those incredible eyes or were they just watering? Tina didn’t know, but she felt like a murderer.
She dumped the towels she’d used to transport the hot towel, then grabbed a bottle of water from the minibar, opened it and poured the entire thing over his back.
His long ohhhhhh of relief made her sink down on the edge of the bed, still naked, vulnerable and now feeling guilty as hell.
“My ass is getting all wet,” she complained.
“So is mine,” he choked out.
“This isn’t going well.”
“That’s an understatement. I think you might have to call an ambulance—I think I’ve got second-degree burns.”
Guilt flared, though she didn’t let it show when she barked, “Let me see. You’re probably just being a big baby.” She pulled the wet sheet and sodden towel off his back. His skin was red under there, but she couldn’t see any blisters. “I’m sure you’ll feel fine after we rub some aloe vera on it.”
“Rub?”
“Yeah. I’ve got some in my purse. I intended to come early yesterday to lie by the pool, but there was a small crisis with the dinner, so I didn’t get a chance.”
“I don’t think I trust you to rub anything on me. It will probably be pure alcohol, not aloe vera.”
“I do have an entire minibar from which to choose my poison.”
“You are nasty.”
“A compliment. You must be cooling off.”
“Is the towel still warm? Just put it on my lower back. No rubbing.”
“I’ll rub if I want to. But don’t think that means I feel sorry for you. You’re the one who deceived me. I do not feel guilty.” She muttered the last part under her breath.
He moved his arm to get her attention. She placed the warm towel on his lower back and then risked a look into his face. “I’m sorry,” she found herself saying.
Those blue eyes met hers with a look of total sincerity. “And I’m sorry I deceived you. It was impulsive and stupid, and I shouldn’t have done it. But I’ll never forget or regret it.”
Tina’s heart fluttered, a very uncomfortable sensation. She climbed off the bed to get the aloe vera out of her bag. “I won’t forget it, either, and you definitely owe me two hundred bucks.”
“Don’t you think I was worth it, my little warrior?”
She bared her teeth. “Do you want me to dump a bottle of tequila on your back or the gel?” She held up the bottle but when she made eye contact she noticed he wasn’t looking at the gel, but at her breasts. “Stop.”
“I can’t help it. Your breasts are so beautiful, so perfect.”
“Just stop. I’m mad enough.”
“You’re not mad. You’re confused and you hate the sensation.”
“Get out of my head!” One of the things that bothered her about him was his ability to read her. He was a good lawyer, because he knew people. But she wasn’t going to allow him to get to know her. She had all kinds of things to hide, from him, from herself.
“Leave it. Find another woman. They’re falling all over themselves to get to you. Like Sheila.”
“I don’t want Sheila. I want to see you again.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I figure you owe me after almost burning me to death.”
“After what you did?”
“It was an excellent cause. Weren’t you just a little bit afraid to go home with a stripper you knew nothing about?”
She rubbed her fingers together. “I didn’t take him home. You know I never take anyone home.”
“I meant to a hotel room.” Those eyes smiled at her. “I know you don’t take men home. It’s what gives me hope.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Sure.”
She wanted to wipe the smug look off his face. “I’m not afraid of anything. I’m a modern woman who can choose whom she goes to bed with. And I had condoms. A whole bunch of condoms.”
He looked her over. “You keep saying that, honey.”
“Why? You can’t do anything about it anyway.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Why are you walking around naked? It’s very callous of you.”
“To remind you of what you’re missing.”
“Really?”
“No. I just didn’t think it was a good idea to try to wring out hot towels in silk. Why should I mess up my clothes when you’ve already seen me in my skin?”
“It’s gorgeous skin.”
“Thank you.”
With the gel in one hand, she crawled carefully over to him. He seemed harmless, although entirely attractive.
She didn’t think she should straddle his waist. He’d probably cry if she did. Leaning over, she looked at his back. Still no blisters.
“I’m going to rub this gel on your back, so