“You going to stare all day, or are you going to join me?” He called out as he stepped into the pool, never looking back at her.
Oh good grief. She’d been busted, and now her face was hot with embarrassment. Sucking in a huge gulp of oxygen, Ashleigh steeled her spine and committed herself to whatever happened next.
Chapter Eleven
From the moment the door clicked, signaling Ashleigh had joined him, Alex had felt her eyes on him. After what transpired between them in the garage and the heat the woman inspired in him, Alex knew he was going to go up in flames. Which was another good reason for getting in the pool. At least there he’d be able to cool off, even if the water was warm.
The sound of Ashleigh’s bare feet on the concrete sounded behind him, coming closer, and he had to force himself not to turn and look at her. Seeing the woman in a bathing suit was probably going to blow his mind.
“Um, Alex...” Ashleigh called out to him, and he knew he had no choice but to turn around.
Looking up at her, all but gloriously naked in that tiny hot pink bikini, he had to close his mouth or risk drooling down his chin. Not a good look for him, that’s for sure.
“Are you sure about this?” She asked when he finally made eye contact.
Was he sure? Hell no, he wasn’t sure, but it was inevitable. At this point at least. Going back up two steps, he held out his hand for her until she moved closer. Lacing his fingers with hers, he hoped he could withdraw some of her strength because he was suddenly feeling a bit woozy.
Once in the water, he released her hand, but remained close, crouching low, leaning his back against one of the side walls with his hands holding the edge above his head.
“So, when did you start writing erotic romance?” He asked.
Ashleigh leaned down into the water, letting it come up to her neck before she turned back toward him. “It’s been about five years now, I guess.”
Alex wondered if something specific had made her want to venture into that genre, or if it was something she just wanted to do all along. Asking her those questions was awkward though. Since his secret was out, or rather hers was, Alex didn’t quite know how to broach the subject.
“Have you read my books?” She asked, her gaze fixed on his face.
Well, that was one way to do it.
“Yes.” He admitted truthfully. Some of them he’d read more than once, and that was saying something because he wasn’t much for reading.
“All of them?” She wasn’t closing the gap between them, but she wasn’t going farther away either, so Alex considered that a good sign.
As long as he remained holding on to the edge of the pool, keeping his ass as far away from her as possible, she’d be safe. At least that’s what he told himself.
“Except for the last one that came out. I haven’t had a chance to go out and get it yet.” But he planned to.
“So what’d you think?”
Wow, now that was a difficult question if he’d ever head one. What did he think? Did he tell her that he couldn’t get the image of her in some of those kinky positions out of his head? Or maybe he told her how he wanted to see her tied to his bed while he had his wicked way with her. Or possibly how he wanted to see her in the playroom at the club, naked, and on her knees in front of him while others watched.
The last one might not really be true, but some of her vivid descriptions had had him imagining exactly that scenario. Hot or not, Alex had never been into voyeurism.
Regardless, he couldn’t tell her any of those things, no matter how true they were because although she wrote about stuff like that, he was pretty sure she only considered them fantasies.
“They’re interesting.” He admitted, his body warming by several degrees as she made her way over to him.
“Are you nervous, Alex?” Ashleigh asked. “Because I’m thinking if anyone should be nervous, it should be me.”
He laughed. That should be the case, yes. And no, he wasn’t nervous, he was just hell bent on keeping his hands off of her so he didn’t scare the daylights out of her. “Why should you be nervous?”
“I don’t know.” She said, her demeanor changing immediately to the Ashleigh he knew well. She turned away from him, moving farther into the pool and farther away from him.
He knew how it looked from the outside, but the last thing he was trying to do was push her away. In fact, he wanted her closer. Much closer. Like close enough for him to bury his cock inside of her while she rode him right there in the water. Instead, she must’ve thought he was trying to keep his distance for other reasons.
He had more control than this, but for the life of him, he couldn’t conjure up an ounce.