was such an insipid word—muscular legs, nice package up front, totally nice ass. Wow.
Click.
She laughed. “Did you just take a picture of me ogling you from the bath?”
“Absolutely. Very sexy.”
And there was a bonus to carrying on a conversation with a naked man. When he told you he found something sexy, well, you got visual proof to back up his statement. Simon wasn’t lying—it looked as if he found her very sexy indeed.
“I’m not actually naked in the picture, am I?”
He grinned. “No. At this angle and with the water at that level, you can’t actually see details—which is something of a shame since you possess very nice details.”
“Careful, sir. You’ll make me swoon,” she teased in an exaggerated Southern drawl. Beneath Simon’s sober exterior beat the heart of a flirt, and it was all the more potent because he didn’t flirt indiscriminately the way some men did. She’d never seen this flirtatious side of him, even when she and Elliott had double-dated with him. Elliott. She didn’t remotely want to dedicate a brain cell to Elliott at this moment.
“What do you think will happen when I get in the tub with you, Tawny?”
He was a devil to tease her in that low, suggestive tone.
“Keep talking that way and it’ll be your own fault if the water’s heated up by the time you get here,” she said.
Simon laughed and kept firing off pictures. Tawny had lost her self-consciousness in front of the camera. She simply ignored it and flirted with Simon.
“You’re blowing your chance at cool and refreshing.”
“Wet and warm sounds even better,” he said.
“Getting warmer by the minute. Why don’t you come on over and find out just how wet and hot it is?” She sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees. “Don’t forget, you promised me a back wash.”
“I plan to fulfill that promise thoroughly in just a minute. That’s a great angle. Hold it for me.”
At one time she might’ve been impatient, but she knew Simon would join her sooner or later. She eyed his smooth, firm erection—sooner from the looks of things. Anticipation hummed through her and she smiled her anticipation at him.
“Beautiful...oh, that’s brilliant,” he said, shooting photo after photo.
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she teased—however, a part of her rebelled at being just another photograph in a long line.
“I do say that to all the girls.” The bottom dropped out of her stomach. That was not what she wanted to hear. He looked around the camera and grinned at her. He appeared young and carefree, which were two words she’d never thought to associate with Simon. Her heart did a funny flip-flop. “But I don’t climb into a bath with them afterward.”
Rat bastard. “I’m sure it’s not for lack of opportunity,” she said.
“Thanks...I think.” He almost looked embarrassed. “I’ve had a fair share of invitations.”
No stinking kidding. He was gorgeous and sexy. The heat inside her grew hotter still—he wanted to climb in the tub with her, Tawny Edwards, as opposed to Chloe and the other exquisite, thin women he photographed. Of course, there was the matter of his dream woman, the unavailable, but Tawny wouldn’t think about that because right now he was naked and here with her. Carpe diem.
“It’s time to put the camera down, Simon.”
He quirked his brows at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Do you think I’m just a puppet to be controlled? Are you always so bossy?”
She was. She knew it. “Only when I want something really bad.”
“And I’m really bad?” His wicked sexy grin set her pulse fluttering.
“That’s totally a matter of perspective. It’s been my experience that you’re especially good when you’re really bad. And I can promise you I want you that way.”
He placed the camera next to the wall. Anticipation notched tighter inside her as he crossed the small area. Once he lost the camera he carried himself with a measure of self-consciousness he hadn’t had before. She found it endearing that despite his arrogance, he didn’t strut around as if he and his dick were God’s gift to womankind.
She’d had all those hot dreams about him, so the great sex was...well, great but no real surprise. But she hadn’t anticipated actually liking him. And she did. He was tender and funny and sexy and... He stepped into the tub behind her and shot her train of thought to hell.
He sat down, sliding his legs on either side of her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into