low that she couldn’t avoid seeing the twin lines that formed the V of what body builders called the Adonis belt.
She bent her knees to duck deeper into the water as her inner muscles squeezed, a reminder of how long it had been since there’d been anything there but an empty ache.
“Listen.” He planted his hands on those lean hips. “I keep straying off-limits, I know. But hell, Casey, it doesn’t take much for you to clam up.”
Funny how a throat could go dry while she was surrounded by water.
“This trip is going to be hard enough,” he said. “But I’m not going to walk on eggshells for three weeks.”
“Then don’t ask personal questions.”
“About your car?”
“About my living situation.” She clenched her teeth, biting off more words. Dylan did have a point. She could have answered in a more breezy way. But he was the one doing the distracting, standing in front of her like this, like he was oblivious of his hot-as-sin body. She shot up off her knees and rose up to face him until the water lapped around her thighs, to distract him like he was distracting her. It was easy enough to offer up her body.
Less so, the story of her life.
“Are we going to talk about this?” His gaze didn’t even flicker below her neck.
“Must we?”
Why did he want to complicate things by getting to know her? Couldn’t he just let her enjoy the view of him, let her indulge in imagining that lightly bristled cheek rasping against her skin, or his mouth closing over hers, hot and hungry? Maybe she should just peel off her top and toss it to the bank. Maybe she should just cross the distance between them so she could ease the ache in her breasts by sliding them against that gorgeous wet chest.
That would stop the questions.
“I don’t talk about myself.” She dropped her gaze to the scar that cut across his chin. “I tell other people’s stories.”
“I noticed.” His gaze swept down her tankini-clad body like the scrape of a hand. “I’ve noticed a lot about you, Casey.”
Was he really going there?
“I have to say this,” he said. “This needs saying—”
“Does it?”
“Yes.” He leaned in. “You and me, Casey? We could light up most of Bridgewater with the electricity arcing between us.”
She felt lightheaded, sun struck. Did he really just say that aloud?
“You know it,” he said. “I can see you know it.”
She pressed a fist against her chest, as if she could stop her heart from banging.
He said, “Is this a problem?”
“Of course it’s a problem.” Yes, she wanted Dylan MacCabe’s tall, strong body stretched naked above hers. She wanted to lick the river water from the middle indentation of his abdomen. Her libido was doing a mambo, her id was screaming. “But I’m not an idiot, and neither are you. That would complicate everything.”
“Big plans come with big surprises.” His voice was filled with frustration. “Some are good. Like how well we work together.”
“Yes,” she said. “Work. I’m here to get a job done. Let’s not shift the dynamic.”
“Agreed.”
Did he? She could barely breathe with the tension between them.
“Look me in the eye, Casey.”
It took a force of will to lift her gaze above his chin. She braced herself for the intensity, the Icelandic blue desire roiling behind those eyes.
“You’re single,” he said. “I’m single, the sun is shining, and the water is warm.” He leaned a fraction closer, and her heart jumped. “It’s nothing but the situation, right?”
The word no hit the back of her throat. If it were just the situation, she would shimmy out of her bottoms and tug on his. They’d have an interlude on the bank of this river, laugh when it was over, and then wash the mud off each other’s bodies. Last night, he’d told her he’d sworn off commitments, not knowing that was exactly what she’d needed to hear. He had pushed that door open, inviting her to the simplicity of a sweaty romp. And yet now that that possibility had been spoken out loud, every cell in her brain screamed, Danger.
She hadn’t a clue why.
“Yes,” she said hoarsely. “It’s just the situation.”
“That’s what I need to hear.” Dylan straightened up, his face tense. “We’ll deal with this like the adults we are. Focus on the expedition.”
Even if it’s you I want to explore?
“Collect some dry wood,” he ordered. “Do you think you can start the fire without me?”
She nodded. She was already up in flames.
“Good.” He jerked