A few minutes later Bran stood at the end of the long, rectangular pool. Being off-season, the pool was mostly deserted, just an older couple sitting on the steps at the shallow end, talking quietly between themselves. Determined to keep his thoughts on the straight and narrow and avoid another cold shower, Bran forced himself to look away as Jessie shed her robe.
He turned to catch a glimpse of her diving gracefully into the pool, skimming along like a fish underwater, her head popping to the surface halfway down the pool. He watched as she began swimming laps with smooth, efficient strokes and tried not to imagine what kind of swimsuit she was wearing, couldn’t really tell from the brief glimpses of her body as she carved her way through the water.
At the opposite end of the pool, she made a racer’s turn, flipping over and shoving off the wall, then headed back his way. At his end of the pool, she made another turn, her pretty little behind surfacing right in front of him, making him groan. The orange-striped bikini he now knew she wore suddenly seemed way too small, and perspiration popped out on his forehead.
She stroked her way to the end of the pool and back again, made another turn, and kept swimming. He was hard inside his jeans, unable to look away as she continued to swim, didn’t stop until she had completed twenty laps. By then he had imagined ten different ways to have her in the warm, enticing water.
Dammit to hell and back.
To make matters worse, at the final lap, she surged out of the pool right in front of him and came to her feet dripping wet just a few feet away.
He swallowed. Her nipples were hard little pebbles, her legs shapely and trim, her waist so tiny he could span it with his hands. His mouth went dry. He handed her the towel she had brought and prayed she’d be quick about putting on her robe.
Instead, she unclipped her hair and shook it out, spraying him with drops of water and grinning. It was all he could do not to drag her down on the pool deck and bury himself as deep as he possibly could.
“If you’re finished,” he groused, “I could use something to eat. Let’s go back to the room and call for pizza, and you can get dressed.”
The words brought up the image of her sweet little ass flipping over in the water, and inwardly he groaned. He couldn’t remember such a strong craving for a woman, but maybe it was just that he knew he couldn’t have her.
Finally she put on her robe, and he released a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go,” he said sharply.
She flicked him a sideways glance. “You’re awfully grumpy. You should have joined me. The water was really relaxing.”
The only thing that would relax him right now was about three rounds in bed with her. Not trusting himself to touch her, he tipped his head to indicate which way to go, and she started walking back along the pool deck the way they had come. Bran fell in beside her.
He had thought this job was going to be hard. Now he knew exactly how hard it was. Pun intended. Time to get the job done and get back home before he did something he would regret.
Or maybe he wouldn’t regret it at all.
Exactly what he was afraid of.
* * *
Halloween night. A full moon, the wind howling. People roaming the streets dressed like fucking dead people. It suited Vlad’s foul mood perfectly.
Vladimir Petrov wasn’t actually Russian. He just liked pretending he was. Vlad’s real first name was Janos, and according to his grandmother on his mother’s side, he was Czechoslovakian. Ancestry.com agreed—at least 30 percent.
Of course, he’d been born in the States, as American as his friend, Harley Graves, aka Gravedigger, Digger to the guys in the White Dragons.
Vlad clenched his fist. He and Digger had fucked up royally tonight. They were being paid a shit ton of money to take care of the girl. Should have been simple, would have been if it weren’t for the cocky bastard she was with.
Two against one, he and Digger both ex-army, still in prime condition, training a couple days a week. It should have been easy. But the guy they’d come up against was no average soldier. The way he handled himself, he was spec ops for sure,