The Price of Seduction by Nina Blake

you had last night.”
    “What was I supposed to do?” she shot back nervously. “ I was going for a walk and I heard a noise outside and then there you were.”
    He tilted his head closer and whispered to her, his breath hot on her neck. “Is that why you hid behind a pot plant?”
    Sh e lowered her eyelids, unable to lie convincingly. “I wasn’t hiding. I was just resting.”
    Conrad laughed. “Surely you can do better than that?”
    “Okay, I was hiding but I didn’t know what else to do. I could hardly continue my walk with you hanging around the pool naked.”
    “Did you think I’d mind?”
    “I thought you’d planned a solitary swim. I didn’t think you’d want company.”
    “And did you like what you saw?”
    She’d liked it very much. The vision of his naked body had kept coming back to her all night as she’d tossed and turned in bed. She’d been tormented by images of the muscles of his torso rippling, of his tight butt clenching as he dived in the water, not to mention dreams of his muscular arms wrapping themselves around her.
    But she wasn’t going to tell him any of that.
    “You can’t just strip off here,” she said. “Or are you wearing a bathing suit underneath? You didn’t say anything about bringing bathers this afternoon.”
    He shrugged. “No bathing suit. But I did ask you to bring a bikini.”
    “You did no such thing. ”
    “I did, back in Sydney, but you insisted you didn’t own a bikini so I didn’t think there was any point reminding you.”
    “Of course I brought my bathers but they’re back at my room.” She watched with awe as Conrad flicked open the button on his shorts and unzipped them. “You can’t do that. We’re supposed to be conducting a business relationship.”
    She wasn’t sure her argument was convincing but she had to make sure he kept at least some of his clothes o n. She felt like a silly schoolgirl arguing with him like this. She’d seen naked men before and had seen him nude last night but she knew all too well what would happen if she didn’t take care of herself. She couldn’t let that happen. Not yet.
    Conrad laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Okay then, I’ll leave my boxers on. Will that make you happy?”
    “Very.”
    Conrad laughed .
    “No, not happy, ” she said. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not happy you’re in your underwear. You’ve got this all wrong.”
    Conrad peeled his shorts off and tossed them behind him, revealing muscular legs and hips encased in a pair of brushed cotton navy boxers.
    “Bree, you’ve really got to learn to relax a bit more. This might be business but it’s a holiday too and you should make the most of it.”
    “ I’m already relaxed,” she said but he wasn’t paying attention.
    Stepping across some rocks, he slipped into the shallow water, clearly enjoying the sensation of warm water engulfing his body. Dappled light danced across his muscular torso as he lowered himself into the spring water. Bree looked longingly at both the warm water and the man before her.
    Kicking off her sneakers, she stepped down onto some rocks, resting her bottom on a large dry rock while her feet dangled down. Warm water ran across her feet and ankles as she moved her legs though the tepid warmth.
    She looked across at Conrad. “It feels like a warm bath.”
    His lips curled to a teasing smile. “How can you tell with only your feet in the water?”
    She stared at the glimmering pool. “The water is lovely.”
    “You’ll be missing out if you don’t come in.”
    He was right. What the heck, she shot up off the rock and turned to take her clothes off. Why should she miss out on a chance like this just because she didn’t have bathers?
    Unzipping her denim shorts, she tried to recall what kind of underwear she’d put on that morning. It came to her. Her turquoise knickers were quite demure and she wore a matching tee shirt bra so she’d be well covered. She pulled off her shorts and top