Deadly Games - Cate Noble [50]
That’s where relationships got dicey in his profession. He and Gena had talked about that today. Kind of. She’d admitted feeling insecure when Rocco was gone for extended periods.
“It’s part of my job,” he’d tried to explain.
“And I respect that. I just need to know I have a special place in your heart.”
A special place?
Didn’t she know she had his whole heart?
He padded barefoot to the dining room table and picked up the wineglasses, carried them to the kitchen. He checked on Gena as he made his way to the back deck. She must have gotten chilled because she’d rolled up in one of the blankets.
Outside, Rocco cut off the hot tub heater before extinguishing the two Tiki oil lamps. With the full moon the lights were overkill. The breeze had calmed and came in from the west.
“Rocco?”
He turned and saw Gena silhouetted in the open doorway. She’d cast off the blanket but still had her arms wrapped around herself.
Rocco had purposely bought the tiniest bikinis he could find without going to the extreme of a thong. The one she’d put on today screamed “mission accomplished.”
“I’m right here.” He stepped out of the shadows to where she could see him.
“How long have I been out?” she asked.
“Not too long.”
She crossed the deck, pausing to dip her toe in the steaming hot tub. “Ah! Perfect. Bet you wish you’d brought a real date.”
He laughed and closed the distance between them. “Actually I’ve got this thing for Sleeping Beauty.”
Gena’s arms encircled his waist as she laid her head against his shoulder. He didn’t have a shirt on and her long hair felt like silk against his skin.
“Mmmm,” she said. “You took a shower, didn’t you? And cleared the dinner dishes.”
“Guilty on both counts.” He felt her shiver and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re cold. Let’s go in.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Can I have a do over?”
“And what would you do over?”
She leaned back, met his gaze. “For starters, we’d climb in the hot tub. Maybe look at the stars.”
Rocco felt a grin split his face. “Your wish is my command, princess.”
He picked her up, then carried her to the hot tub and stepped in. Still holding her, he sank slowly into the water.
“Feels divine.” Gena wiggled, sitting sideways across his lap. “So, how much do you know about astronomy?”
“I know the moon is too bright to see much in the east, but if you look back here”—he turned, facing them both west—“there’s Ursa Major.”
“Great bear.”
“You can use the Big Dipper to locate Polaris, the North Star. If you ever get lost at night, face Polaris and you’ll be facing north. Unless, of course, you’re in the Southern Hemisphere. Are you familiar with the Southern Cross?”
She giggled. “Actually, I was talking less about orienteering and more about folklore.”
“Folklore?” Rocco repeated. “I must have been absent that day.”
“Luckily I wasn’t.” She pointed to the sky. “See the Little Dipper? Legend has it that Mother Sky uses it to dole out her love potions. A couple seeking her blessing would stand together beneath the constellation and recite a special poem.” Gena pressed a line of kisses along his shoulder. “In hopes it would win Mother Sky’s favor.”
“I was definitely absent that day,” Rocco said. “What happened if they received this love potion?”
She turned, facing him. Then she untied the straps of her bikini top. “The effects usually showed up in the woman first.”
Her top fell away as she lifted her hair, giving Rocco his first glimpse of her naked breasts. Her nipples were pale pink, her areolas tiny on such large globes.
He whistled softly. “Oh, yeah. We got the potion.” He reached up and touched her nipple with his index finger, watched it respond by hardening. Rocco’s cock responded in the same fashion. He’d been aroused before, but now his erection was full bore. “Tell me more.”
“I made that