The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [182]
His skin felt too hot, but not because of the sun.
Gabe wondered what she’d do if he eased her backward and covered her with his body. Would she scream again? He groaned, causing her to lift one brow. She hadn’t screamed last time because of him. No, she hadn’t even noticed his attention.
“What’s wrong?”
Other than the fact he was attracted to a woman who shouldn’t have appealed to him and didn’t return the favor? He groaned again. “Not a thing.” Once again he reclined on the small dock, crossing his arms behind his head. He was too long for the thing, so he let his knees stick over the side and hung his feet in the water. “Let’s see. What did I think? Well, I cursed. I know that.”
Pencil to paper, she asked, “What did you say?”
“It’s not something to be repeated in front of a lady.”
“Oh. I understand.”
She scribbled quickly across her paper, making Gabe curious. But he already knew she wasn’t about to reveal her words to him. “Thing is,” he admitted, “I don’t really remember thinking anything. I saw the kids and the woman, saw the boat, and I just dove in. I knew they could get hurt, and I knew I could help.” He shrugged, not looking at her. “It’s no more complicated than that.”
“So,” she said, her eyes narrowed in thoughtful speculation, “your heroism was instinctive, like a basic part of you?”
“It wasn’t heroism, damn it, but yeah, I guess it was instinctive to just dive in and do what I could.”
“Did you even think about the danger to yourself?”
Here he was, Gabe thought, lounging in front of her, half naked, and she hadn’t even looked at him once. He knew, because he’d been watching her, waiting to see what she’d do when she saw he was aroused. She’d barely noticed him at all except to give him her disapproving looks.
It nettled him that she was on this ridiculous hero kick. He was a man, same as any other, but that obviously didn’t interest her at all. He wanted her interest, though he shouldn’t have. But looking at her made him forget that she wasn’t his type, that he didn’t care what she thought, that he was only here today on a lark, as a way to pass the time and have some fun.
He wasn’t used to a woman being totally oblivious to his masculinity, and he damn sure didn’t like it.
He wouldn’t, in fact, tolerate it.
Speaking in a low, deliberately casual tone, he reminded her, “That’s another question. I told you I’d answer one.”
“But…”
“We could make another deal.” He closed his eyes as he said it, as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other. The ensuing silence was palpable. He felt the dock rock the tiniest bit and knew she was shifting. In nervousness? In annoyance? If he looked at her, he’d be able to read the emotions in her big blue eyes. But he didn’t want to see if it was only frustration that lit her gaze. He waited, held his breath.
And finally she said, “All right. What deal?”
He opened his eyes and pinned her, his heart pumping hard, his muscles twitching. “I’ll answer another question—for a kiss.”
She blinked at him, her long, gold-tipped lashes lazily drifting down and up again, as if she couldn’t quite believe what he’d said. “A kiss?”
“Mm.” He pointed to his mouth. His gaze never left her face, watching her closely. Anticipation, thick and electric, hummed in his veins. “Right here, right now. One question, one kiss.”
She shifted again. The lake was still, the only sounds those of a cow occasionally bawling or the soft splash of a frog close to shore. Lizzy nibbled her lips—lush, wet lips. Her gaze, bright and direct, never left his face. She drew a deep breath that made her breasts strain against the clinging material of the suit.
Her blue eyes darkened and her words, soft and uncertain, made him jerk in response.
“What…” she whispered, her breath catching before she cleared her throat and started again. “What if I kiss you twice?”
AT LEAST he was smooth-shaven today, Elizabeth thought as she