***
Beth looked around at the spacious bedroom, amazed at its size. The room was almost as big as her entire apartment. She’d been to Joshua and Mary’s house on several occasions, but had never seen the upstairs before. She knew Peter had stayed on the upper tier and his parent’s room was on the lower floor. There was no way they would have approved of Peter bringing her up here alone. Even if he had offered, she would have said no simply because it would have been awkward.
“The folks have gone to the theater and I’m certain they won’t be back until late.
If you’d like to freshen up, the bath is through the door to your left.”
She jerked at the sound of Evan's voice right behind her. Turning around, she watched as he sat her luggage by the cherry vanity table. “Are you sure its okay with Joshua and Mary I’m staying here?”
“I phoned dad earlier while you were getting your things together. It’s not only okay, they both insisted. You don’t have to worry. No one else stays up here but me. My room is adjacent to yours and the terrace is joined. So if you get scared, you’ll know where to find me. I’ll let you get settled in and then we need to talk. Why don’t you meet me downstairs in about a half hour?”
Although he was being polite, she could sense an underlying anger he seemed to be stifling. What happened to the man from earlier who had not only saved her life, but had held her with much tenderness?
The drive over had been quite, but she attributed his lack of conversation to the fact both of them were mentally drained by not only the man trying to break into her apartment, but by the grilling questions that came later from the police.
“Evan is something wrong?” she asked as he turned to leave.
He paused at the door and without turning around he said, “I’ll be out by the pool. When you’re ready, come join me. We’ll talk there.”
Beth stared at the closed door in complete puzzlement. Earlier he had made her feel safe and warm. Now she felt cold and uncertain. Something had displeased him, and for some odd reason, that was the last thing she wanted.
The only way to know what was eating at him was to join him. She lugged her suitcases to the bed and began pulling out her things until she found her two piece yellow bathing suit and headed for the bath.
As she made her way to the terrace downstairs, she heard the springing sound of the diving board and saw Evan poised into a nosedive, angling straight into the deep end. She slipped off her sandals, walked to the edge of the pool, and waited for him to surface. But to her disappointment he didn’t come up immediately. Instead he pushed off the bottom of the pool and swam underwater until he reached the shallow end.
She watched as he pulled himself upright with water glistening in his dark hair and against the hard muscles of his chest. His eyes met hers as he ran long fingers through the top of his hair, pushing the wet strands off his forehead. Then he folded his arms across his chest and waited for her to join him.
Deliberately she reached for the hem of the t-shirt she had thrown over her suit. Pulling the top slowly across her breasts, she lifted it completely over her head and tossed it carelessly to the ground. She thought she saw him swallow hard as his gaze openly explored every inch of her near nakedness, sending a broiling flame spearing through her entirety.
Perfect.
She had succeeded in getting his full, undivided attention. Giving him a slow smile, she turned toward the pool and slipped head first into the clear, blue water.
The explosion of aquatic bliss engulfed her now overheated body, giving her instant relief from the flicker of emotion she had seen in his eyes. In a parallel universe she must be a mermaid because something about the water both soothed and empowered her. She touched the bottom of the pool and then swam for the surface.
