of urgency screeched to a halt when she spotted the sexy bikini briefs. Moriah snickered right out loud, envisioning Jake prancing around in this leopard-print underwear—and nothing else….
Moriah quashed the tantalizing vision and stifled the alarming thought immediately. It shocked her to no end that she could so easily imagine what Jake would look like in this leopard-print garment. It also unsettled her to the extreme to realize that the initial attraction she’d felt—and tried to suppress—had come through for the second time today. Well, okay, she corrected grudgingly, for the fourth or fifth time today.
Of course, nothing would come of this flare-up of physical awareness, she reminded herself. She had no intention of getting personally involved with any of her guests. Most of the businessmen—and the occasional female executive—who came to her resort were in their sixties, so the problem hadn’t actually arisen.
And then along came Jake, she mused as she headed toward the door, with his jeans and shirt tucked under her arm and those skimpy leopard-print briefs hooked over her index finger.
Okay, Moriah, she told herself on her way across the front porch, you aren’t going to get involved with Jake for several reasons. Number one: it goes against your personal rules and regulations. Number two: Jake is an intense workaholic, who’s allergic to the concept of free time, and you advocate a carefree lifestyle. The list went on, but Moriah wasn’t one for making lists. That was probably one of Jake’s habits.
She and Jake viewed life from entirely opposite perspectives. No, she wouldn’t become romantically involved with Jake because she’d learned the hard way that she wasn’t good at relationships unless they were built on the need and dependence of the other party—like recreational director to guest, or daughter to ailing mother or father. She had accepted the fact that love was not going to play a dominant role in her life and that she could make her contribution to humanity by providing recreational activities and hobbies for her stressed-out guests.
However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun with the blustering Jake Prescott, she decided as she twirled his bikini briefs around her forefinger. The man needed to lighten up and learn to laugh and smile occasionally. Moriah made a pact with herself, there and then, to ensure Jake did exactly that!
3
JAKE INWARDLY GROANED when Moriah sashayed toward him, twirling the ridiculous underwear around her finger and grinning mischievously. He also noticed Moriah had a naturally provocative saunter when she let her guard down. “That happens to be my sisters’ idea of a joke,” he was quick to inform her.
Moriah halted a safe distance away. Not that he blamed her. The stench surrounding him had to be mega-offensive. Of course, Jake’s olfactory senses were in traumatic shock, so he couldn’t smell much of anything at the moment.
“You realize, I’m sure,” she said with an entirely different kind of smile than he was used to getting from her, “that knowing you wear leopard-print bikinis will make it difficult for me to take all your snarling and growling seriously from here on out, don’t you?”
“I wasn’t aware that you were taking me seriously before,” Jake murmured distractedly. He stood there, studying Moriah’s enticing profile, which was enhanced by the backwash of light streaming from his cabin windows. He wasn’t sure at what precise moment he became intently aware of Moriah—probably the first time he piled into the vehicle with her—but he could easily detect the difference between her neutral smile and the impish grin she was wearing now. He wasn’t sure what this new smile meant, but it was doing crazy things to his pulse.
Jake stiffened—especially in places that had no business whatsoever getting stiff—and battled his attraction to Moriah. “If you’ll leave my clothes draped over a bush near the river I won’t have to touch them until I rid myself of this offensive smell.”
“Sure, be glad to,” she said, still twirling his undies and grinning devilishly. “I’ll show you the best place to bathe without worrying about stepping into an unseen hole and going under.”
With Spitwad tucked securely under his arm, Jake followed a safe distance behind Moriah. He didn’t know why he was being courteous. He shouldn’t be. He should share this stench with her, just for spite.
“I’m not going to have to fight off alligators and snakes in here, am I? The skunk was enough excitement for one night.”
“No, you should be relatively safe. Here you go, Jake.” She gestured to the narrow footpath that led to the sandy bank. “Soak to your heart’s content.”
Jake squatted down to remove his sneakers, then walked into the river. Although the October evening was unseasonably warm, the cool water gave him the shivers and made Spitwad squirm for release, but Jake submerged the mutt, nonetheless. When he resurfaced, he released the pooch to paddle around in circles.
“Toss me your stinky clothes and I’ll launder them for you,” Moriah offered. “I have a surefire product that will eliminate the stench.”
Jake peeled off his socks and shirt, then hurled them toward a bushy shrub.
“Now take off your pants,” she said, snickering.
“This is not amusing,” Jake muttered as he shed his shorts and briefs.
“From my standpoint it is,” she replied as she set aside his clean clothes. “I don’t usually chitchat with naked guests, but I’m making the exception with you. This is the perfect chance for you to try deep breathing. Fill your lungs, and then let your breath out slowly and try to relax.”
Jake glowered at her as she perched on a boulder near the river. “And if I refuse to cooperate?” he challenged.
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Then I take your clean clothes, your dirty clothes, your cabin key and leave you to prance around naked. Now breathe, Jake.”
Begrudgingly, he breathed in the evening air and slowly exhaled. “There. Finished. Breathing exercises over. Go away, Mo.”
She shook her head. Her golden hair glowed like a halo in the moonlight. Jake wondered how that thick mane would look if she set it free to flow over her shoulders and down her back. Damn but she was a pretty woman. He wished he hadn’t noticed. Good thing he was waist deep in cold water. Otherwise, he might embarrass himself.
“I’m not going anywhere until we’ve spent quality time together,” Moriah insisted. “Take another deep breath.”
Muttering, Jake did as he was told. He scooped up the mutt to give the soggy animal a rest after swimming circular laps.
“The problem with developing a structured routine is that we don’t take time off to enjoy life’s simple pleasures,” she commented. “We have to be impulsive occasionally. We have to figure out what makes us happy and reward ourselves with enjoyable pursuits. What makes you happy, Jake?”
He thought about that for a moment. To his dismay, he couldn’t think of anything other than checking on his sisters. Good gad!
“Difficult question?” she asked gently. “Obviously it’s been too long since you really let loose to remember what you like to do for leisure and entertainment.”
“No, it hasn’t,” he said defensively. “I told you I like sex, plenty of sex with a disgustingly large number of different
