nod, even though he can’t see me. I hurry into my blouse and button it. “Okay, you can turn around now.” He slowly turns, and his heated gaze rakes over my body, a slow, leisurely inspection that steals the air from my lungs. He presses his thumb to his bottom lip, and when his head lifts and his eyes meet mine, I damn near bite off my tongue.
My mind quickly revisits my juvenile plan. From the way he’s looking at me, I have no doubt I could get him to take me to his bed. But isn’t that just like this type of guy? Only interested in me now because I fit his standards. My ex, Ryan, was the same way, telling me I was beautiful one day and then hounding me when I gained a pound or wore something he didn’t like. I squash my anger and slowly blink my lashes, trying my best to be flirtatious, but that’s so out of my wheelhouse, I’m not sure I can pull it off.
“I should get out of your way then, let you have a swim,” I say and let my lashes fall slowly, hoping I’m giving him all the right signals.
Curiosity moves into his eyes as he angles his head, his gaze raking over my face. He probably thinks I’ve escaped the asylum. One minute I’m raging on him, and the next I’m doing my best to be flirty.
A cool breeze washes over me, and my teeth clamp together. “You’re freezing,” he says. While I want to shoot back with, way to state the obvious, I bite my sharp response and hug myself tighter. “Come here.”
He steps up to me and drags me to him. My face goes to his chest, and I breathe in the clean, soapy scent of his skin. His natural aroma, combined with a hint of cologne—likely named Panty Remover—makes me want to do just that. Holy God, no man should ever smell this good. I breathe deeply, fill my lungs with his scent, and then hold my breath.
He runs his hands up and down my arms, creating heat with friction, but I only shiver harder. Although I’m not so sure the goose bumps breaking out on my flesh are from the cold this time.
“You need to get off this mountain and inside somewhere warm,” he says and steps back. I wince at the dismissal. So much for my efforts. His fingers go to the last buttons on his shirt. I turn toward the path, giving him his privacy to undress and swim. “What are you doing?” he asks.
I turn back toward him. “Going back to the...” My words fall off when he peels the shirt from his shoulders, exposing a beautiful bronzed body and a six-pack my fingers suddenly itch to touch.
“Here.” He closes the distance between us and wraps me in his shirt. Warmth sinks into my bones as he throws his arm around me and guides me down the hill.
I probably shouldn’t be touched by the gentlemanly gesture. Once an ass, always an ass, right? Which begs the question: Now that I’ve got his attention, should I go through with my plan of payback?
The air warms as we descend, and night is fully upon us by the time we reach the village. My body is still quivering, and so is the needy juncture between my legs. Jeez, with the way I’m reacting, I’m not so sure I could seduce him and walk away.
You hate this guy, Bri. He humiliated you.
“I’m still so cold,” I say.
“Let’s hurry. You’re staying at the hotel with the others, right?”
“Yes, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m in one of the chalets.” He points off in the distance, but I know where the chalets are located. I’ve stayed in them many times over the years.
“Maybe we should go there,” I say. “It’s closer, and I’m afraid I’m going to freeze to death.”
He goes still, and his brow furrows as he stares off into the distance, like his mind is a million miles away.
“Luca?” I ask. “It is Luca, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what my friends call me,” he says, a small grin on his face. Touché. “Come on. I’ll get you warmed up and then see you back to your hotel.”
With his arm still around me, he guides me down a narrow path leading to his chalet. He opens the door for me and guides me in. The place is perfectly neat, much of what I’d expect from a guy like him.
“So tidy,” I say, walking down the hall leading into the main area, which has a kitchen, island and dining table on one side of the big room. I glance to the left to take in a sofa facing a fireplace. Beyond that there is a big king-size bed and a door leading to an outside deck. “How long have you been here?”
“Got in yesterday.” His gaze moves over me again. “Do you want to get out of those clothes?”
My pulse leaps. But then it settles quickly when I realize what he’s asking. Oh, how I wanted to hear those words from him all those years ago.
“Yeah, I probably should,” I say. Okay, Bri, this is the perfect opportunity for seduction. “Do you have something I could slip into? A pair of sweats, maybe.”
“I have a T-shirt,” he says. “And gym shorts. No sweats.”
“That should do.”
He goes to the dresser and comes back with a T-shirt that will float on me and a pair of shorts with no drawstring. I point to them. “Ah, those won’t work.”
“Probably not.” He puts them aside and hands me the shirt. He gestures with a nod. “Bathroom is in there.”
“I know where it is,” I say as I saunter across the room.
“That’s right. Your granddad owns the resort, doesn’t he?” I nod as I step into the bathroom and leave the door slightly ajar as I change. “What’s with you and him, anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem tense around him.”
Luca always was a smart guy. Very astute. I’ll have to play it careful around him. “He won’t stop pushing me to get married,” I say truthfully. No need to fib about that.
“Ah,” he says.
I take off my wet clothes—bra and panties included—and shrug into his warm shirt. “Ah, what?”
“Nothing,” he says, but before I can press he continues with, “So, you’re not interested in marriage?”
“Hell no.”
I come out from the bathroom and walk to the closet housing the washer and dryer. I bend slightly and toss my clothes in. When I stand and turn around, Luca’s glance is slowly lifting from where my ass had just been.
Okay, girl, here goes nothing.
Luca
MY EYES LIFT from her ass, and when I catch a small smile on her lips—clearly I’m busted—I tear my gaze away. What is going on with her? One second she’s acting like she doesn’t know me, and the next she’s
