Page 32 of Turning Up the Heat

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

“I don’t want to complain about being in bed with you, but hiding what we have is generally all we do.”

“I know I don’t have any problems with being in bed with you,” he told her. “But you’re right. Do you want to go out on a date?”

“Yeah. The only time we’ve actually gone out is that restaurant we went to on your first trip to Miami.”

“And you kept insisting that it wasn’t a date,” He reminded her.

She sighed against his chest. “That feels like so long ago.”

He hummed against the side of her head. “It does. It’s only four p.m. It might be a little early for dinner. What should we do until then?”

She raised an eyebrow and flexed her hips against his.

Tom laughed. “You might want to give me a few minutes after that last one.”

“Fine,” she said, rolling off him. “I’ll give you your refractory period if you need it. Why don’t we go try that pool downstairs?” In the hotel brochure, she’d seen a beautiful adults-only pool. “Did you pack your swimsuit?”

“I did, and that sounds like a great idea to me.”

Gemma rolled out of bed and grabbed her swimsuit and walked into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was tousled, and she looked satisfied. Happy. There was no hiding what she and Tom had done, and that was okay with her. She pulled on her one-piece suit. She’d picked it up before flying out to Los Angeles. It was cut high in the thigh and low in the front. She turned to check out the view. The thong bottom showed off the bottom half of her ass cheeks. It was risqué, of course, but she knew Tom would love it.

When she came out of the bathroom, Tom was already dressed in a pair of swim trunks and was pulling on a white T-shirt. When he saw her, his eyes fixed on her body.

“Like my suit?” she asked, knowing full well that he did.

“Yeah, it’s incredible.” He took a step toward her, his intent obvious in his eyes.

She held up her hand, stopping him. “What about your much-needed refractory period?”

“Seeing you in that bathing suit changed my mind, I guess.”

“Well, we’ve got all night, just keep that in mind. But for now, I want to check out that pool.” She pulled on a flowy maxidress. “I need to unwind a little.”

When they walked into the adults-only pool area, they saw that it was mostly empty. It was not so much a typical indoor, tile-covered pool, but more an oasis with fountains and waterfalls and low light that mimicked the outside at night.

“This is really nice,” she said, plucking a fluffy towel from a shelf.

“It is,” he agreed, doing the same.

They found a couple of lounge chairs on a far side of the pool and dropped their clothes. Tom’s swim trunks were short and tight, showing off so much of his trim, toned body. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen, and she regretted her decision to come down to the pool instead of returning to bed.

She pulled her dress over her head and saw that his eyes were fixed on her body. “Come here,” he murmured, and she obeyed. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her. “Let’s get you wet in that swimsuit.”

“Mmm, too late for that.”

“You know, maybe the fact that we’ve spent our entire relationship in bed has nothing to do with hiding out and everything to do with me not being able to keep my hands off of you.”

Gemma considered skipping the pool and going back up to their room. “Should we leave?”

“Why don’t we stay here for a while. Look around—this place is as romantic as hell. A little delayed gratification won’t kill us, will it?”

“It might. I think I get enough of that when you’re in New York. But you’re right.”

He turned his head and winced.

“You okay?” she asked.

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