Page 6 of Forbidden Flame

“I should—”he threw a thumb over his shoulder“—find those trunks.”

I placed my hands on my hips, feeling carefree and a little naughty. “I won’t look if you want to get in naked.”

His eyes darkened.

My heart was racing. Where had this seductress been hiding? One night of freedom had awakened all my deeply buried desires. It was hard to be interested in a man when you lived at home with your child and your overbearing brothers. We didn’t all live in the same house, but it was close enough to destroy any sense of privacy.

I lowered my hands to my sides before moving toward the hot tub, dipping one toe over the warm water. “It’s the perfect temperature.”

“What are you—”

Was he going to ask, What are you doing to me? The problem was that he was doing the same thing to me. I hadn’t had a night off like this in ages, probably before Izzy was born. I felt free, as if we could do anything tonight, and no one would need to know the details. This was our little secret.

Everyone would know we went on a date, but we could tell them nothing happened. That there was no attraction between us.

But I didn’t even want to think that far. I wanted time to be suspended. For this to be a dream we didn’t speak of again.

I stepped into the tub and sank down until my shoulders were just above the water. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back. “This feels amazing. You should get in.”

Everything inside me was softening and relaxing. I’d been denying myself for so long; I’d forgotten what it was like to want someone.

I remembered meeting Cole when we visited the Monroe Christmas Tree Farm as teens. I’d wanted a few seconds to myself, a difficult task when you were the youngest of seven kids. I hadn’t anticipated running into a Monroe. I’d enjoyed the few minutes we’d spent together. Even back then, my heart fluttered at how close he sat, and I wondered if he’d make a move to hold my hand.

I heard a bottle opening and him pouring. I opened my eyes in time to see him set a flute on the ledge of the hot tub.

“Don’t get started without me,” Cole said as he joined me.

Unfortunately, he’d found the swim trunks, but his chest was deliciously bare. He was cut from working on the farm, just like I’d imagined.

There was a small smattering of hair on his chest and a patch leading beneath his shorts. My core clenched in desire.

Is this what happened when a single mother went out on a date? She lost all sense of logic and reason. I wanted to swim over to him and wrap my legs around his hips.

There was something about the setting, the warm water, and the lights twinkling around us the made me want to give into my desire.

Cole stood in the middle of the hot tub as if he wasn’t sure where to go. I bit my lower lip and reached for him. “Come here.”

My voice was sensual, with a come-hither quality I didn’t recognize.

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he accepted my hand and moved closer. I let my legs fall open. “You bid on me.”

“I have zero regrets about that.” His voice was low and gravelly, and it reverberated through my chest.

I had all night to explore whatever this was with no overbearing brothers in sight. I wanted to take advantage of the situation. I wanted to remember what it was like to feel like a woman.

He stood between my legs, his trunks grazing the soft skin of my inner thighs. Then he sank down so that he was level with me.

“Why?”

He raised a brow. “Why did I bid on you?”

I nodded jerkily. “You said you saw something in my eyes but it had to be more than that.”

“I remembered meeting you when we were teens. I was curious about you, and I obviously find you attractive.”

“Obviously?”

He cocked his head to the side. “You can’t tell?”

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