Page 26 of Edge of Ruin
My eyes followed his hand, and I saw several pools, sunken into the huge, flat gray rocks of the riverbank. They were surrounded by the nodding yellow flowers and mint.
The last rays of sun that still managed to slant into the river canyon lit up the water, brightening the multicolored pebbles, making the sand glitter like gold. Faint curls of steam rose from the water. The river rushed noisily by a few yards away. He watched my face intently. “Like it?” he asked.
I looked around, enchanted. “Oh, my God. It’s superb.”
My delight was shattered when I realized that Jack had stripped off his shirt and was unbuckling his belt. Oh, God. Jack Kendrick fully clothed was already too much voltage for me to handle. Jack Kendrick naked would blow my fuses all to hell.
“Hey, you! Just wait a damn second!” I said sharply.
His hands stopped on his waistband. “Yeah?”
“Are you wearing swimming trunks?”
“No. Don’t think I even own any. It’s not an item that I’ve ever needed.” He waited patiently as I took this in.
“I’m, ah, not comfortable with that,” I said, my voice sounding so prissy and prim to my own ears. “Things are already funny between us. I’d rather not, uh ...”
“See me stark naked,” he finished.
I blew out a sharp, nervous sigh. “Right on, buddy.”
“Do you want me to leave? Can you find your way back alone?”
Ow. That would be so flat. So blah. I absolutely did not want him to leave.
Damn, I didn’t know what I wanted. I wanted the situation to be different. I wanted the world to be different. I wanted for him to be different. I wanted ... aw, shit. I wanted something that I could not have.
I wanted him to want me. The real me, Vivi D’Onofrio, in all my glory. The whole damn tattooed, itinerant, wild child, complicated, prickly package.
It was too extravagant a thing to hope for. Besides being inappropriate, silly, and way too soon. For Pete’s sake, I’d just met the guy the day before.
I just had so much intense, scary emotion about sex backed up in my system now. After six years of celibacy, anyone would be climbing the freaking walls.
And I had Brian to thank for that, too. Jerk-off butthead that he was.
“No, don’t leave,” I murmured, abashed. “Can’t you just, um, keep your underwear on?”
His lips twitched, making me feel foolish. “Yeah, whatever,” he said. “If it really bothers you.”
He pulled off his jeans, revealing simple white cotton briefs. The muscles in his torso were finger-licking delicious. Luxurious curling dark hair tapered down to his belly and turned into a furry mat that disappeared into his underwear. He had incredible glutes, and powerful thighs.
Damn. I might not survive this visual sensory experience even if Kendrick did keep his underwear on.
He stepped into the water, descending until he sat in the pool cross-legged, clouds of glittering sand wafting up from the bottom to swirl and turn in the water, glinting in the sunlight. The water reached to his collarbone. He leaned against the rim of the pool and closed his eyes. A nice show of delicacy while I undressed. He was in perfect gentleman mode now—but I knew his tricks. If I relaxed and let down my guard for so much as one instant, he’d have me in a lathered state in minutes.
I pulled off my jeans and t-shirt, wishing my bathing suit were less thin and worn, and stepped into the water. It was deliciously hot. Like an enormous, full-body kiss. A sprig of mint dangled over my shoulder, brushing my cheek. I was blushing furiously.
“Why are you blushing?” His voice was silky, amused.
“The water is hot,” I snapped. “And how did you know that with your eyes closed, anyway? That’s sneaky and underhanded. Either they are open or they are closed. Do not peek.”
He smiled briefly and made no reply.
We sat, listening to the river rushing by, for a very long time. He kept his eyes closed until it felt almost as if he were trying to hide from me.
I wanted him to reveal something about himself. I’d bared my soul in the restaurant the night before, so he owed me some freaking personal history, too. At least the basics.
“So nudity doesn’t embarrass you?” I asked.
