“Are you cold?” he asked, staring straight at her rock-hard ni**les. “Should I warm you up?” he said as he leaned his head in to her br**sts.

His hot breath covered her as he nipped and sucked at her. Her knees gave way, but his strong hands held her up, refusing to let her sink all the way into the water. “I need to taste you again,” he said in a low husky voice, then his mouth was on her clit, his tongue lapping in long, hot strokes. His hands moved up her body to play with her br**sts, cupping them, massaging them, letting the flesh rest heavily on his big, callused palms.

And then he moved her deeper into the water, and the cool water rushed over her silken heat, making her cry out with wonder at the two so different sensations. So hot. So cold. And then hot again as his fingers slid in and out of her.

“I want to see you come.”

Lily looked into his eyes, powerless to stop herself from giving this man whatever he wanted. “Now, Lily,” he said, his thumb swirling insistently over her swollen nub. “Now.”

His eyes bored into hers as she obeyed his order. “Travis,” she moaned against his lips.

“Come, Lily,” he urged, even as the contractions became too much for her to handle.

“Come, Lily,” he growled as he shifted her in the water and thrust his c**k all the way into her ready body.

Travis’s thumb never stopped its perfect pattern on her clit as Lily wrapped her legs around his waist and slid up and down on his hard, thick shaft.

Her pleasure was so intense, she was barely able to say, “We need a condom.”

Later she would admire his force of will in pulling out of her, spilling his seed on her belly in several quick thrusts. But at that very moment she was heartbroken. She had wanted nothing more than for him to explode in her, to complete her with his essence.

But even in her lust-filled haze, Lily wasn’t stupid enough to risk getting pregnant.

Travis’s warm body was wrapped around her in the cool swimming pool, but Lily felt a shiver work its way up her spine. A baby with Travis. She knew without a doubt that it would be the most wonderful child in the world, maybe even twins, a little Travis and a little Luke.

Oh no. Luke had told her not to do this. Under no circumstances was she supposed to have sex with Travis. She was supposed to get him hot and bothered, then leave him wanting more.

She knew she couldn’t resist Travis. But she also knew that Luke would crucify her if she didn’t at least stick to part of the plan. Steeling all of her soft feelings, she prepared to do battle.

Travis gently kissed the top of her head. “That was some amazing orgasm, wasn’t it?”

Lily couldn’t believe how smug he sounded. As if he thought that all he had to do was be near her, and she’d explode into a million pieces. Tamping down on the truthful part of her that said that was precisely the case, she said, “It was fine, Travis.”

In his shock he let go of her, and she swam to the side of the pool.

“It was fine?” he said through clenched teeth.

Lily shrugged. “Yeah. It was fine.” Looking up at him all innocence, doing her darnedest to pretend that she was worldly and had sex with men in strangers’ pools all the time, she said,

“Oh, I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, Travis. I really did like it, you know.”

He followed her out onto the flagstone patio. ” You really did like it? What the hell does that mean?”

Ignoring the racing of her heart—who was she to mess with a man like Travis?—she said, “Any towels out here?”

He reached beneath the seat of a wood bench and threw a towel at her. Pinning her with his green eyes, he said, “You loved what I did to you. Don’t try to deny it.”

Lily kept her expression as bland as she could, but inside she was incredulous. Luke seemed to be dead on target with his brother. Travis wasn’t sure if she had actually enjoyed herself with him. She had come all over the place, and he actually thought that she might have faked it.

Wow.

It was hard for Lily to believe, but it seemed that, for the first time in her life, she had the upper hand with Travis.

Letting her mouth curve up into a small smile that barely hinted at the secrets inside her woman’s mind, she got dressed, ignoring his words completely. “I’d really like to get started on the project now. Could you please take me back to Barker’s so that I can leave a note of resignation and pick up my car?”

Lily fought back a laugh as he stalked up the path to his car. Following behind him, her hips swaying to a new, all-female rhythm, Lily thought that maybe, just maybe, her life wasn’t quite as predictable as she had thought it to be.

“It was fine. “

“I liked it.”

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, Travis.”

Travis pulled up to the curb in front of the store and stared straight ahead as Lily fiddled with the seat belt. He could feel her big blue eyes on him, making him feel things he never wanted to feel. He was ten years old again and on the playground trying not to cry, trying not to be a big baby just because he didn’t have a mom anymore.

“Thanks for this opportunity, Travis. I won’t let you down.”

He grunted, knowing she was waiting for him to say something. Finally, she gave up, saying, “I’ll be in touch in a few days once I’ve done some research at the design center downtown,” before slamming the door.

Travis intended to burn rubber as he peeled away from the curb, but his foot wouldn’t obey his command. Instead, he watched Lily walk up the short pathway to the front entrance of the store, hating how turned on he was by the sway of her hips.

Utterly disgusted with himself, he peeled out from the curb and broke at least ten traffic laws on the way back to his office in the trendy South of Market area.

A new receptionist sat at the front desk. When he walked in she stood up in all of her twenty-year-old blond-and-nubile glory.

“Mr. Carson?”

Travis nodded and gave her his most devastating smile. “And you are?”

“Megan. Your partner hired me.” She shook her blond hair over her shoulder and stuck her chest out slightly, her ni**les perky beneath her thin silk shirt.

Travis shook Megan’s hand and waited for the usual rush to come from touching a beautiful young woman. He held her hand a few seconds longer than normal and looked deeply into her blank brown eyes.