Dare to Touch (10 page)

He shifted as he walked, knowing he wasn’t helping himself by thinking anything about Olivia right now. Family pool, he reminded himself. It didn’t help douse the erection he was sporting.

“Look, there’s some of the guys.” Olivia pointed toward the bar, where Big held court.

“Hey, team! Join me!” Big waved them over to the bar, where he was, as promised, drinking a frozen margarita from a glass that, by most standards, would look huge. But since Big boasted such a strong, powerful frame, his hands dwarfed the glass.

Dylan shot Olivia a worried look.

“Don’t worry. He can’t get drunk on virgin frou-frou drinks. It’s all for show. Without his cousin around, he knows better than to get drunk and out of control. He told me as much himself,” Olivia said.

Dylan let out a relieved breath until she muttered, “I hope,” under her breath.

Flynn and Big were hanging with some beautiful women, and Dylan opted to wave and move on. “Do you want to sit under one of the umbrellas?” he asked.

“Sure.” They headed for a free set of seats. “Don’t you love the way the buildings and this whole area is structured like a Spanish-style resort? And the pool is lit up inside. I can imagine how gorgeous it looks at night!”

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and he reached, squeezing her hand.

She glanced up at him and smiled, and warmth pervaded his system. Yeah, there was something special about her or, at least, how he felt about her.

A cabana boy walked over and helped set up the chairs with towels, positioned the umbrella for Olivia’s comfort, and offered them drinks. He settled into the chair and watched as Olivia, still standing, pulled her shirt off, exposing her bikini and that sexy body for view.

Drooling didn’t begin to describe his reaction, but somehow he kept himself in check, even when she began to slowly cover herself with sunscreen, her delicate fingers rubbing the cream into her skin. She didn’t glance at him, didn’t acknowledge that he was watching, but his dick was hard, and he had the feeling she knew exactly the effect she had on him.

He blew out a breath, shoved his earbuds into his ears, and turned on the music app in his phone. Hard rock blared in his ears, distracting him, exactly what he needed.

As time passed, more people joined them around the pool, and soon Nick and his family arrived. They stopped by Dylan’s chair, and he pulled the earbuds out.

“Hey, Nick. Glad you made it.”

“Glad to be here.” He glanced at Olivia. “Hi, Miss Dare.”

“Olivia, please. Is this your wife?” Liv asked, sitting up in her seat and discreetly pulling her shirt over her exposed body.

Dylan held back a smirk, because now he knew she’d been deliberately flaunting her body to torture him. She was inherently shy, and obviously, when there were people around—especially team members—she didn’t want them ogling her nearly nude body.

“Maria, this is Olivia Dare, the team’s executive director, and Dylan Rhodes, our travel guy. He’s the one who makes sure we stay in fantastic places like this one.” Nick grinned at his wife, who held a well-covered baby in her arms.

“Nice to meet you, Maria. And everyone, please, call me Olivia.”

“Hi, Olivia. Dylan,” Maria, an attractive woman with her dark hair pulled into a high ponytail, said. “I hope I’ll get to talk to you both later, but I want to get this little one into the cabana and out of the sun.”

Olivia nodded. “I understand. I’m sure we’ll find time later to talk.”

“Come on, babe.” Nick placed a hand on his wife’s back and steered her toward the back of the pool and the extremely expensive covered cabanas. Nick, both in personality and ability, deserved the best the team could offer him.

“Want to take a swim?” Dylan asked her when the family was out of sight.

She blew out a breath and nodded. “That sounds great. It’s brutally hot out here.”

He rose and extended his hand, offering to help her up.

She shot him a grateful look and placed her palm in his. He helped her to her feet, unable to keep his eyes off her hot body. From the way she eyed his chest, the feeling was mutual. He shifted to the side, wishing he could discreetly adjust himself. He was rock hard and needed to get under the water immediately before everyone around the pool knew what he wanted to do to Olivia and damned whoever was watching.

They started in the shallow end, walking down the wide steps inside the pool. She had one hand on the metal bar and eased into the comfortable water. She hit the second step down and pushed off, gliding through the water and cooling off her body, the ends of her hair trailing through the water.

He caught up with her with one good push off the step ledge and grabbed her around the waist, backing her into the wall.

“Dylan!” she squealed in surprise, but she didn’t look unhappy with his approach.

Knowing how important appearances were to her, and aware of proper decorum himself, considering he was technically on the job, he glanced around. Sure enough, people were either sunbathing or too preoccupied reading, talking, or splashing one another to care what he and Olivia were up to.

She met his gaze and shyly snaked her arms around his neck. One of the things he found most endearing about her was her honest reactions and lack of pretense. She wasn’t bold and certain in dealing with him, and he respected that. He needed to be aware of her uncertainty and occasional insecurity, but he hoped that, in time, she’d lose those inhibitions.

“You feel good here, in my arms.” He pulled her against him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist beneath the water.

“I like it here,” she admitted.

He pressed a kiss to her damp lips. “Let’s have dinner here tonight. They have a restaurant, and you can rent private cabanas where they’ll serve you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really? That sounds great!”

“Just you and me,” he clarified.

Her smile widened.

Without warning, a splash of water hit them both, leaving them soaking wet.

“Kyle Andrew Lerner!” a woman called out angrily. “I told you, no splashing! Apologize to those people right now, and then out of the pool for a time out.”

Dylan glanced at the mother, who was fairly young herself. She had a toddler at the steps across the way, and she was pointing toward the empty pool chair right near her, where she obviously expected her son to sit.

Dylan’s gaze shifted as a little boy, around eight, looked up at them with big brown eyes filled with tears, his bottom lip trembling. “Sorry,” he said, then turned and made a beeline toward his mom.

“She’s a good parent,” Dylan murmured.

His own mother wouldn’t have cared whether or not he splashed another person. She wouldn’t have bothered with discipline unless he kept her from doing something
she
wanted to do. And most importantly, she wouldn’t have taken him to a pool for fun, never mind on a vacation of any kind.

He drew a deep breath and refocused on Olivia. Her gaze was still on the little boy, who was now pulling himself out of the pool.

“I feel for the kid,” Dylan said. “Gotta be embarrassing getting yelled at by your mom in front of strangers. And having to apologize. But she did well with him.”

Olivia swallowed hard. “Yeah. She did.” She pulled away from him and started for the far stairs nearest to their seats.

Dylan narrowed his gaze. “Liv, wait up!”

He followed her out of the pool, where she grabbed her towel off the seat and wrapped it around herself like protective armor.

“Hey, what just happened?” he asked.

She shook her head, her eyes damp. He needed to let it go, and he would. For now, but not for long. Obviously something about the episode had affected her deeply. Dylan’s reaction to the boy went back to his childhood. Had Olivia’s? Or was there something more?

He’d let her push him away, tell him she had issues, but if they wanted a relationship, something real, he needed answers. And she needed to decide whether or not he was worth the risk.

Chapter Six

F
ollowing the afternoon at the pool, she and Dylan headed up to the room. She decided to lie down and take a short nap, while he opted to take a quick shower and go explore the resort and check on some things for later in the week.

Once he walked out, she opened her eyes. She hadn’t been able to sleep, but she wasn’t in the mood for either conversation or his curious looks. She’d had a freak reaction to the little boy at the pool, and now she felt ridiculous. Especially since she seemed to have these reactions around Dylan. Apparently, being with him evoked deep feelings and poked at old wounds.

She stared at the ceiling and replayed the incident. The splashing reminded her of her siblings. They’d never been able to behave on vacations their mom took them on, and really, there were too many of them for her to corral everyone into submission alone. Her dad had rarely joined them. In fact, she could barely remember a family vacation that had included him. But her mom had always been able to count on Ian.

As the oldest and the one with the biggest sense of responsibility, he’d always played the man of the house. From too young an age. Another thing that was her father’s fault. But thanks to her mom, who loved them and made sure they had as normal a childhood as possible, and thanks to Ian, who did act like the father figure, they hadn’t grown up like heathens, she thought, grinning.

But she quickly sobered when she remembered that moment in the pool when she’d glanced at the young mom with a toddler, now in her arms. Olivia’s thoughts had turned to herself and her baby. The one she’d lost.

She pulled herself out of the bed, grabbed a sundress, a bra, and panties, and headed for the shower. Though she’d brought her toiletries from home, she liked the fresh scent of the shampoo and conditioner this luxury hotel provided. She lathered up with the matching body wash and rinsed off the sunscreen from today.

She wished her thoughts were on Dylan and how his erection had pulsed against her sex while underneath the water earlier, but instead, she was focused on how she kept pushing him away. He’d wanted to know what was bothering her when she’d fled the pool, and she knew it was time to tell him. She couldn’t keep giving him half stories and asking him to wait. But she also didn’t know if she had the nerve to dig into that time of her life.

After shaving her legs, lathering up with the shampoo, and using the thick conditioner on her hair, she rinsed and stepped from the shower. Next time something came up between them or the time was right, she wouldn’t run. She’d talk. She didn’t doubt he’d listen or understand. That wasn’t her fear.

She feared that after she unloaded all her deepest pain, nothing would change inside her. That she’d still be afraid to move forward. Alone or with Dylan.

*     *     *

Dylan didn’t return to the room until much later. She hadn’t asked where he’d been, respecting his need for privacy. If they hadn’t been forced to share a room, she wouldn’t know what he did with his time until they met up for dinner. She read a book on the terrace and enjoyed the beauty of the mountain view.

After he returned, he pulled clothing out of the drawers and closet and changed for dinner while she put finishing touches on her makeup.

A few minutes later, he walked out of the changing area, looking handsome in a pair of khaki pants and a pale blue tee shirt. “Ready for dinner?”

She strode over and placed her hands on his waist, determined to bridge the distance she kept inadvertently putting between them. “I am.”

He tipped his head and brushed his lips over hers. “Good. Because you’re going to love this setup.”

“I can’t wait.”

He clasped her hand, and they headed out of the room. This time, he directed them toward the Oasis pool, an adults-only area. Beneath the darkening sky, the sun had begun to set, lighting the mountain with an orange glow.

They approached the pool area, where tents with white tops and gauzy curtains gave each person complete privacy, even more, she assumed, when darkness set in. A tingle of excitement and awareness trickled through her, knowing she and Dylan would be alone behind the sheathed walls.

He led her to a cabana in the far corner. No one seemed to be in the one next to them.

“This is it.” He pushed back the curtain, and she stepped into an area dimly lit with lanterns. A long sofa gave them a place to sit in front of a low table set with an array of tapas and finger foods.

She stepped into their own private world and sighed at how intimate and perfect the setting was. “Dylan, you went all out.”

“Only the best for you,” he said in a husky voice. To her surprise, he pulled on a cord and released the sheeting that dropped down, covering the entry. “Complete privacy. I’ve instructed we not be disturbed.”

They were alone in their own little world.

“Have a seat,” he said with a sweep of his hand toward the lounger.

She lowered herself onto the sofa and crossed her legs beneath her.

He seated himself beside her, his leg touching hers.

“Hungry?” he asked.

Her stomach rippled with a combination of nerves and desire, but she was aware of the fact that she hadn’t eaten dinner and somehow managed a nod.