Her Hard to Resist Husband (11 page)

Why had he done it? Yes, they’d both been exhausted and, yes, despite her tepid showers, her muscles ached with fatigue from turning patients and making sure she moved their arms and legs in an effort to keep blood clots from forming.

Where had he even gotten the tank? It looked new, not like it had been drained and taken off someone’s house. Well, once she was done, she’d let him have a turn. Only the bubbles would be gone by then and he’d be getting used water—unless they took the time to refill the thing. And she knew Ben was concerned enough about the environment that he wouldn’t want to double their water usage.

Or… She pushed up out of the water and stared down at her chest. Her bra was solid black, so nothing showed through. In fact, her underwear was less revealing than what you’d find on most Brazilian beaches. So maybe he could just join her.

A faint danger signal went off in her head, its low buzz making her blink as she sank back into the water.

What? She wasn’t naked. Far from it.

Ben had already seen her with a lot fewer clothes. And it wasn’t like anyone was going to venture behind the house. The property itself was walled off with an eight-foot-high concrete fence—which was typical in Brazil. The screens were merely an added layer of protection.

If
she’d
been hot and sweaty when he’d unveiled his surprise, then he had to be positively baking. Especially as he was now standing guard in the sun just beyond the screens. And the water really did feel amazing.

“Ben?” His name came out a little softer than necessary. She figured if he didn’t hear her, she could just pretend she hadn’t said anything.

“Yep?”

Okay, so she was either going to have to suck it up and ask him if he wanted to join her or just make up some random question.

“Um…I was wondering if you wanted to— I mean the water isn’t going to be as fresh once I get out, so do you want to…?” Her throat squeezed off the last of the words.

Ben’s face appeared around the side of one of the screens. “Excuse me?”

“As long as we both have some clothes on, we can share the water.” She couldn’t stop a sigh as she curled a hand around the rim of the tank and peered over the top. “I know you won’t pour a new bath for yourself.”

“I’m okay.” There was definite tension in his jaw, which should serve as an additional warning, but now he was making her feel guilty on top of everything else. Especially when she spied a rivulet of sweat running down the side of his neck, and he lifted a hand to dash it away.

“Come on. Stop being a martyr. You’ve earned a break. Besides, it’ll help cool you off.”

“That, I doubt.” The words were so low she wasn’t sure she’d heard them correctly but, still, he moved into the space, hands low on his hips.

He was soaked, his face red from the heat.

“Look at your shirt, Ben. You’re practically steaming.” She wouldn’t mention the fact that seeing her husband layered in sweat had always been a huge turn-on. Maybe this
was
a mistake. But there was no way she was going to call back her words now. He’d think she was chicken.

So…should you stand up and cluck now…or wait until later?

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded weirdly like, “You’re a scientist. Examine, probe…”

The rest of the sentence faded away to nothing.

* * *

“Come on, Ben. You’re making me feel guilty.”

His lips turned up at the edges. “And are you going to make
me
feel guilty if I refuse?”

“Yes.” She realized once she’d answered him that his last phrase could have been taken more than one way. But then again she was hearing all kinds of strange stuff today.

When his hands went to the bottom of his shirt and hauled the thing up and over his head, her breath caught in her throat as glistening pecs and tight abs came into view—accompanied by a familiar narrow trail of hair that was every bit as bewitching as she remembered.

Okay, she had definitely not thought this through. For some reason, in her mind she’d pictured him clothed one second and in the tub the next. But then again, stripping outside the fenced area wouldn’t help any, because he would still return
sans
most of his clothes.

His hands went to the button of his khaki cargo pants. “You sure about this?”

She gulped. “As long as you have something underneath that.”

His smile widened. “It depends whether you’re talking about clothing or something else.”

Oh, man. She did remember he’d gone commando from time to time, just to drive her crazy. She’d never known when he’d peeled his jeans off at night what she’d find.

When his zip went down this time, however, she breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a glimmer of disappointment, when dark boxers came into view.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, “No reason to any more.”

That little ache in her chest grew larger. He no longer had anyone to play those games with.

As he shoved his slacks the rest of the way down his hips and stepped out of them, she tried to avoid looking at him as she thought about how unfair life was. This was a man who should be in a monogamous, loving relationship. He’d been a great husband. A fantastic lover. And he would have made a terrific father.

“You do have clothes on under those bubbles, right?”

“A little late to be asking that now, don’t you think?” She wrinkled her nose and snapped the black strap on her shoulder as evidence. “Of course I do. That invitation wouldn’t have gone out otherwise.”

His smile this time was a bit tight, but he stepped into the huge tub and slid beneath the water in a single quick motion. Too quick to see if the thought of them in this tank together was affecting him as much as it was her.

Oh, lord, she was an idiot. But as the water licked the curve of his biceps with the slightest movement of their bodies, she couldn’t bring herself to be sorry she’d given the invitation.

“Nice?” she asked, making sure her bra-covered breasts were well below the waterline. Since it was almost up to her neck, they were nowhere to be seen.

He responded by sinking down further until his head ducked beneath the surface then rose again. A stream of bubble-laden water sluiced down his face, his neck…that strong chest of his… She only realized her eyes were tracking its progress when his voice drew her attention back up.

“Wish I’d thought of doing this days ago.”

“Huh?”

He shook his head with a smile. “Nothing. Yeah. It’s nice.” He stretched his arms out along either side of the tub and watched her. “So, how was your day?”

Maybe this wasn’t going to be so weird after all. “Tiring. Yours?”

“Interesting.”

“Did General Gutierrez call another meeting?” If Ben had left her out of the loop again, she was going to be seriously miffed. Those were her patients as well. And she’d been first on the scene when the distress call had gone out.

“No, still the same game plan in place, from what I understand.” He lowered his hands into the tub and cupped them, carrying the water to his face and splashing it. If he’d been trying to rinse away the remaining bubbles he’d failed because now they’d gathered like a thin goatee on his chin.

“Um…” She motioned to her own chin to let him know.

He scrubbed the offending body part with his shoulder, transferring the bubbles, then took up his position again, arms spread along the curved blue rim. She tried to make herself as small as possible.

“So, you said your day has been interesting. How so?” She kept her hands braced on the bottom of the tub to keep from slipping even further down into the water. Besides, the less of herself she exposed, the less…well,
exposed
she felt.

He shrugged. “Just doing some research.”

“On our cases?”

“Our cases. That’s exactly it.”

She narrowed her eyes. Why did she get the feeling that the word “cases” was being thrown around rather loosely—at least on his side.

“Did you come to any conclusions?”

“Not yet. But I’m hoping to soon.”

The look in his eyes was intense, as if he was expecting to see something reflected back at him.

She cleared her throat. “Daniel is almost better. A few more days and he should be able to be released. Cleo is still complaining of a slight headache, though, and she isn’t progressing as quickly as she was earlier.”

“Hmm…I’ll check her when I get back.” His lips pursed. “I’ve been thinking about those two—Daniel and his sister, I mean. You’re good with them.”

Something in her stomach tightened. “Like I said earlier, I try to care for all my patients.”

“I know you do.”

“I feel terrible that their mother didn’t…” The tightening spread to her throat, choking off the rest of her words.

“I know, Trace. I’m sorry.” He shifted and one of his legs touched hers, his foot lying alongside her knee. She got the feeling the gesture was meant to comfort her because she was too far away for him to reach any other way. The tub was narrower at the bottom than it was at the top, and even though she knew why he’d done it, it still jolted her system to feel the heat of his skin against hers. She returned the pressure, though, to acknowledge what he’d done.

“Thanks,” she said. “That means a lot to me.”

She licked her lips, expecting him to move his leg away as soon as she said the words, but he didn’t. Instead his gaze held hers. What he was expecting her to do, she wasn’t quite sure. A shiver went over her when his foot slid along the side of her calf, as if he’d bent his knee beneath the water. Had he done that on purpose?

There was nothing in his expression to indicate he had.

Not only did he not move away, a second later she felt something slide against her other leg. She gulped. Now, that hadn’t been an accident. Had it?

And the bubbles were starting to dissipate, popping at an alarming rate. Soon she’d be able to see beneath the water’s surface. And so would Ben. So she either needed to wash her hair and get out fast or she needed to stay in and…

That was the question. Just how brave was she?

And exactly how far was she willing to let him go?

CHAPTER TEN

S
HE
DIDN’T
KNOW
what to do.

Ben watched the quicksilver shift of expressions cross her face the second his other leg touched hers—puzzlement, realization, concern and finally uncertainty.

“Tracy.” He leaned forward and held out his hand to her, keeping his voice low and coaxing. “I know it hasn’t been easy coming here—working with me. And I wasn’t even sure I wanted you here. But it was the right thing to do.”

The right thing to do.

And what about what he was doing now?

He had no idea if it was the right thing or not. But the second she’d invited him into the tub he’d wondered if this was where she’d been heading the whole time. Especially when he’d started shucking his clothes and he’d seen the slightest glimmer of hunger flash through her eyes. She’d quickly doused it, but not before it had registered for what it was. He’d seen that look many a time back when they’d been a couple.

The question was, should he push the boundaries? She was vulnerable. Tired—she’d admitted it herself. Wasn’t he taking advantage of that?

He started to pull his hand back when she startled him by reaching out and placing hers within it, saying, “I know it was. So is this.”

Without a word she held on tight and tugged, a movement that sent her sliding across the tub towards him. Her feet went up and over his thighs, hitting the curved plastic on either side of his hips. Her forward momentum came to a halt, and his libido took up where momentum left off.

Raw need raced through his system, replacing any ethical questions he’d had a few seconds ago. With a single gesture she’d admitted she wanted him. At least, he hoped that’s what it meant.

“When do you need to be back to work?” he asked.

“I’m off until tomorrow.” Still two feet away from each other, her gaze swept down his face, lingering on his mouth.

Until tomorrow. That meant he had all night. He forced himself to take a long, slow breath.

He smiled. “You know, we should have thought of putting a tub like this in our back yard. It’s almost as big as a pool. The only problem with it is you’re still much too far away.”

“Am I?” Her thumb swept across the back of his hand beneath the water. “I’ve come halfway. Maybe it’s your turn now.”

“Maybe it is.” He pushed himself across the space until, instead of being separated by feet, they were now inches apart. “Better?”

She smiled. “Yes, definitely.” She released his hand and propped her fingers on his shoulders, smoothing across them and sending fire licking through his gut in the process.

He curled his legs around her backside and reeled her in the rest of the way, until they were breast to chest and she had to tip her head back to look at him.

“So, here we are,” he murmured. “What do we do now?”

“Do you have to ask?”

His lips curved in a slow smile. “No, but I thought I should check to make sure we were on the same page.”

“Same page of the very same book.”

That was all the confirmation he needed. He cupped the back of her head and stared into her eyes before doing as she’d asked: meeting her halfway. More than halfway.

He swore, even as he kissed her, that he was still working on his plan. Still analyzing every piece of information. But that lasted all of two seconds before his baser instincts kicked in and robbed him of any type of higher brain function. He’d hoped to get an inkling of whether or not the old attractions were still there.

They were.

And at the moment that attraction was groveling and begging him not to screw this up by thinking too hard.

So he didn’t. The fingers in her hair tightened, the silky strands growing taut between them. A tiny sound exited her throat that Ben definitely recognized. Tracy had always been turned on by control.

His over her. Or at least that’s what she let herself believe.

In reality, though, she’d always wanted to control every aspect of her life, whereas he was happy to take things as they came. But in the bedroom it was a different story. Handing him the reins got her motor running, and right now Ben was more than happy to oblige.