“This place is amazing.” Simon spun in a slow circle, taking in the oasis and the spiral staircase that led up to my apartment.
My plan was crazy, but I had the privacy I needed; Harriet was at an art showing in San Francisco. Simon was going to think I was insane, but in my messed up mind, this was the only way I could make it work. I wanted us on a level playing field, and his shiny black dress shoes, pressed white shirt, and tux pants did nothing but remind me of my past and the light years between our current situations in life.
My hands trembled as I reached for the hem of my tank and tugged it up and over my head. I let it dangle from my fingertips and float to the ground. My courage faltered as Simon turned to face me, but I kept going. I stepped out of my flip-flops and caught the waist of my pajama pants with my thumbs and tugged them down. His eyes widened comically, and his jaw slackened as he took in my nakedness. I pulled the elastic from my hair and let the waves fall around my shoulders. The black, red, and purple tresses covered my breasts and hid the gold rings that pierced my nipples. I tried to picture myself from his point of view. Inked from shoulders to wrists. Script down my left side, along my ribs. An abstract phoenix down my other side. My legs were pale white, yet untouched by the needle. I was offering him everything I was, stripped down to the core of me—albeit temporarily. I turned and stepped into the splash pool, the warm water rising up to my chest. My hair floated on the surface before sinking down and clinging to me.
“Are you coming in?” I was proud that my voice didn’t shake. He hadn’t moved, and I couldn’t read his expression. But I wanted him to be as naked as I was—all evidence of his status and position left outside the little bubble I was creating. For tonight, I wanted there to be no past, no future. I just wanted right now. This moment. With him.
“Charlie—”
I leaned back and let my body float to the surface as I treaded water with my hands. I never thought the synchronized swimming lessons I’d been forced to take would ever come in handy, but the gracefulness with which I floated proved me wrong.
“Don’t think, Simon. Just strip.”
He tugged his bottom lip between even white teeth and hesitated a moment before reaching for his belt and unbuckling it. He unbuttoned his pants and drew down his zipper. I watched, fascinated by his efficient movements. He pushed his pants to the ground, revealing snug black boxer briefs stretched by his thick erection. Well, it’s good to know I’m not the only one who thinks this is a good idea.
He plucked the remaining studs from his shirt and shrugged it off, letting it drop to the ground, before gripping a handful of the back of his white undershirt and pulling it over his head. Underneath it he was all broad shoulders and defined muscles. I let my eyes wander down his rippling abs to the trail of dark hair that began at his navel and disappeared into the gray band of his underwear. He obscured the perfect V of his hips when he hooked his thumbs in the top of his boxer briefs, and my eyes snapped up to his. He was grinning at my unabashed ogling of him. As much as I wanted to look down, I held his stare. He bent slightly, and I knew he was stepping out of his briefs. He crossed the last few feet to the pool, stepped into the water, and came toward me. I paddled toward the far end and he followed.
“What game are you playing, Charlie?”
“No game. Just … this.” I spread my arms out wide, gesturing to … everything. Because I couldn’t explain myself any other way without exposing too much.
Backing me into a corner, he trapped me in the circle of his arms, much like he had earlier at the gate. I reached up and laid my palms against his chest, tracing the compass inked on his pectoral muscle with my index finger. Our skin didn’t touch anywhere else, but mine prickled with the need to feel him against me. I leaned closer, but he grasped my shoulders, effectively holding me back.
I looked up questioningly.
“You left me a message, then slammed a gate in my face, then you strip in front of me, and invite me to go skinny dipping. I can’t keep up with you. I need to know what the hell is going on here before it goes any further.”
I sagged back against the edge of the pool, letting the concrete lip dig into my spine. So much for my hastily constructed plan. An experienced seductress I was not. He must have read the defeat in my expression because he said, “I’m not saying I’m not interested. Hell, I’m buck ass naked, and I can’t exactly hide that I want you. But I need to know … why now? What changed?”
I stared down at the water, wishing fleetingly that the pool lights were on so I’d know for certain that he still did, in fact, want me. But given the leap I’d taken by stripping naked in front of him, I suppose I owed him at least some sort of an explanation.
“I decided that, for tonight, I didn’t care that you’re you and I’m me. I decided to take a risk and see what happened.” My answer was vague and without substance, but I hoped it would be enough. Heat pulsed between my legs and my nipples beaded almost painfully. I wanted him. Now.
But he didn’t relent. “It doesn’t matter who I am or who you are. Tonight or any other night. We’re just people.”
I held in a snort. Barely. He wouldn’t be in this pool if he knew who I really was. I was poison to someone like him. To everyone.
Simon tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “If I fuck you tonight, are you going to throw me out on my ass as soon as we’re done and never call me again?”
I bit my lip. Damn. He should be a freaking interrogator instead of a politician. But I wasn’t going to lie to him. At least not about this. “Probably.”