Page 34 of Risk Assessment
He really was worried about her. “It’s not your fault. It’s his.” She stood up. Let’s go get ready for our poolside lunch. I just want to work and maybe even swim a bit. All thoughts of my stalker are to be banished for the afternoon.” She smiled up at him. Putting on a brave face was second nature these days.
Plus, seeing Dylan in swim trunks might just make her day.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
While Raleigh changed, Dylan went into her old room and did the same. He pulled on some navy board shorts and threw on a light blue collared shirt.
His old crew had been at breakfast, and although they had chatted with him a bit, no one had brought up the incident or his suspension other than to ask if he was doing okay. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He didn’t have a clue. He wanted to get the whole thing off his chest. Admit he screwed up. It had been his fault the boy had gotten hurt.
He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Seeing disappointment in their eyes when he admitted his culpability would hurt like hell. It was one thing for him to know he screwed up. It was another to have all his friends, the people he respected the most, know it too. In a way, being reassigned was the break he needed. He had known the disappointment was coming and now he could deal with it.
He heard Raleigh come down the hall to the living area. He took a long swig of water and tried to get his brain back on track. He walked into the living room and asked, “Ready?”
“Yes,” Raleigh said as she gathered her computer and pool bag. When she turned to face him, he damn near tripped over his own feet. Her cover-up had fallen open. She was wearing an emerald-green bikini that fit like a glove. Her slightly tanned skin was on full display and was absolutely flawless. His libido begged him to touch. His fingers twitched in response. He wanted desperately to run his hands over her, followed by his mouth.
“What?” she asked when she saw his face. Then she glanced down. “Oh, whoops.” She put her stuff down and retied her matching green cotton coverup.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, trying to get his body back in check. Holy shit! Her body was hot. Hotter than he’d imagined, and he’d imagined quite a bit while lying next to her last night. He’d barely caught a wink of sleep.
“Did you hear back from Cosgrove?” she asked as she grabbed her bags again.
“Uh, what?” His mouth was a barren desert. “Cosgrove, right. Yeah, she’s looking into it but once again, the cameras in that area don’t really give a great view of the trees. They show the tennis courts and the track area. The ones on the path by trees didn’t pick up anything but she says there’s curve in the path so a section of it is blocked. When she looked at the other footage, there are too many people walking that path to pick out anyone specifically.”
He shrugged. “I asked her to compare the footage from the path in proximity to the cabin and the path by the trees and see if anyone was in both and she agreed but, it’s likely that there will be multiple people in both locations.”
“Okay,” she said, biting her full bottom lip—a move that shot a jolt of desire straight to his groin. “But at least it’s a place to start.”
“Agreed.”
He gestured with his arm. “After you.”
“Thanks.” She smiled up at him.
Together, they exited the cabin. She went ahead of him down the pathway to the pool. The sway of her hips was enticing, and between that and the image of her in that bikini, he was having a hard time concentrating on anything else. There was no way he was leaving her by herself. It wasn’t just her stalker he was worried about. Once she took off that cover-up, every male in the place was going to be paying attention to her.
A fact that would make figuring out which one was her stalker that much harder.
They wound their way through the chairs and loungers until she found two right beside the pool. She dropped her things on one, and he paused by the other. After taking off his shirt, he dropped it on his chair.
“Are you going to sit there the entire time?”
It sounded like there was some alarm in her voice, but her sunglasses were hiding her expressive green eyes. Those eyes always gave her away. Did she know that?
“I am,” he said quietly. “Take a quick look around. Most of the wedding guests are here. I think everyone had the same idea about being by the pool and after this morning, I don’t want to be more than a few steps away.”
She glanced around and nodded slightly. “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,” she mumbled as she took a bottle of sunscreen out of her bag.
“Do you need me to help you with that?” He pointed to the bottle. Did he want her to say yes? Absolutely, but he wasn’t sure he could hide his appreciation for her if he had to rub his hands all over her skin.
She looked up at him as she took off her cover-up. “If you could get my back that would be great.” She flipped over onto her stomach.
He swung his legs over the side of his chair and reached for the container. He poured a generous amount of the lotion into his palm and started smoothing it over Raleigh’s back.
She jumped. “It’s cold.”
“Sorry,” he chuckled as he spread sunscreen across her shoulder blades. Her skin was smooth and soft. His blood thrummed as his hands ran over her back. Lifting the ties of her bikini, he fought the urge to pull the delicate string.Down boy. They were by the pool and even thought they’d positioned him as her boyfriend, his job was to protect her not have sex with her.
He hurried to finish. Then he cleared his throat. “All done. “I’m going to get a drink. Would you like anything?” He needed a cold shower, but a glass of ice water would have to do.
