Page 58 of Roark
“Oh, well, then I guess inviting you to get into more water wouldn’t make sense.”
The bubbles in the water created a frosted layer so he couldn’t tell if the burgundy halter top she wore was a one-piece or two-piece bathing suit. It didn’t really matter, because the thought of her only wearing a bathing suit beneath that water had already begun to arouse him.
“Water’s one of the best things for a body,” he replied.
She chuckled. “I think that refers to drinking water, not sitting in it until your skin wrinkles like a prune.”
“Whichever. I’m game.” If he grabbed his shirt and pulled it up and over his head too quickly, so be it. He wasn’t about to deny that sitting in a hot tub with Tamika was a much better way to spend the remainder of the evening than going back to his room and continuing to look through his mother’s emails.
“Good, because this water feels divine.” She let her head fall back and made a groaning sound that caused his dick to throb.
Roark went into the water, wearing only his boxers. He took it slowly even though his body was already rigid with arousal, because the water was hot as hell. Refusing to back out for fear of appearing weak in Tamika’s eyes, he kept going, praying the heat didn’t scorch the skin off his legs.
“I used to treat myself to spa days once a month.” Her voice was soothing, and Roark decided to focus on that instead of the water temperature; besides, once he’d lowered himself all the way in, it felt a little better.
“I used to hit the gym at least three times a week,” he added when he was able to sit back and almost relax.
“It shows,” she said, but her head was still back, eyes still closed.
There was so much more he wanted to ask her, more he wanted to know about her, but right now she obviously wanted to push everything out of her mind that didn’t make her feel good. He could relate to that—he just wished he were as good at it as she appeared to be. “I believe there’s a gym at the manor, along with two more pools and a full-service spa. You should check it out tomorrow.” The B&B was meant as a luxury getaway, even if they hadn’t been able to enjoy it in that way.
“We’re not on vacation,” she said as if she were reading his mind. “If we were, I’d be asking for a refund.”
Roark chuckled. “Yeah, I’d be with you on that request. There’s definitely a lot going on, but you know what? We can take this break. The house is secure, the manor is secure and Pierce and Cade have gotten the MPD involved now, so everybody’s looking for him. We can take this moment right here for ourselves.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past half hour.”
She hadn’t moved, and he could no longer resist. Roark reached out and ran a finger along the line of her jaw. “I’d like to see you in action on a real vacation. I bet you’re the type to do all the excursions offered, especially the daredevil ones.”
That comment got her to not only open her eyes, but to raise her head and let her arms fall into the water. “If I’m the daredevil, then what are you? Let me guess, you’re the ‘lay on the beach with your cool-ass shades on’ type of vacationer. You get the bartender to keep refilling your drink, and you’ve got a book you never really plan to read sitting on the towel beside you. That’s how you spend your day until it’s time to go in and take a meal. And in the evenings, you go for a swim, because the sun has gone down and its less crowded in the water.”
“That’s precisely what I’d do if I ever got around to taking a vacation,” he admitted.
He wasn’t surprised when she pursed her lips and shook her head. “It’s a shame I’ve got you all figured out.”
Yes, that was a shame, because he still didn’t have her figured out yet. “But, if you were there, on that beach, I’d probably be persuaded to do anything you wanted.”
She perked up. “Jet-skiing? Or no, ziplining. I was in Vegas last summer with one of my co-workers for her bachelorette party, and we were supposed to go ziplining, but one of the other girls got food poisoning, so we all hung around the suite that evening to make sure she didn’t vomit everywhere while we were out.”
“That was…um, very noble of you.” He tried not to frown at the visual that had popped into his head.
She shrugged. “It was no big deal. We ordered tons of room service and got drunk as hell. Had almost as much fun as if we’d gone out. It definitely made for a good memory. But I’d still like to go ziplining.”
“Uh, well, you should definitely go ziplining then.”
“But you wouldn’t do it, would you?”
Roark paused to consider it, then shook his head. “I can be a very good cheerleader from the ground.”
She exploded with laughter and smacked a hand on his shoulder. “You’re so predictable.” It wasn’t said in a sarcastic or nasty way, she’d just said it, much like she would’ve said the grass was green or this water was hot. Still, it pricked something deep inside Roark.
He’d let his hand fall from her face as they were talking, but now he wanted to touch her again. This time he dipped his hand under water to find hers before lifting it up and bringing it over to his face. Just a few months ago, he’d worn a thick beard. The morning after his mother’s death, he’d shaved it off.
Tamika instantly took over, rubbing her fingers along the line of his jaw and not jerking away at his obvious five o’clock shadow.
“I think about your touch a lot, Tamika.”
She tilted her head. “Do you?” Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Several tendrils had fallen to frame her face and as a result of the steamy air surrounding them were wet and sticking to her skin. She wore no makeup, and her skin appeared fresh and clear. Her lips were plump and kissable.
