His Sweet Revenge: Wedding Vow of Revenge / His Ultimate Prize / Bound by a Child

However, on closer inspection, she realized that at the place they were standing inside the building, hardly anyone could see them even though the door that led outside was made of clear glass. Ray with his annoying camera, seemed to be the only one even looking, the expression in his eyes smug.

Obviously he’d gotten a shot of the kiss. She wondered if that picture was going to make it into Danette’s scrapbook. Considering her friend’s sense of humor, it probably would.

The pool looked more inviting than ever. “Yes. I’m definitely ready to get cooled off.”

She realized the implication of her words as soon as Angelo’s low chuckle reached her ears. Annoying heat surged into her cheeks. She’d blushed more around this man than she had since taking her first modeling contract more than ten years ago as a gangly adolescent.

“Then shall we go?” Angelo asked, tugging her toward the deep part near where it flowed to the outside, obviously intending to jump in.

She pulled back. “I’d rather enter at the shallow end.”

He turned to look at her, his expression indecipherable. “Why?”

She shrugged. “I guess I’m the cautious sort, but I like to get used to the water a bit at a time.”

“That’s torturous.”

He was right, but she’d never been able to force herself just to jump into cold water.

Something shifted in his penetrating blue gaze.

That was all the warning she got before Angelo swept her up in his arms and tossed her in the pool.

Cold water shocked her system. She sank toward the bottom, legs and arms flailing. Tucking her legs in, she executed a neat roll and shot toward the surface. It wasn’t far, the pool was only six feet deep to begin with. She came to the surface gasping for air and ready to take an inch off his hide.

Impatiently brushing the water from her eyes, she looked around, treading water and ready to yell at him, but he wasn’t poolside anymore.

A sudden shower of cold droplets from behind her had her spinning around in the water. He was there, so darn tall, he could touch bottom and still keep most of his face above the water. He moved to her right, ending up not a foot from her in more shallow water. His expression was so relaxed and mischievous she couldn’t begin to hold on to her anger.

She didn’t think Angelo Gordon looked mischievous very often. Something spasmed in her heart that she was the one to bring out this side of him.

She sent a cascade of water directed at his head with the sweep of her hand. “You fiend.” But her heart wasn’t in it and the words came out sounding a lot more teasing than accusatory.

He grinned, not bothering to wipe the water from his face. “Feels good doesn’t it?”

“It would have felt better if I’d been able to get used to it before being dunked.”

He shook his head. “You would have wasted time playing in the shallows, torturing yourself with every small foray deeper into the pool.”

“The shallows aren’t always a waste of time.”

“They are when diving into the deep end is so rewarding.”

Neither of them was talking about swimming and from the seriousness of his expression now, they both knew it.

“I dove in once before and learned to rue my impetuousness.”

“Which doesn’t mean you should never go diving again.”

“I almost drowned the last time.”

He shook his head. “Not you. You got the breath knocked out of you, but you’re fighting fit again.”

He was right. Baron had hurt her, but her nature didn’t allow for wallowing in misery. She’d picked up and moved on, in every way but her willingness to risk her heart again.

Angelo tapped her nose. “You’re enjoying the water now, admit it.”

“Yes, I am.” What had felt frigidly cold against skin heated by the sun now felt refreshing.

“Diving into deep waters can be terrifying or rewarding depending on who you do your diving with and what kind of water he leads you into.”

Oh, gosh. She didn’t know if she could handle this. He’d been challenging her to see him as a unique individual since the moment they met, but this was more. This was a direct attack on the way she’d been handling relationships for two years.

Or rather avoiding them.

“What kind would I find myself in with you?” she couldn’t help asking.

Strong fingers curled around her waist under the water and she found herself being pulled against him. “The kind that will leave you sated with pleasure.”

“I’ve been sated before, but that didn’t make up for the hurt that came later.”

“No one can guarantee the future, bella mia, but the present is here for us to enjoy.”

There was something extremely intimate about being called an endearment in his mother’s native language. It made her feel special to him. Only that was probably wishful thinking. No doubt, he slipped into Italian with every woman he wanted to bed. It was sexy.

The cynical thoughts made her angry. Was she going to spend the rest of her life thinking the worst of every man who came into it? That made her a victim of her past, not victorious over it and Angelo had been right. She was a strong woman, too strong to let her past control her.

“Yes, the present is here for us to enjoy.”

When his lips covered hers this time, there was no hesitation, no gentle persuasion. It was all raw passion and masculine claim-staking, a sensual demand that she acknowledge his ability and right to give her pleasure.

And she gave it to him through a mouth that willingly molded to his.

Lips cool from the water soon heated against hers and his tongue pressed against her mouth, this time demanding entrance. With a groan of needs long denied, she opened to him. Unlike Baron’s carefully orchestrated seductions, Angelo took her mouth like a conquering marauder. Imprinting himself on every millimeter of the interior, he devastated her lips with a carnality that left her weak.

He lifted her more firmly against him, his reaction to their kiss pressing blatantly against her thighs.

Her breasts ached and swelled in the confines of her halter top, while her most secret flesh grew hot and wetter than the water surrounding them. She laid her hands against the sculpted muscles of his chest, her fingers delighting in the sensation of wet, slick skin covered by curling black hair. The kiss deepened into territory she’d never explored and she dug her nails into his pecs. He groaned against her lips.

A shower of water broke them apart, the sound of laughter around them grating on nerves sensitized by his lovemaking. And it had been lovemaking even if he hadn’t done any more than kiss her. Some of the other partygoers had swum through the low arched partition to the outside and were engaging in a game of tag.

Incapable of the coordination it took to tread water, Tara took advantage of her proximity to the edge to grab it with both hands. She hung there while her body struggled for breath and she tried to regain control over her emotions.

“Do you want me to apologize?” He spoke very close to her ear.

She shook her head, not looking at him. “I was with you all the way.”

“I didn’t mean to lose control, stellina. Public displays of affection are not my thing. The thought of embarrassing a lover leaves me cold.”