The Wedding Wager: Dakota Daddy

As she hurried out of the room, tears stung her eyes and she didn’t know whether she was crying out of frustration or anger.

Hopefully, now she no longer would, and she could deal with him on a more rational basis. She knew, in spite of her admonitions, he would continue to caress and flirt, because that was as natural to him as breathing. If only she could get this trip over with and something tolerable worked out!

As she went outside to retrieve her cover-up and her suit, she wondered where his staff was, but at the moment she barely cared. She’d never see them again after these few days.

She hurried to shower and in minutes jumped into the pool to swim laps, hoping to work off her emotional turmoil and restore her normal perspective.

Seven (#ulink_699ace87-581f-57b8-ad4a-92942d97faea)

“Let me help you out. We can swim in the ocean. It’s warm and buoyant, and if you see fish, they’re tropical and beautiful.” Lost in the rhythm of her laps, she’d missed Jared’s approach.

She gave him her hand and he pulled her up easily onto the side of the pool. He placed his hands on her waist. “Let me really look at this suit. It’s great, but it covers a lot.”

“Jared, we’re getting far away from working out our problems. They’re still present.”

“Lighten up, Megan,” he said easily. “It won’t hurt to drop them for tonight and get back on friendlier footing.”

“I can’s shut off my worries the way you can,” she replied swiftly, thinking about Ethan and the prospect of having him cut out of a big chunk of her life. “Kisses and moonlight swims don’t gain us anything.”

“Yes, they do,” he argued solemnly, stepping closer. “If we can get some kind of friendship and cooperation, it’ll help. We’re in this together, to some degree, for a long time to come. Tonight, let go of your worries. Ethan’s safe and happy. You won’t help him by staying aloof and worrying. C’mon. Try to be friends.”

“That’s a strange thing to say after making love to me,” she said, yet she realized he had a point, and her worrying tonight wasn’t going to solve her problems. “It’s just hard to let go when I’m filled with concern.”

He caressed her cheek. “I’m sure it is,” he said gently, making her want to plead her case again, but she knew that was pointless.

“You win for now. I’ll try, but I can’t let go of my anxiety.”

“I’ll try to help. Come on. A good swim will remove a little stress,” he said, leading her toward the beach.

“There’s someone’s yacht anchored not far out,” she noticed, looking at the sun splashing over a dazzling white boat.

“It’s mine, and right now no one’s on it. It’s wired with alarms, so it doesn’t have to have someone there constantly. That’s two things money can buy—security and privacy.”

“Race you to the floating dock,” he said, while he tossed their towels onto the warm sand.

She ran with him and knew he was keeping pace with her, because he could easily outrun her. He released her hand when they were in knee-deep water and she continued to splash on, surprised how far the shallow water extended. When it deepened, Jared jumped in to swim.

She followed, knowing he would easily reach the dock first. When he did, he gave her a hand and pulled her up beside him and she raked her wet hair back from her face.

“The water is perfect and so beautiful.”

“What’s beautiful is you,” he said, turning to place his hand behind her head.

“Jared—”

“Shh, Meg. One kiss isn’t catastrophic,” he said, his gaze lowering to her mouth. Her pulse drummed as he leaned down to cover her mouth with his.

“Not to you,” she whispered, before his lips covered hers. Then he kissed her and she wound her arm around his neck and kissed him in return. Finally she pushed away.

“Stop—and remember what I told you.”

With a hungry look that was filled with desire, he released her and sat beside her. She wrinkled her nose at him.

“Besides, I don’t want you to interfere with my swim.”

She expected one of his light remarks. Instead, he gave her a somber look, and she couldn’t imagine what he was thinking.

“Jared, today has been unique, a temporary truce and lull, and I love your home and I love swimming. But all this is simply postponing the inevitable.”

“I know, but I thought it would be best if we got on better footing with each other.”

“We’ve done that, all right,” she quipped.

“It’s better than arguing,” he said quietly. “Also, it gives each of us more of a chance to think things through.”

She knew she would remember this day the rest of her life. She’d remember Jared sitting beside her, drops of water glistening on his bronze shoulders and body, the warm sun shining and cool water lapping around them, the beach and house in sight—a dream that was real.

“After dinner, we’ll give it another go.”

She nodded, knowing this was an illusion of peace and compatibility. In spite of the past few hours, their relationship was stormier than ever.

“Well, I came planning to swim, so I’ll swim,” she said, turning to look at the yellow buoys bobbing several hundred yards farther out. “It’s safe to the buoys?” she asked.

“That’s right.”

She jumped in and swam, and in seconds he swam beside her, eventually swimming back to shore. She walked out and spread a towel to sit cross-legged in the sand, and he did the same.

“That was fantastic. The water is perfect. I may have to think about some kind of place like this for myself. It would be good for Ethan because he’s not much of a swimmer, but he likes the water.”

Jared stood and extended his hand. “If you’re ready to go in, we’ll dress and I’ll tell Lupita to put on dinner.”

“Where is Lupita? I haven’t seen anyone since we first arrived.”

“The staff knows how to stay out of sight. She’ll get dinner on and then go for the night. They have homes in this compound, but beyond the security walls. There’s nothing inside the walls except my house, its outbuildings and us.”

At the veranda, he paused. “I’ll go find Lupita and meet you here in half an hour and we can have a drink before dinner.”

She nodded and headed for her room.

Finally clad in a black knit shirt and black slacks, Jared looked dark, handsome and dangerous. He was a threat to her future and he wasn’t going to go away and let her live her life the way she had before.

Jared crossed the veranda to take her hands while his gaze drifted lazily over her. “You look beautiful. Far more tempting than dinner.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Thank you, Jared.”

“What would you like to drink?”

“A piña colada, please, if that’s possible.”