Finding Her Son(29)
He was a good man. She’d seen the flare of desire in his eyes, but he’d let her take the lead. Part of her wished he hadn’t. What if he’d simply stripped away her clothes and seduced her with all of the skill she knew he possessed.
She would have melted in his arms. She knew it.
And maybe regretted it. Something he’d been fully aware of. So, he’d hidden his passion with sensitivity, and doing so made her heart race for him all the more.
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped her body in a towel. When she entered the guest room, several sets of jeans, turtlenecks and sweaters had miraculously appeared on the satin-covered bed, along with a nightshirt. The idea that Mitch had been that close to her while she’d been naked in the shower did funny things to her stomach. What would she have done if he’d opened the bathroom door and come in? Would she have been brave enough to open the curtain? Ask him to join her?
Oh, my, what was she thinking?
She laid the extra clothes on a chair and slipped into the nightshirt. The feeling of the cloth on her sensitized skin let her know she’d better get herself under control before she did something stupid. She should be exhausted, but her mind whirled with crazy thoughts. She couldn’t imagine even trying to sleep. She didn’t want to be alone. And yet, she knew what would happen if she searched out Mitch. The very thing she wanted, and probably shouldn’t have.
Taking a deep breath, she crossed to the door and slowly pulled it open. Silence and shadows greeted her. She could barely make out Perry’s box on the dining-room table. She picked it up and carried it into the guest room.
Moving the satin comforter to the side, Emily tugged off the lid. She pulled out the wine bottle she’d seen earlier. Sealed. She grabbed a half-full flask and sighed with the knowledge that Perry’s demons had clearly been with him constantly. She scanned several pages of barely decipherable handwritten notes that had to do with following some guy to Florida.
Several minutes later she picked up a receipt from a wine shop, and the memory of a story Perry had told her recently clicked. Yes! This could be the clue they needed to move on.
Unable to contain her excitement, she ran out of her room. Where was Mitch? She knocked softly on a bedroom door just down from her own. No answer. Then she heard music drifting from beyond the swimming pool.
She followed the sound until she reached the infamous hot tub. And Mitch. His dark head rested against the tile edge. The bubbling water was nestled among tropical plants, palms, orchids and other brightly colored flowers she’d never seen before. Mitch’s brother had created a jungle paradise inside his house, but when she studied Mitch’s face, expecting to see pure pleasure, she found tight lines of pain around his mouth, a furrow in his brow.
She’d known he was stoic, but he obviously had no intention of letting anyone know the true extent of his pain. After all the activity, his leg had to be hurting badly, because he looked like he was in agony. Well, he wasn’t the only stubborn person around here.
She walked across the tile and slipped into the water, her nightgown clinging to her frame.
“The water feels good,” she said quietly. “Is it helping your muscles?”
Mitch snapped upright, his hands dragging a towel into the water and covering his lap. “I thought you’d gone to bed.”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I looked through Perry’s box. I found a receipt, Mitch. For a wine-storage facility.” She couldn’t stop the grin.
Mitch shifted in the water, maneuvering himself so he sat directly opposite her. “Another lead. That’s good.”
She slid around the edge of the water. “Your leg’s giving you trouble?”
“Not really. Just trying to relax.”
“I could help.”
“Emily,” Mitch warned, “I used up most of my self-restraint when I let you go the last time.”
She moved closer and closer, until she was within arm’s length. This time, he didn’t back away. Cautiously, she placed her hands on his right thigh. The muscles rippled beneath her touch. “You’ve saved my life, you’re helping me find my son.”
“It’s my job.”
“Ouch. Okay, if that’s the way we’re going to play it, I’m your therapist. This is my job. Now shut up and let me do this.”
She moved closer, and with small circular movements, Emily worked the muscles, nightgown floating around her. His skin was taut beneath her fingers, his thigh firm and strong, even as she felt the damaged fibers knot and tug in resistance to her ministrations. Gradually, the tensions began to ease a bit. Emily was very aware of every breath Mitch took. Of the way his strong dark hands gripped the edge of the hot tub as if he fought not to reach for her.
Her movements grew slower, then stopped. She took in a deep breath, and Mitch moved, lightning fast, his own breathing shallow and more rapid than before.
Silently, Mitch grabbed the material of her nightgown and slid it back through the water until his hands rested on the wall on either side of her waist, the wet cloth of her gown pressed against her. She looked down and realized the thin material left no covering at all. She was practically nude.
Her heart pounded, and she lifted her gaze to his. His chocolate eyes had gone hooded and black. She could feel the desire pulsing through him. As her hands moved over his thigh, she brushed against the towel in his lap, and unintentionally the hardness beneath it. He sucked in a sharp breath.