Rescue Me(12)

And dammit if she didn't have his body reacting to her all over again in that tiny excuse for a swimsuit.

Brandon lifted his hand in greeting and Meredith turned her head in Cole's direction, stumbling over herself when she saw him standing and watching them approach.

Brandon leaned into her attentively. Way too intimately for Cole's liking. He was unable to fight the sudden rush of jealousy as Brandon said something in her ear.

Then they were on the pier, directly in front of his slip. Meredith was wearing dark glasses so he couldn't see her eyes, but her open mouth indicated she was just as surprised as he was. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her, but acknowledged in the recesses of his brain that Brandon was speaking to him.

Cole forced himself to focus on Brandon. "This is my sister, Meredith. Meredith, my old friend and your new instructor, Cole Phillips."

Sister. Sister? This was not at all what he'd envisioned when Brandon told him he had a sister that needed to be shown how to have a good time. As far as he could tell, she knew how to do that just fine on her own. Conflicting feelings of relief and panic swept through him. Thank God she wasn't Brandon's girlfriend. That would have been a fist fight waiting to happen. But he didn't think being his sister was much better. It might actually be worse.

He'd almost slept with his best friend's sister.

He ground his teeth together and realized he was still staring at them and hadn't spoken. Extending his hand to Meredith, he debated what to say. She hesitated, so briefly that he almost missed it, then flashed a bright smile as she placed her hand in his. "Nice to meet you," she said.

Her tone of voice exuded calm confidence, and if not for her shaking hand Cole would have thought she was completely unfazed. That tiny indication let him know she was just as thrown off as he was. She'd had no idea who he was. And why would she? In the span of a heartbeat, he determined that he had to keep their secret.

"Nice to meet you as well," he said, going for a mix of politeness and detachment. Her relief was visible but was quickly replaced with a grimace when he added, "Your brother has set you up in good hands." An image of his hands on her body flashed through his mind, and the flush creeping up her neck made him quite sure she was thinking of the same thing.

Brandon clapped him on the shoulder a little harder than necessary. "Thanks, man. I know you'll do right by my sister." His implication was obvious by the emphasis on the last word. He was making it clear that he expected Cole to remain professional.

And he had every intention to. This woman had already gotten under his skin, which was the first reason he needed to keep his distance. Being Brandon's sister made it even more imperative that he not get involved with her. He'd get through the scheduled lesson and hope he could shake the unfamiliar feelings she'd stirred up, then he could be sure to stay away from her for the next two weeks.

"If it goes well," Brandon continued, "it would be nice if you could give Meredith a few more lessons while she's here. I'm not able to spend as much time with her as I'd like, but you can keep her busy on the water."

Shit.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to keep me entertained?" Meredith asked sweetly, but Cole could see something simmering under the surface of her carefully blank face. "I have plenty of ways to keep myself busy." She didn't appear to want to be thrown together with him any more than he did, but the idea of her keeping herself busy, potentially with someone else, had him speaking before he could stop himself.

"You may find that sailing with me is entertainment enough." She looked at him sharply and he grinned.

"We'll see about that."

"Play nicely," Brandon interjected, squeezing his sister's hand. "That goes for you too." He pointed a finger at Cole and gave him a hard look that was unmistakable.

Cole gave him his most angelic smile. "Always."

"I'll see you later today." He turned back to his sister. "Maybe for dinner?"

Meredith nodded and smiled for the benefit of her brother, but the minute his back was turned, her pulse-igniting smile turned into a seething scowl.

Oh, boy.

*





Her headache was back full force. This had to be some kind of sick cosmic joke. The man she'd thrown herself at the night before was her brother's friend. And apparently her go-to man for all things water related for the duration of her trip. Trying to process the turn of events, she groaned aloud and watched her brother's retreating figure fade into the distance.

She reluctantly turned back to the boat, the massive shirtless man who was surely descended from the gods causing her to stop breathing altogether. Her foggy memory still denied her the pleasure of remembering just what he looked like without his clothes, but what she saw before her was pretty damn amazing.

He jumped down from the bow and stood directly in front of her, and her fingers flexed with the need to feel the ridges of his superhuman abs beneath her hands.

"So..." His voice cut into her thoughts, bringing her back to reality as her eyes snapped up from his tanned chest to his eyes. They were so dark they were almost black. Knowing she'd been caught staring, she cleared her throat and shook her hair back, trying to maintain some degree of composure.

"I think we can both agree that last night was a mistake." Might as well clear the air if they were going to be stuck together the rest of the day.