Darcy didn’t respond, and thankfully he dove into the pool at that moment, giving her a chance to regain her composure. She bent down and took the hem of her shorts out of one of the puppy’s mouth, then tried to pick them all up, intending to move them to a more private place. But Sergei again caught her attention as he swam laps in the pool. Back and forth, his powerful arms straining to push harder through the water. She couldn’t remember how many laps the man swam, but when he stopped and stood up, walking out of the pool, she again had to tear her gaze away, feeling awkward and clumsy as she tried to pick up the puppies.
It was worse when he sat down in one of the nearby chairs, drying off the pool water with one of the towels. “So are you going to explain to me why my patio chair cushions are now completely infested with fleas due to these ….creatures?” he asked, looking down at the pile of puppies that had decided to take a nap, all piled on top of one another, noses tucked under arms and tails wrapped around heads, as if they were still in the womb and didn’t mind the crowded nature of their dog pile.
“I found the momma down in the village and she was pretty hungry. I had no idea she had a brood of puppies she was also protecting, but they aren’t infested with fleas. They’ve had a rosemary bath every day for the past several days and I haven’t seen any evidence of additional infestation. They’re only eating leftovers and are really becoming healthy once again. I hope you don’t mind, but they’re not any trouble I promise.” She finished when she saw the amused expression in his eyes, then turned away to scratch the momma dog’s ears.
“What are their names?”
Darcy shrugged and glanced down at the brood. “I won’t name them since I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep them.”
“Naming them implies ownership?”
She shook her head. “Naming them indicates commitment. And since I don’t know if I’ll be here tomorrow or if you’ll find the recalcitrant fiancé, I don’t want to become emotionally involved with the little guys.”
Sergei looked at her hand gently petting the momma dog, whose head was in her lap staring up at her adoringly. He then looked back at Darcy, raising his eyebrow. “You’re not already emotionally involved?”
Darcy snatched her hand away, only to bring it back when the momma dog nudged her hand with her cool, black nose. “I’m trying not to be.”
“What do you intend to do with them?” he asked.
She looked up at him, for the first time realizing that he might not allow them into his house. “Oh, well,” she bit her lip and looked down at her new “family”. “I guess I was thinking to take them back with me when I leave here but I don’t want to take them away from you if you wanted to keep them.”
“Why would you take them away from their current family?”
“Because Jose just left them here. I’m sure he didn’t realize that the adult was pregnant or he wouldn’t have done something so heartless but since they’re here, would you mind terribly if I took care of them?”
“And you’re sure your apartment will allow pets?”
Darcy laughed. “Oh yes, have no fear about that!” she replied, thinking about the house full of pets that ran across the pastures chasing the horses and cows Matt kept near the barn. “They’ll have plenty of room.”
“She’s pretty mangy,” Sergei said with disdain. “You realize that your adoration of these scruffy animals is just another piece in the puzzle. Soon, I’ll have you completely figured out, my little hummingbird.”
“I’m really not that much of a mystery,” she said quickly, wanting to throw him off of the issue. The more banal she appeared, the less interested he would be.
Standing up, she started to walk over to the table for a glass of ice water, needing something to quench her suddenly dry mouth. If she could, she would have walked away, leaving him alone with his puzzle. But she couldn’t leave the puppies so close to the pool and they were sleeping, and she didn’t have the heart to wake them.
Darcy gasped as she felt the hard muscles against her. He didn’t stop there. Sergei lifted her up so that her face was a bit closer to his. “You’re going to have to deal with this attraction, Darcy. It isn’t going away and the more we ignore it, the strong it becomes.”
She gasped when he brought her closer, his mouth covering hers and she didn’t even notice when his damp bathing suit got her own shorts wet, too amazed at the fire that leapt up as he kissed her.
His lips were hard, unyielding and Darcy was unable to resist the pull of his scent, his touch. Her hands, which had been wanting to touch him, feel him earlier, wrapped around his neck, holding him close as her mouth was ravaged by his. When her mouth opened, his tongue invaded, touching her, taunting her into participating in the kiss. Darcy could no more resist him than she could fly off this island. So when he pulled up her right leg so that it was wrapped around hers, then the left, she rubbed her body against his, feeling more of him than she’d ever felt from a man. Glorying in the way his parts pressed against hers, his muscles rippling under her hands, thrilling her as he tore his mouth from hers and moved down to her neck, kissing, biting, nibbling…Darcy gasped as he found one spot after another that created more and more heat, inching up a feeling she couldn’t define but made her press against him, rubbing her body in an urgent need to find some sort of relief. But each time she moved, the feelings only intensified, not eased.
When he laid her down on one of the chaise lounges, Darcy wasn’t even aware of the change in their positions. All she knew was that her body was on fire, needing to feel him and touch him. When her shirt came off, tossed over her head somewhere, Darcy had a mild impression of fresh air on skin that had previously been covered, but then his mouth covered her breast, his lips finding her nipple through the white lace bra and gently nudging the fabric away to find skin. When his mouth covered her nipple without the fabric, she arched into his mouth, giving him more access and pulling his head down for more. When he moved to her other side, she cried out in protest, but was desperate when his mouth bit and nibbled gently at her other breast, giving it equal attention.
With a groan, he stood up and pulled his swim suit off, then reached down and slid her shorts off, his eyes flaring with heat as he looked down at her shyly covering her nakedness.