Forbidden Heat (15 page)

She released Jake’s cock and stepped away. He smoothed down his robe.

“So you won’t be choosing between us anytime soon?” Jake asked.

“Not if I don’t have to.”

Of course, she knew it wouldn’t be a matter of her choosing. They would choose each other. It was as simple as that.

Danielle unfastened her shorts and pushed them off, then folded them and placed them in her beach bag. Jake removed his shirt and rolled it up, then set it on the picnic table they’d set their cooler on. Sunlight glittered on the water, and several windsurfers skimmed across the surface. One sailor swung his bright-colored sail around, sending his board curving in a new direction. Danielle watched as a young woman stepped from the dock onto her board and took off on the wind. Her companion followed suit, and a moment later they were in the middle of the bay sailing side by side.

“Trey seems to have had some luck,” Jake said.

She glanced across the beach to the grassy peninsula where the rental stand was and saw Trey heading back toward them, a smile on his handsome tanned face. The breeze rippled through his short spiky hair, the sunlight accentuating the blond highlights in the sandy-colored mass.

When they’d arrived and seen the parking lot full and the crowd at the rental booth, they’d resigned themselves to the possibility that they wouldn’t be windsurfing today. Trey had gotten in line while Jake and Danielle gathered their things and took them to the beach to claim a picnic table.

“I got two boards,” Trey said, holding up two slips of paper.

“Only two?” Jake asked.

“I figure we’ll take turns showing Danielle how to use the board.”

Jake turned to Danielle. “I thought you already knew how to windsurf. We taught you before you moved to Boston.”

“That was a long time ago. I haven’t been on a board since.”

“Let’s fix that.” Trey reached for her hand.

She placed her hand in his larger one, enjoying the feel of his large fingers wrapping around hers.

“Don’t forget your water shoes.”

She pulled the blue rubber shoes Trey had brought for her from her bag, knowing they were a wise precaution against getting cut by the sharp clam shells on the sandy bottom of the lake. Why he had a pair of ladies’ size 7 shoes on hand, she didn’t know . . . and didn’t ask. The tug of his hand drew her forward as he crossed the sand to the grass, then toward the shore.

“That’s us. Numbers five and twenty-seven,” he said, gesturing to two windsurfing boards lying on the grass by the water’s edge. “The last two.”

Number 5 had a bright blue-and-green sail, while 27’s sail was purple with bands of turquoise and hot pink.

She gravitated to 27.

“I knew you’d like that one.” Trey pushed the board into the water.

Danielle sat on the grass and dropped the shoes into the water, then dipped her feet in. Goose bumps rose along her legs. “It’s cold.” She tugged on one shoe, then the other.

“It’ll be fine once you’re used to it.” Jake pulled on his shoes, then stood up and waded into the water, guiding number 5 ahead of him. When he was thigh deep, he sat on the board, then pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed the boom of his sail, then drew it upward. He tipped the slack sail until the wind caught it, and deftly sailed away.

Trey pushed number 27 into the water. “Here, climb on.”

She sat on the board and drew her legs onto it, then knelt as Trey guided the board deeper into the lake.

“Hang on.” He grasped the board, then hopped onto it.

She hung on to the sides as it rocked, then he stood up and the board stabilized. Slowly, she stood up in front of him.

“Pick up the sail,” he instructed.

Cautiously, she leaned down and grasped the boom, then lifted it slowly, keeping her weight carefully balanced on the board. Trey grasped the boom, too, his muscular arms around her, his hands right beside hers.

“Like this. Remember?”

He shifted the boom until the wind filled the sail, and then the board began to move . . . slowly, at first, then picking up speed. A tangle of memories wafted through her brain. Of Trey on the board behind her just like this. Of his body pressed against hers. His closeness sent her off balance. . . . Not physically. Physically, he kept her stable and skimming across the water quite nicely. Her emotions, however, somersaulted through her in wild disarray.

She’d wanted him so much that last summer. It had been building all year, and when he’d taken her on the board . . . when his body had been so close . . . his breath brushing across her nape . . . she’d almost died from yearning. But he belonged with Jake. And for the first time, she admitted to herself that Jake and Trey were one of the reasons she’d switched schools all those years ago.

And now, here she was in the exact same situation again. As she leaned into Trey’s body, she realized she wanted him to want her.

Well, he did
want
her. The bulge against the back of her bathing suit told her that. . . . But she wanted to be . . . special. That one person he’d want to spend a lifetime with. Which was crazy, especially since she realized she felt exactly the same way about Jake.

How could she want both men to want her as his one and only?

Especially since her whole mission was to bring the two of them together.

Obviously, she had these feelings because the two had been paying attention to her. Treating her special. But that was because they were her friends, not because they planned to forge a lifetime partnership.

Now that she’d finally opened herself to these men, it only made her realize how badly she wanted a lifetime companion . . . someone who would love her forever . . . stay with her forever . . . and that was causing her to jump at anyone who showed her any attention. How pathetic was that?

She had to keep things in perspective.

Trey’s fingers slid over hers as he guided her to shift the boom and the board began to turn. She shifted her weight on her feet to balance as the board tipped into the turn, then straightened out under Trey’s guidance.

“You know, I loved it when we used to come out here and windsurf together. Especially when I was teaching you.” His lips nuzzled her neck, sending tingles down her spine. “In fact, you caused me some serious thinking.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because . . . you used to do this”—he pressed his groin, and the large bulge in his trunks, against her back— “to me. Which caused me quite a bit of confusion, since I thought I was only attracted to men. Yet, all I had to do was get close to you to get this reaction from my body.”

“You mean you were . . . attracted to me back then?” He had told her he and Jake had wondered about making love to her, but she hadn’t thought it had been an actual physical attraction.

He chuckled. “That’s an understatement.”

“I hope I didn’t . . . I mean, you and Jake . . . it didn’t cause any problems, did it?”

Oh God, could she be the reason they broke up?

“Not exactly problems. In fact, after a day of windsurfing with you, Jake and I would have the best sex ever. I talked to him about it, though. Discussed my confusion. He was very understanding.”

“He didn’t get mad . . . or hurt?”

“I don’t think so. It’s not like I acted on that attraction. And you had the same affect on him.”

As their board approached a clump of other windsurfers crossing in front of them, he guided the boom around so they changed direction again. “He’d been with women before. He knew he was attracted to both sexes. He also knew I’d never been attracted to a woman before. He was quite willing to talk to me about it.”

“That must have been hard.”

“I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it. I still wanted to make it work with Jake, even though deep inside I think we both realized then that what we had wouldn’t last forever.”

Her heart compressed at those words. Why couldn’t it last forever? But that was long ago, she reminded herself. Maybe Trey had needed to explore . . . to test his desires and be with other people. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t find happiness now with Jake.

As they leaned a little to stabilize the board after bouncing over another board’s wake, Trey’s arm brushed along hers.

Did it have to be Jake, though? If Trey had been attracted to her then—she’d been the first woman he’d ever been attracted to!—then maybe . . . could she have a chance at happily-ever-after with Trey?

Her stomach churned. How could she even think such a thing? She knew how Jake cared for Trey.

“I did decide I needed to put some distance between you and me, though. You were leaving anyway, but that’s why Jake took over your lessons.”

She had felt it . . . Trey’s withdrawal back then. She had felt it as a coldness . . . him releasing their friendship . . . ready to move on. Those feelings were blown out of proportion . . . she knew that now . . . but at the time, she’d been vulnerable . . . leaving for a new place . . . having to start developing friendships over again. If they could be put aside so easily as Trey seemed to with her . . . She’d fallen into believing that friendships weren’t to be trusted either. They were dangerous to get involved in, because they hurt when they ended . . . and they would always end.

Now she realized that Trey had simply been protecting himself. And Jake.

And nothing about him had been cold, she realized now. She had simply sensed the loss of the warmth she’d felt when she’d been around him. Because he had withheld that to protect his relationship with Jake. Which she admired immensely.

“Hey, you two.” Jake sailed toward them, then turned until he glided along the water beside them. “How about lunch?”

Had Jake noticed a closeness between them, just like long ago, and this time wanted to stop it short? This time, had he decided to win Trey no matter what?

No. From everything she’d seen, Jake would give Trey all the time and space he needed to figure out what he wanted.

Maybe too much time and space.

After lunch, Jake suggested Danielle take his board and he’d watch while she went solo. She placed the board along the dock and stepped aboard, careful to stay balanced while the board drifted from the wooden planks. She picked up the sail and cautiously shifted it until it caught the wind. It pulled against her arms and she sped up. She shifted it, going faster than she liked, then glided along at a comfortable speed.

She crossed the bay, back and forth, getting a good feel for the board and the sail. A young fellow along her left side sped across the water, then bounced over a cross-wake and fell into the water. Danielle turned to avoid his board and sail as he pulled himself back onto the board.

“Hey, Jeff, good job.” Another young man, who looked so much like the man he called Jeff that they must be brothers, stopped beside him. “You’re getting better with the speed.”

Danielle felt her board picking up speed and quickly tilted the sail and slowed down a little. On shore, Jake waved at her. She turned and glided toward him.

“Dani, you’re doing great, but you seem to be afraid to take a chance.”

She tipped her head. “What do you mean?”

“It’s like you’re afraid to get wet. If you want to learn . . . and get really good at windsurfing . . . then you need to push yourself. Take a chance on getting wet.”

“But the water’s cold.”

He jumped into the water and swam toward her board, then grabbed onto it. He flung one arm up and grasped her ankle.

“I think it’s time you got wet.” He tipped the board as he pulled on her ankle and she plummeted into the water.

She pushed her head above water and sucked in a breath of air, then swam straight for him and lightly whacked him on the side of his head. He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his body. His long, hard body.

He pulled her in for a kiss, and as soon as his warm lips met hers, she forgot all about the cold of the water.

He grinned at her. “So now you’re wet, you can take some chances. Hop back on the board and push it. Make some mistakes. You’ll have more fun in the long run.”

She climbed back onto her board and picked up the sail. She caught the wind, and this time she didn’t back off when it pulled her past her comfort zone. She rode the wind. Faster and faster. When she found she was getting a little far out, she eased the boom around—too fast, and tumbled into the water. Quickly, she climbed back on the board. As she sped toward shore again, she saw Jake waving at her, a big smile on his face.

She swung her boom around, trying to turn faster than she had before, and tumbled into the water again. She pulled herself up and began again. After a few tries, and several falls, she could turn her board fairly fast and, although a little wobbly, without falling.

“You’re doing great, Danielle.” Trey pulled in behind her, matching her speed. “You’re really improving.”

“I took Jake’s advice. He told me I should take some chances and not be afraid of falling in.”

He nodded. “Good advice.”

Thirteen

Trey sipped his green tea, then set the cup on the coffee table. Hickory lay curled up beside him, purring softly. Trey petted him as he flipped through the channels on the television, but nothing interesting caught his eye. Of course, he’d much rather be sitting here with Danielle. She’d left only an hour ago and he missed her already.