Before he could make good on his compelling promises about taking her to his yacht, spoiling her a little, and making love to her a lot for the rest of the holiday weekend, Jacob had planned ahead to see through another promise he’d made, Harper realized.

Elizabeth was apparently off—or was she still in Napa on the mission Jacob had sent her on to watch over Regina Morrow? Harper didn’t have time to clarify the uncomfortable question, because Lisa—Jacob’s friendly cook—greeted them in the front entryway of his Tahoe mansion instead of Elizabeth.

“Dr. Amorantz is waiting for you in the den,” Lisa told Jacob as she reached for Harper’s duffel with a smile. Harper relinquished her bag dubiously.

“What’s she talking about? Who’s Dr. Amorantz?” Harper whispered to Jacob when he took her hand and led her through the great room.

Jacob explained in a hushed, clipped tone that Amorantz was there to give them exams and draw their blood, all for the purpose of allowing them to have unprotected sex.

“It should only take a few minutes,” he assured as they entered the hallway behind the stairs. “Then we can go and change and get out on the water.”

“I can’t believe you planned all this,” she told him, stunned. Jacob abruptly came to a halt when she spoke.

“I told you I was going to, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but—” A bark of laughter left her throat. “I just meant that I don’t know when you had the time. I’ve been with you all night and all morning.”

He shrugged slightly, as if he thought her concern was inconsequential. “It was easy enough to arrange. Amorantz is my private physician. He often makes house calls.”

His insouciant manner made her suspicion finally take shape.

“Jacob, have you done this before? With other women?”

His relaxed posture vanished. His face went hard and his stare suddenly seemed to bore down into her.

“No,” he said.

“It’s just . . . you make this all seem so routine.”

He grasped her upper arms and pulled her closer.

“There’s nothing routine about you. Nothing routine about us. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

Her mouth fell open at his fierceness. “Yes, I just—”

“You can’t believe that I’ve figured it out? Is that it? Just how stupid do you think I am?”

“Jacob, that’s not fair,” she hissed.

“Do you have a specific objection to us having medical tests to make sure we’re healthy for sex, other than the fact that you think I do this as a routine with women?”

“No. And I didn’t mean—”

“Then you have no grounds for concern. I’ve never done this before. I’ve used protection without fail in the past. I just have this . . . this . . .” Her eyes widened when he looked a little wild for a few seconds. “Compulsion to have you completely.”

She absorbed his frown. “You don’t look very happy about it.” She’d said out loud a thought she’d been having increasingly. Her heart jumped when he leaned down and claimed her mouth in a deep, hot kiss. He squeezed her arms, bringing her closer to him.

“I’m not happy about it at times, to be honest . . . usually when I’m not in your presence. Because when I’m with you, all I can think of is having you full throttle, no holds barred. Nothing between us. Nothing,” he snarled next to her lips. “Do you want to do this or not, Harper?”

“Yes,” she whispered irritably. “Because apparently, I’m every bit as compelled as you.”

He sunk his head again, but this time, she was ready for him. Their kiss was hot and wholesale.

And because of that tense, charged interaction between them in that hallway, Dr. Amorantz was forced to wait even longer than he already had.

The exam and blood test weren’t the most comfortable things in the world for Harper to do, given the fact that she didn’t even know Amorantz. Jacob had chosen well as far as a private physician, however. Amorantz was friendly, professional, and seemed very competent. The process was over relatively quickly and painlessly, at any rate, leaving Jacob and her to focus on the promise of spending the rest of the holiday weekend together.

Harper found her sense of vacation excitement mounting later that afternoon as they walked together onto Jacob’s dock, Jacob wearing swim trunks and a T-shirt, Harper a bathing suit, flip-flops, and a beach cover-up. Jim had just been sent ahead of them on a Jet Ski, his instructions to deliver a large picnic basket that Lisa had packed for them along with some other supplies to Jacob’s moored yacht. Harper got onto the Jet Ski behind Jacob.

“I’ve never been on one of these things before,” she told him, her voice brimming with excitement as she hugged his waist and pressed tight against his back.

“I’d ask if you wanted to drive it, but it feels too good having you as a passenger,” he said with his chin over his shoulder, his mouth tilted in amusement. She just pressed her smile against his sun-warmed T-shirt, all too happy to have him in the driver’s seat at that moment, as well.

When they reached his yacht, Jim was just getting on his tied-up Jet Ski, his errand complete.

“The ramp is down,” Jim yelled. The two men exchanged a wave, and Jacob circled the Jet Ski to the back of the yacht. He took them out a distance. Looking back over her shoulder, Harper saw what Jim had been referring to, a fiberglass ramp that descended from the bottom deck of the yacht into the water.

“Hang on tight,” Jacob said as he circled in the water, turning them back in the direction of the yacht.

“What?” Harper asked in confusion. Her eyes widened when he gunned the engine on the Jet Ski, and suddenly they were racing straight at the yacht. She tightened her arms around him, staring wide-eyed over his broad back. They were about to collide with the yacht any second. What was Jacob doing?

They hit the ramp and jumped out of the air suddenly, flying forward. Her stomach leapt into her throat. Her yell of surprise was cut off when they landed and slid to an abrupt, startling halt. Jacob had cut the engine. He stood, clambering off the craft onto his yacht as if jumping out of the water onto a boat was the most mundane of tasks. He noticed her stunned expression.

“You could have warned me,” she told him, half-amused, half-beleaguered as she stood on rubbery legs and took his hand.

“It was a lot more fun not to,” he said, and even though he wore sunglasses, she knew that behind the opaque lenses, his eyes were warm and gleaming with humor.

There was a lovely breeze coming across the wide expanse of brilliant blue water, but the sun was intense. Harper opted to lounge on the sectional outdoor sofa on the top deck, enjoying the warm sun while Jacob drove. She could see him piloting the yacht from where she reclined, her head propped up on several pillows. She languidly applied some sunscreen to her bikini-clad body, all too satisfied to watch his skillful handling of the craft from a distance.

After she’d finished applying the lotion, she took another sip of the delicious drink Jacob had made her when they came on board. He’d said he didn’t know if it had an official name, but he called it rum therapy. She started to get what he meant, lying there in the sun, her muscles growing heavy and warm and her mind going increasingly blank in regard to everyday concerns . . .

And about the increasing anxiety and the strange thoughts she’d been having about Jacob.

After a while, the engine cut and the boat slowed and came to a standstill in the glistening, serene waters.

Jacob approached a moment later, shrugging off his T-shirt. He slouched comfortably near her feet, one arm draped on the back of the sofa. He grabbed her foot and squeezed gently, kneading the muscles. It felt divine. She smiled, soaking up the image of his bronzed, muscular torso and casual posture. Jacob was always magnetically sexy, but she found him the most compelling when he was like this: relaxed, yet still emanating what she could only call potent amounts of sexual magnetism without appearing to even be aware of his power.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” she asked contently.

She sensed his stare moving over her body behind his sunglasses. There it was, she thought, a thrill going through her. His simmering sexuality and possessive aura were never far off. Having grown used to his checkouts, she didn’t need to see his eyes to feel the heat in his gaze.

“You’re right. This one is better,” he said, and she knew he referred to her teal blue bikini. His big hand transferred to her shin, his fingers massaging her calf. Her sex tingled in pleasure at his touch.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

“Your skin is warm.”

“The sun is hot.” His firm lips curved in a small smile. They stared at each other as he continued to slide his hand against her skin and mold the muscle to his palm. His massaging hand transferred to her thigh.

“I can’t get over how smooth you are. How soft.” His deep, mellow voice rushed over her, a huge factor in her growing sensual trance. So was the hot, drugging sun, the strong drink, the vision of his male beauty against the backdrop of a deep blue sky, not to mention his languorous, delicious rub of her muscles. His long fingers stretched upward on her thigh. He gently raked his blunt fingertips into muscle. She sighed in pleasure, the ache in her mounting at the nearness of his fingers to her sex.

“It really is hot,” he said quietly. “Do you want to go for a swim?”

“Okay,” she replied weakly.

His arm came off the back of the couch and he twisted slightly in his seat, leaning toward her. At the new angle, he grasped a good portion of her thigh with his large hand, rubbing her deep. She moaned softly.

“Or would you rather come first?” he asked.

Her lips parted and breath rushed out of her lungs. He really said the damnedest things sometimes.

“Harper?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I mean, if you want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?” He slid his hands beneath both her knees and hauled her toward him. She cried out in surprise at his sudden move, laughing when she came to rest with her thighs lying across his lap. Without any other buildup, he soberly drew her bikini bottoms down several inches and opened his hand on her lower belly. His thumb slid down between her labia, rubbing her clit. She gasped, her laughter forgotten.

“Feel good?” he asked, and Harper realized her eyes had fallen closed as her body tightened with pleasure. She opened her eyelids and saw him peering down at her.

“It feels fantastic,” she managed.

“Good. Just relax and enjoy it.”

“Jacob,” she whispered, her face tightening. He’d somehow caught the notes of her languorous, sensual mood, and now he played it. Amplified it. The pressure of his big hand on her belly felt wonderful. His thumb tapped and rubbed her slick clit unerringly. She could feel his arousal on the backs of her thighs, but the sensation of his swollen cock only added to the sweet, unhurried moment. With his free hand, he continued to massage her legs with lazy strength. The sun beat down on her, and somehow she was melting and tensing at once. She gave herself to the heat, simmering beneath his fingertip. And all the while, she was aware of his steady stare on her face. She’d never felt so prized.

So safe.

It didn’t take long until she was shaking in orgasm.

“That’s right,” he soothed even as his finger quickened, working the shudders out of her tensing flesh. “You’re so pretty when you come.”

A pleasure-infused moment later, he leaned down and kissed the skin just below the juncture of her rib cage.

She lifted her hand and combed her fingers through his short, burnished hair. He ran his lips along a rib, and she sighed in sublime pleasure. He lifted his head and looked down at her face, a small smile on his lips.

“Ready for that swim now?”

She blinked, dumbfounded by his question. She could feel his cock beneath her thighs. The engorged shaft pulsed subtly against her skin. “Don’t you want to—”

“Yeah,” he interrupted, as though he was saying the obvious. “But this was just for you.”

She sat up partially, propping her body up on her elbows. “But—”

“I’ll have my moments, Harper. Don’t have any concerns about that,” he cut her off wryly, scooping her legs up with a forearm beneath her knees and tipping her playfully off his lap. She caught herself with feet on the deck, her body twisting on the sofa. He glanced down at her naked hip and buttock, his stare sticking.

“Come on.” He stood abruptly. “Let’s get in the water before I change my mind,” he said, his mouth going hard as he held out a hand for her.

For the first time, Harper looked over the railing and saw where he’d anchored the yacht. They were in a small, brilliantly blue and emerald cove surrounded by granite boulders and majestic, towering pines. Instead of leading her down to the second deck to swim, where there was a small pool and deck, or onto the main deck, where they could have accessed the lake for swimming, Jacob led her over to a diving board on the top level.

“What do you think?” he asked her. “Are you up for it?”

She stood at the rail and looked down. Through the clear water, she could see all the way down to the bottom of the lake to the smooth boulders resting there.

“How deep is it here?” she asked Jacob.

“About thirty feet. If we make our way inland, it gets shallow. And there’s a sand beach. Good for swimming.”

“I haven’t taken a high dive in a long, long time.”

“Would you rather swim in the pool or off the foredeck?”

She turned and examined his face, searching. There’d been something in his voice just then. Or had it been her imagination? He still wore his sunglasses, though. She couldn’t discern any trace of emotion on his face.

“We could jump together,” he suggested quietly.

She blinked, the bright sun and his deep voice making her feel disoriented for a moment . . . giving her a profound sense of déjà vu.

“All right,” she agreed slowly.

He whipped off his glasses. A moment later, they stood together at the tip of the board suspended over the water, their arms wrapped tight around each other, her heart beating like crazy. She was a little anxious about the jump, but that’s not what was making her heart chug like a locomotive. It felt so secure, being wrapped in his arms and pressed against his solid body. It felt so good. He was still erect. His virility and strength seemed to flow into her, fortifying her.

And yet there was that lingering feeling of the unnamed, a feeling that raised the hair on her arms and nape and cast the vivid day and beautiful man with a glow of the surreal . . .

Almost like magic.

“You ready?” he asked, bowing his head down over her upturned face.

“Yes.”

“Jump away from the boat,” he directed.

She nodded, excitement bubbling in her veins. “On the count of three?”

“Okay. One . . .”

“Two,” she counted.

The second seemed to stretch.

Look where you’re going, not where you’ve been. The voice flew into her consciousness. Again, that feeling of incredulous disorientation came over her as she stared up at the amber, green, and brown pinpoints of color in his irises.

“Jake,” she muttered dazedly at the same moment that he shouted, “Three!”

And they were flying through the air, hugging each other like they thought their lives depended on it.

Hitting the cold, refreshing water with such force seemed to scatter her strange, dreamlike mood. Or perhaps her thoughts were so confusing, she willingly repressed them to fully glory in the moment.

They swam for over an hour in the serene, sparkling inlet, talking, playing, and holding each other in the shallow water. It was the most carefree and relaxed she’d ever allowed herself to be with him. She thought he seemed just as happy as her, as eager to forget the rest of the world and sink into the warm intimacy of their togetherness. He let her touch him as much as she wanted, and she relished in her free rein, running her hands all over his back and muscular arms, skimming them across his long legs while they were twined together. She wanted to touch him sexually, too. The cold water had dampened his former arousal somewhat, but his cock still felt long and firm as their bodies pressed together. When she started to cup and caress the delicious weight of his arousal in her hand, he halted her.

“Let it wait,” he said, drawing her hand away, and pulling her pelvis closer against his cock. They’d been clinging together in about five feet of water, Jacob’s feet on the sandy bottom and her legs wrapped around his hips. Despite what he’d said, she felt his cock swell as he pressed her sex against him.

“But you made me feel so good up there,” she murmured near his wet, firm lips. “I want to return the favor.”

He kissed her softly. “It wasn’t a favor. I did it because I wanted to. I like watching you come. I like knowing I made you feel good,” he said gruffly. His mouth fastened on hers again.

“Nothing you said is an argument for me not to make you come here and now. Everything you said is true for me, too,” she said breathlessly once their mouths parted.

His eyebrows went up in a droll expression at the same time his hands lowered beneath her swimsuit bottoms and cupped the cheeks.

“I wasn’t aware we were arguing. I was just stating a fact. I want to let it build.” She gasped softly at the feeling of him squeezing her bare ass lasciviously and grinding her pussy against his cock.

“It doesn’t really feel like you want to wait,” she said dubiously.

His grin broke free. He smacked her bottom as briskly as he could while underwater and she jumped.

“Do you want to learn how to drive the Jet Ski?” he asked her, pulling away.

And despite the fact that she was disappointed to leave his arms, his idea sounded interesting.

“Can I learn how to pop it up out of the water onto the boat like you did?” she asked, swimming after him toward the yacht.

“Maybe next lesson,” she heard him say dryly over his shoulder, and she laughed. She was reminded that not only was he a mind-blowing lover and sexy enigma: Jacob was also just really fun to be with.

After they’d played around on the Jet Ski in the bright sunshine for another hour or so, and Harper had become a competent driver of it, she told him she was starving. It was past time for them to head in, anyway, Jacob realized. Harper’s cheeks, nose, and chest were pink from the sun, and as they’d gotten off the Jet Ski, he’d noticed that her eyelids looked heavy.

They showered off on the outdoor shower enclosure and made their way to the galley. There, they investigated the contents of the picnic hamper that Lisa had prepared for them. They settled on freshly made salmon and California rolls along with a banana-and-mango salsa. They ate on the foredeck of the boat in the shade. By the time Harper had eaten their early supper and drank a half glass of white wine, she was having difficulty keeping her eyelids open. He was glad she was so relaxed. She looked happy, and that gratified him. He’d wanted that, for her to feel secure and carefree. He knew she was having second thoughts about the wisdom of going deeper with him.

True, he had his own doubts about his wisdom in demanding more from her. But he despised seeing Harper anxious about him . . . about them. And despite his concerns, both for himself and for her well-being, he was selfish. He wanted her wholesale.

“Come on,” he said presently, standing from the high-top table and reaching for her hand.

“Where are we going?” she asked, blinking and forcing her eyelids open.

“I’m taking you to bed.”

“Oh,” she said, suddenly looking more alert, the pink, full lips that had been torturing him all day curving into a smile.

“To take a nap. You look wrung out.” He gave a bark of laughter at her scowl.

“I didn’t know this was here,” she said from behind him a moment later when he’d led her downstairs and opened the door to a bedroom suite.

“Bathroom is through there.” He pointed at a door. He flipped back the comforter and the sheet on the large bed and waved her toward him. He forced his face into impassivity as he removed the pretty, sexy blue bikini she wore, the one that matched both her eyes and the shimmering alpine lake, and molded her body in a way that had made him fantasize repeatedly all afternoon, primarily about two topics: either burying his face in between the glory of her high, full breasts or the heaven between her thighs.

He jerked his gaze away from her pale, exposed breasts now, urging her toward the bed.

“You’re not getting in with me?” she asked as he pulled the sheet up over her naked body, and then the duvet. She’d definitely gotten sun today, and she looked like a sexy, sweet decadence against the dark gray sheets.

“I’m not tired,” he said, sitting at the edge of the bed. “I’m going to take the boat up the coast a bit and position us for the fireworks.”

“You mean the ones that you sponsor every year?”

“Who told you about that?” Her hair had mostly dried as they’d eaten their meal. He pushed some copper strands off her temple and smoothed them away from her face.

“Jim mentioned it the other night. But it’s common knowledge, isn’t it? That you sponsor the Labor Day fireworks for Tahoe Shores? I hope it is, because it was mentioned in an article we did for the holiday weekend version of the Gazette,” she added wryly.

“I guess it is generally known, yeah. The city council couldn’t make a secret of it.”

“You’re nicer than you want people to think you are.”

He paused in stroking her.

“I don’t care if people think I’m nice or a troll.”

“Liar. You’re a good person, and it bugs you when people assume otherwise,” she mumbled. A poignant feeling of longing went through him. Her utter confidence in him reminded him of the Harper of old. He wanted to believe her like he had when he was a kid, but his innocence was lost. He’d sacrificed it to become Jacob Latimer.

Since he couldn’t agree, he just caressed her silently for a moment. He loved to see her reaction to his touch. He always had, even when they were kids. It was fresh, immediate evidence that he meant something to her. Her reaction at the moment was for her eyelids to drift closed. Despite her obvious contentment, he found he couldn’t stop himself from setting something straight with her right then and there.

“Harper, honey?”

“Yeah?” she asked, her eyelids rising a fraction of an inch with apparent effort. The sun had really gotten to her. He was going to demand a lot of her later. That’s why he wanted to make sure she was rested.

“When we were on the diving board earlier, before we jumped?”

“Mmm-hmm”

“You called me Jake.”

Her eyelids snapped open wider.

“I . . . I did?”

He nodded, closely studying her reaction. Unlike on other occasions when he’d cautiously tested her, he thought he’d seen a flash of anxiety in her eyes.

“Why did you call me that?” he asked tensely.

“I don’t know,” she whispered warily. “Why? Is it a big deal? Jake is short for Jacob—”

“No one calls me that.”

She winced at his sharpness, and he cringed inwardly. She nodded in agreement. “Okay, I won’t anymore, then.”

“No,” he bit out. Recognizing how unreasonable he was being, he leaned down and kissed her brow, trying to smooth his uncertainty and confusion. He spoke quietly near her ear, like he was imparting a secret. “You can. If you want to, I mean.”

He stood and turned away so that she couldn’t see his irritation at his abrupt, irrational change of mind.