It was nearly midnight, but Allie was more awake than she’d been in years. Dressed, she stood at the pool’s edge, staring incredulously at the calm water. “We can’t go skinny-dipping!”

“Why not?” asked Drake, leaning over her shoulder to speak into her ear, his arms banded around her waist.

A naked, dripping wet Drake? She had to admit, she was tempted.

She would’ve thought after having the strongest orgasm in her life, she’d be sexually sated, but she was as aroused, if not more, than earlier.

Something about having him take control had allowed her to shut off that nagging little voice in her head that told her good girls didn’t have sex in public. Unfortunately, the voice was back with a vengeance.

She turned to speak directly to him. “It was one thing to get naked up on the roof, but it’s another to do it here where anyone can walk by or look out their window.”

Drake smirked. “Oh, I get it.”

“What do you get?”

“You’re chicken.”

She swatted his shoulder. “What are we? Ten-year-old boys?” He caught her wrist and brought her hand to rest above his heart.

“I just saw you naked, baby.” He waggled his brows. “I can attest to the fact neither one of us is a prepubescent boy.”

“Ha-ha.”

He slanted his strong lips over hers, a powerful reminder of how adult they were. Her body swayed into his, and in only seconds, she was lost again in the magic of the evening. She tasted herself in his kiss, which ramped up her arousal until a dull throbbing began between her thighs.

He lifted his lips from hers and cupped her nape. “You asked me to take control tonight. There was a reason I brought you to the roof. We stay at this hotel several times a month. I knew we’d be safe up there. Not to mention, I locked the door.”

His admission confused her. On one hand, he’d proven he’d keep her protected, but on the other, he’d deceived her. She smacked him lightly on the chest. “You made me think we could get caught.”

He frowned. “I’d never place you in a precarious position. I can’t guarantee we won’t be seen in the pool, but if you dive in wearing your panties and bra, then take them off in the water, the darkness will cloak your body.” Moving closer, he yanked her back into his warm arms. “If it doesn’t, I will.”

She believed him. Still the idea of swimming naked in a public pool intimidated her. While she wasn’t uncomfortable with her body, she cringed every time she had to change in a locker room. “Skinny-dipping wasn’t on my naughty list.”

“Ever do it?” His hands massaged her bottom, pressing her against the rigidness of his erection. Heat spiked in her core as he firmly kneaded the flesh of her ass, causing her resistance to ebb.

“No,” she answered breathlessly.

“Was it on your bucket list?” he asked in a strangled tone.

Before tonight, sex with the lights on was as kinky as she’d experienced. Her naughty list encompassed her fantasies, but she never really believed she’d find someone who would not only want to take the lead in the bedroom, but whom she could trust. Drake had impressed her this week with his intelligence, wit, and take-charge attitude. He’d seduced her without trying. Just by being him. The way he smiled as if he knew something she didn’t. The adorable way his wavy hair, in desperate need of a cut, flopped over one eye. The way his jeans molded to his perfect ass and pulled taut over his thighs.

Throughout the years, Taryn had spent a considerable amount of time talking about her big brother. So much Allie had started to develop a crush on a man she’d never met.

In the real world, Allie and Drake wouldn’t make sense. He was constantly in motion, living out of a suitcase as he led severe-weather-chasing tours and gathered data on tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards. Until six months ago, she’d lived a few miles away from her childhood home. He was outgoing. Friendly. Although she was pleasant to everyone, she preferred to spend Saturday nights at home drinking wine in front of a fireplace to hanging out at a bar. While he was obviously sexually adventurous, something as mundane as skinny-dipping unnerved her.

She shook her head. “It wasn’t on either of my lists.”

“What a shame.” He stroked his fingers along her collarbone. “It should’ve been. I guess we’ll have to add it on later.” In one swift move, he stripped off his shirt, giving her the first glimpse of his incredible chest. “Come on. I’ll go first.”

She itched to touch him. Smooth, golden skin over chiseled abs, defined delts, and a small thatch of light hair on his chest, the guy was perfect. How could she resist?

He winked at her as he unbuttoned his shorts and stripped down to his red boxer-briefs, giving her a more accurate assessment of his impressive arousal. She might have not made up her mind about skinny-dipping, but her body had already made its decision, her nipples tightening uncomfortably against the lace of her bra as if they couldn’t wait to be free.

With his feet at the edge of the pool, he looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. Then he leaped into the air and cannonballed like a carefree child. He shot up from beneath the surface and slicked back his hair, beads of water dripping off him.

Lucky water.

“Feels great.” He swam over to her and hung off the edge. With a mischievous smile, he plunked his underwear onto the concrete. “Now it’s your turn.”

All the moisture from her mouth slid south. If he took one little step back from the wall, she’d get a clear money shot, and the infuriating man knew it.

“Allie.” He didn’t say anything more, but she heard his demand in his voice. He was taking the choice away from her. Freeing her to do what she was too afraid to.

She bit her lip and nervously glanced into the windows of the hotel lobby. Empty. It was now or never.

With no time to waste, she quickly drew her tank over her head and slipped out of her skirt. Drake stared up at her with lust. She’d never get used to the feeling it gave her.

The feeling of being alive.

“One…Two…” On three, she jumped in. Goose bumps broke out on her body. “Oh my God. It’s cold!” She swam to him and hooked her legs around his waist to steal his body heat. Apparently Drake didn’t have a problem with shrinkage. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

“If I’d warned you, you might’ve not come in, and we couldn’t have that.” He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her neck. “Take off your clothes.”

She burrowed closer. “No way. It’s too cold.”

“I’ll warm you up.”

“I bet you will.”

“I promise no funny stuff.” He ran his hands up and down the backs of her arms and added, “Unless you ask for it.” His lips found hers, and he kissed her as if they had all the time in the world.

Her body melted from its warmth, and within moments she grew impervious to the cold. She leaned back and unclasped the bra. Sliding it down her arms, she watched Drake lick drops of water from his lips, his own gaze riveted to her chest. When she’d successfully removed the bra, he finally looked up and released her. Her heart thudded as she slipped off her panties and then dropped both garments next to his on the concrete.

“Tell me more about you,” Drake said, leaning back casually against the wall of the pool.

He wanted to talk? What was the point of skinny-dipping if they weren’t going to fool around?

“What do you want to know?” Ignoring the thrum of arousal low in her belly, she joined him along the wall, keeping her hands to herself for now.

“You mentioned a new job.”

“I’m a news producer. Sounds glamorous, but I assure you, it’s not. When I lived in Ohio, I worked my way up from intern to copywriter to morning weather girl and finally the evening news producer.”

He raised a brow and laughed. “Weather girl, huh? Didn’t know they still had those.”

The rich baritone sound of his laughter heightened her arousal. When will he touch me? “They don’t—technically. My official position was weather anchor, but no one hid the fact I was hired as the viewers’ morning wake-up call.”

“I’m trying to picture it.” He closed his eyes. “Did they make you wear a bikini underneath a yellow raincoat?”

She swatted his shoulder. “No, nothing as obvious as that, but I was encouraged to wear tight, low-cut clothes and to flaunt my assets.”

He opened his eyes and took her hand, lacing their fingers under the water. “If you hated it, why’d you stay?”

Her pulse picked up tempo, and euphoria, hot and sweet, rushed through her veins. The physical contact between them wasn’t sexual. It was…more. A feeling of connection.

“I didn’t hate it. I didn’t enjoy the lack of respect, but I’ve always loved the science of weather. I knew if I stuck it out, I’d eventually move into a better position.”

His thumb brushed figure eights on her palm. “Why’d you leave?”

The touch soothed her, easing the way to discuss the most difficult time of her life. “A year and a half ago, when the doctors diagnosed me with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I realized I’d never taken a risk in my life. I decided when I got well, I’d live my life differently. I’d always wanted to live in a city like New York or Chicago, so I sent out a couple of job applications to the cities’ news stations.”

She hadn’t thought she’d ever hear back, much less get a job offer. It had given her the confidence she’d lacked and confirmed her decision to move was a good one.

“And the bucket list?” He tugged on her hand and brought her to stand in front of him.

“That was all your sister’s idea. I’d already accepted the job in Chicago when I developed pneumonia. She wrote a list of activities we’d do together once I got better. I think it was also a way for us to stay connected when I moved away.”

He inched closer, his erection grazing her stomach. “Whose idea was it to come on my tour?”

Tonight was about trust, but so far, she’d only given up bits and pieces to him. She trusted him physically and sexually. Could she trust him emotionally? She searched inside and made a decision. He deserved the truth.

“Mine.” She slid her hands up his chest. “When I told you about my cancer and the bucket list, I wasn’t exactly forthcoming.”

“Oh no?” His body tensed underneath her palms.

“I did want to see a tornado, and it was the first item on the list, but there was another reason.” She blew out a breath. “Taryn had always talked about her brave older brother. One day, she showed me a picture. The one from your Web site of you standing on the hood of your car with a tornado in the background. I…wanted to meet you.”

She waited for him to respond, but she was greeted with only the sound of those damned crickets chirping. His mouth opened, then closed again. Embarrassed, she face-planted into his chest. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you, but I didn’t know how—”

Strong fingers tipped up her chin, and he kissed her, their teeth clanging together as his tongue swept into her mouth, searching, seeking, in a hungry claiming, both raw and primal. Fire zinged to all her nerve endings, the tightening in her nipples almost painful when they brushed against him. She whimpered when he removed his lips from hers.

“I’m flattered.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “You’re not the only one who was interested. Taryn and my parents have raved about you for years. We were supposed to meet once at my family barbecue, but you stood me up.”

“How could I have stood you up if I didn’t know we had plans?” She laughed. “Believe me, if I’d known you were there waiting for me, I might have gone. I think I know which barbecue. I was having a rough time with my treatments, and your sister tried to convince me hanging out with your family would cheer me up. I wonder if she’d intended to introduce us that weekend.”

“I wish I could’ve been there for you when you went through it all.”

People said things like that to her all the time, but when Drake said it, she almost believed him. Still, she didn’t want to talk about cancer or missed opportunities. Tonight was about living in the present.

She ran her fingers through his wet hair. “That’s sweet, but it’s all in the past. I’m healthy, and I have my whole life ahead of me now. Thanks to you, I’m well on my way to fulfilling everything on my naughty list.”

He twirled her around to press her back against the pool wall. “We don’t have to do it all tonight. Maybe we could leave a couple items for another time.”

Her throat grew tight. “Drake…Whatever this is between us, it ends tomorrow morning when I get on the airplane.”

He moved back from her. “It doesn’t have to. I really like you, and I know you feel the same.”

“I do, but—”

“Just think about it.”

She nodded, deciding it was better to agree than to spend the rest of their short time together arguing. As much as she had already grown to care about him, she meant what she’d said. There was no future for them. She couldn’t give him anything more.

But when she was in his arms, his mouth on hers, she forgot this was all a fantasy. For one night only.