Alejandro held the glass of wine back out to me after swallowing half of it. I took it from him wryly. “Don’t you have a second glass? You don’t need to steal my wine.”

“I like taking what is yours.” He gave me a smirk.

Honestly, I should put him in his place. I handed him the glass back and reached for the second glass and poured myself fresh wine. “I’m only willing to put up with you because I feel bad your chicken dinner was interrupted.”

“I think for a woman who is so sweet and honest, that was a big fat fucking lie.”

I put my lips to the glass and sipped. I was only planning on one glass since I was trying to conceive. His words made me feel guilty. I wasn’t sure how sweet and honest I was. I had secrets that would infuriate him if he learned the truth. Secrets about Max that made me hesitate, doubt creeping in. Maybe it wasn’t right to involve Alejandro in my life, my secrets. “I’m not as sweet as you think I am.”

“I know you have a sexy side, that’s true.”

Turmoil swirled inside me. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“What are you talking about, baby?”

Nothing that mattered, I realized. I wasn’t planning to have a relationship with Alejandro. He wasn’t going to be my boyfriend, or an active father to my child. So it was irrelevant.

I settled on something that did matter. “Don’t put me on a pedestal. That’s all. I don’t want you doing this because you think I’m perfect, because I’m not.”

But he just ran his thumb down my cheek. “To me, you are perfect.”

“And you’re the one who is sweet.” He was. I could see in his eyes the sweet teen boy I had known. But it was more than that.

Alejandro was looking at me in a way that I hadn’t experienced in years. If I were honest, maybe ever. It was like he thought I was the moon and the stars and every sunset ever. Like it was a privilege to touch me. He had never been a man with a shortage of words but now he was doing his talking with his eyes. With his touch. It was the sexiest thing I had ever experienced.

He smoothed my hair back off my cheeks, cupping my flesh, and studying my face. His gaze swept over me and his eyes were lit with the fire of passion. He looked like I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“What I am is the luckiest fucking guy on the planet.”

What woman could resist that? Not me. “Sweet talk will get you everywhere.”

He gave me a soft kiss. “Good.” His lips brushed over mine, as he invaded my space. This kiss was deeper, hotter.

I wrapped my arms around his neck so I could meet him halfway. His touch was electrifying. Each kiss grew more intense, and I was gripping him harder, wanting more, when he bit my bottom lip and pulled back entirely.

Disappointed, I wiped my lip, breathing hard.

“Show me this pool,” he said casually. “I think I need to cool off.”

I glanced down at his cock. That thing wasn’t going anywhere. It seemed crazy to me that he didn’t want to just have me go at it. I was personally on board with a kitchen countertop moment. But what I was finding about Alejandro was he always had a plan.

“This way.” I grabbed my wine glass and headed through the living room toward the sliders that led to the back patio. The pool was small but it had beautiful lighting and a dense row of foliage on either side of the property to prevent a view of the neighbors’ houses.

Given that it was April, it was almost a guarantee to be a beautiful night and it didn’t disappoint. We hadn’t seen rain in days and it was warm, with a balmy breeze off the water. I breathed in the smell of the water. “Best thing about being home is definitely the water.”

“And here I thought the best thing about being home was us.”

Warning bells clamored in the back of my head. “There isn’t an us,” I said, gently, wanting to remind him of the reality of what I was asking.

He didn’t look offended or mulish. He just looked amused, like he thought I was naïve as hell. He peeled his T-shirt off, revealing all those glorious muscles. He had a scar on his shoulder I hadn’t noticed earlier. He sat down in a chaise and I dropped into the one beside him. “Where did you get that scar?” I asked, reaching out and tracing it with the tip of my finger.

“Believe it or not, tailgating at a Dolphins game. The wind blew our tent over and the metal support sliced me open like a fillet. It was a freak accident. Bled like crazy.” He gave me a grin. “I usually say I got it in a knife fight. It sounds cooler.”

That made me roll my eyes. “It’s not like you tripped over your own feet and cut yourself on a palm tree or something. That would be embarrassing.” I took another sip of the wine, then handed him the glass. “Here. You can finish this.” I felt nervous again for some reason.

Which was ludicrous. But I forged ahead. “So what’s the craziest assignment you’ve ever had as a bodyguard?”

“Crazy?” He shrugged, raising his knee and tapping it with his thumb. He drained my glass and set it down on the tile next to his glass. “This is Miami and I oversee the rich and famous. Everyone is crazy. Though I had one guy in particular who was about eighty years old and spent all day walking around his house completely naked. There was something both horrifying and awesome about that. I had to give the guy credit. He had no fucks to give, you know?”

“I never thought of myself as someone who cared what other people thought, but I am old enough now and introspective enough to realize that’s not true. I do care what people think. Is that bad?”

But Alejandro shook his head slowly. “No, that’s not bad. Being a person who thinks about how their actions will affect others is a good thing, Miranda. In a world of selfish human beings, you’re a rare and beautiful soul.”

There it was again. That look. Like I was something special and awe-inspiring. I couldn’t live up to that adoration, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy it. I leaned toward him. “Will you please kiss me?” I whispered, my body aching with want that went far beyond arousal. He was digging in, creeping into my heart, and it was scary, but at the same time so compelling.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

His hand snaked out and buried in my hair and he moved closer, closer, eyes locked on me. I sighed without meaning to, but wanting to remember this moment. Then his mouth covered mine and I closed my eyes, needing to hide from the enormity of what I was feeling. I focused on the feel of him. The soft brush of our lips, the smell of his cologne, the hard plane of his chest. I ran my fingers over his bare flesh, greedy.

When his tongue coaxed my lips open I gave in willingly, wanting him to sweep inside me, dominate me. He didn’t disappoint. While his mouth did delicious things to me, his hand lowered, caressing my skin from my neck down to the swell of my breast. He cupped the tender flesh, like he was testing the weight of my breast. Then his thumb brushed over my nipple through the fabric of my cotton shirt.

He made a sound of impatience and pulled back. Then he yanked my shirt over my head. My hair covered my eyes then tumbled over my shoulders. He was eyeing my chest with naked desire. “Come here.” He took my hand and pulled me forward to the end of the chaise.

Alejandro stood up and raised me to my feet. “What are we doing?” I murmured.

“Skinny dipping.” He reached behind my back and unlatched my bra. It sprang forward, slipping down my shoulders.

“My turn.” I undid the snap on his shorts and slid the zipper down. I couldn’t resist reaching inside and stroking his erection through the fabric of his boxer briefs. Just the feel of the pulsating bulge made my mouth water. I wanted to suck him, to take him deep, and make him lose that smirk. I wanted him raw and desperate.

But I wasn’t going on my knees on the tile. I had a better idea.

He kissed me again, while I continued to work on his cock with my palm. Then he was tugging on my pants, forcing them down. “Need help?” I asked.

“Why are these so damn tight? They look fantastic on you, but are a serious cock block,” he asked. “But I don’t need help, thanks. I refuse to give up. It’s my right to get you naked.”

I wasn’t sure that it was but I wasn’t going to argue with him. “You’re very stubborn.”

“No. It’s called intensity.”

Whatever it was, he had my pants down to my ankles. I stepped out of them. Alejandro slipped my bra straps down my arms and tossed the bra back onto the chaise.

Then he bent over and drew my nipple into his mouth and I gripped his biceps, shocked at how amazing such a simple touch felt. It had been too long since I had experienced this kind of easy desire. I felt like I had been working at it for years, making it happen. This was effortless. I moaned in disappointment when he stepped away. I had felt his cock with my hands, with my body, but I hadn’t really had the opportunity to study Alejandro naked. He was gorgeous. Every inch the charming and sexy man, his body hard and strong.

My hair was tumbling down over my breasts and I felt decadent being outside. The warm breeze was teasing my nipples to taut peaks. “This feels very naughty being outside naked,” I said.

“It’s about to get naughtier.”

I had no doubt.

I wasn’t known for naughty. Despite the fact that I had made a career out of both dancing and as a body double in next to zero clothing, I was a modest person. Max didn’t want me to be a porn star and since then, the men I had been with had been casual relationships and I wasn’t comfortable enough to be totally uninhibited. So here I was standing, thirty freaking years old, and I couldn’t say that I had experienced naughty in the truest sense of the word. It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted to or wasn’t capable of it, I just hadn’t had the opportunity.

Here was my chance. With Alejandro.

I trusted him.

So I stood there in my panties and heels and let both the breeze and Alejandro kiss my bare skin. When he pinched both of my nipples simultaneously, I gasped. “What was that for?”

“Because it feels good, doesn’t it?”

It did. He was kissing my neck and his grip tightened, rolling my sensitive flesh through his fingers.

I felt it straight in my womb and a rush of warmth was between my thighs. It hurt yet in the best way possible. I felt ridiculously naïve and uncertain, knowing that my sexual education had some serious gaps in it. There was nothing I could do except stand there and let him take the lead. Let him dominate the situation and me. Because he was good at it. He had a path he wanted to walk me down and I was willing.

“There’s music out here,” I said, voice breathy and nervous, as he pulled my earlobe between his teeth and bit at the same time he squeezed my nipples yet again. “Oh geez,” I blurted, without meaning to.

“Oh geez, there’s music? Is that what you mean?” he murmured. “Because I don’t hear any music. Or was it oh geez, that feels good, Alejandro, never stop?”

“I meant it feels good. But if you want music I can turn it on.” I felt the need to play hostess. It was ingrained in me, the desire to make others comfortable. It was because I was craving a home so much. I was envisioning having friends over, entertaining, making appetizers that everyone would love.

But right now I was stupidly nervous and I defaulted to trying to be accommodating. I stepped back. I was the one who needed the damn music. I needed to calm the hell down. “I’ll go put it on.”

For some reason I expected him to stop me. Or maybe I wanted him to stop me. To distract me from my own anxiety. But he didn’t. He just watched me walk over to the outdoor kitchen where there was an iPad in the drawer to work all the lights and music. I had to bend over but once the slow nineties music was playing softly from all corners of the yard, I stood there mostly naked and took a deep bracing breath. I could do this.

It was like owning the stage when I danced. It didn’t matter that the only thing I was wearing was panties and heels. If I had a bikini top on it would be like half the time at work. The difference was though that I didn’t want to play a part. I wanted to be me. The real Miranda. Not a dancer or a body double but just me. A woman who was stealing a few minutes with her man.

Except he wasn’t my man.

Hence the damn nerves.

But I thought about Alejandro inside me. The way his touch drove me wild. I felt my breasts grow heavy, my body tense and tight with need. This was me. This was me wanting him to fuck me hot and hard. This was me wanting to finally, for the first time, know what it meant to be a naughty girl.

So I strolled across the tile beside the pool. I had a tremendous amount of experience walking in heels and getting myself out of heels. My initial thought was to stroll up to Alejandro but I changed my mind and dropped down onto the ground by the edge of the pool. Knees up, I undid the straps of my heels first one, then the other. I slipped them off and glanced up, sensing Alejandro on the move.

Before he could influence what I was about to do, I stood back up and shimmied out of my panties. He made a sound deep in his throat. “Sit down,” I told him.

I did so myself and dangled my feet into the water. It was a perfect temperature. Refreshing but not cold. “Ah,” I said, tossing my hair back and arching my back so that my breasts were displayed to full advantage.

“You’re killing me,” he said, sitting down beside me. “Is the water cold?”

“No.” I slipped down into it, using my arms. Then I bounced on my tiptoes and maneuvered myself between his legs.

His eyebrows went up. “What is going on here?”

“I’m just finding a more comfortable position.” With that, I gripped the base of his shaft and took the full length of his thick cock into my mouth.

Miranda had a way of shocking me. First seeing her holding a knife. Then a gun. It was at odds with what I knew about her. But taking the initiative and sucking me? Totally fine by me, even if it was unexpected. She had the sweetest mouth and right now she was very enthusiastically going down on me. Watching her blond head bent over me, her tits bobbing in the pool, I felt that draw deep down into my balls and everything tightened. She was gorgeous and this was a fantasy come true.

I stroked her hair, overwhelmed by both tenderness and the urgent need to pound her mouth with my cock.

Settling for somewhere in between, I gripped her hair and encouraged her. “That’s it, baby. That feels amazing.”

Glancing up as she pulled fully back, she shot me a smile. It was the hottest fucking view I had ever had. I tugged harder on her blond strands, unable to resist. “Get back on there,” I told her, hearing how raw and gravely my voice sounded.

I was hanging on to my control by a thread. What I really wanted to do was take over, thrust into her. But I gritted my teeth and waited for her.

“Something tells me you like this,” she said.

“You could say that.” It was instinct to close my eyes, but there was no way I wanted to miss this view.

“How’s this?” She flicked her tongue over the tip.

I shrugged, amused by her flirtatious little smile. “It’s a tease.”

“Oh, so you want this?” She wrapped her lips around and sucked, drawing me halfway.

“Yes, I want this. I want it deep.”

Suddenly she gave it to me. I was fully engorged in her hot little mouth and I felt my balls tighten. I groaned without meaning to. I wanted to stay in control but I couldn’t help but express my pleasure at her very naked enthusiasm towards my cock. She was going hard on me now, finding a fast, hot rhythm that created a slick heat.

“That’s it, baby. You’re doing beautiful.”

I let myself enjoy her, but held on tight to my control, my body tense. My jaw was set and my knuckles were white, gripping her shoulders. Every time she slid her warm mouth down to the base of my shaft, I felt it to the base of my balls and all the way down to my toes.

But then she shifted and her breasts bobbed above the water, brushing against my thighs, wet and warm and full. It was too much and I didn’t want to deny myself her pussy. I needed her pussy.

So I yanked her back off of me. She looked up at me, surprised, making a little sound of pleasure as she wiped her swollen lips. Holy shit, she was stunning. The ends of her hair had been soaked with pool water and clung to her dewy flesh. Her nipples were a dusky pink and tight, water droplets rolling down her breasts. Her eyes were bright and wide, dark with lust. The corner of her mouth was turned up, like she was pleased with herself and her performance, as she should be.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Not deep enough? I can try harder.” She was resting on my knees, the water giving her enough buoyancy that I wasn’t concerned she was straining.

Her words nearly killed me. “You sexy little flirt. You know full well you had my cock as far back in your throat as it can go and that I fucking loved it.”

Miranda gave a little laugh. “Maybe. But there’s nothing to say I can’t try.”

I almost gave in. I almost let her take me back into her mouth and fuck me with those sweet lips until I came.

But I resisted. That could come another day. I had thirty. No sense in rushing anything. “Get up here.” I pulled her up out of the water by her forearms.

She squawked. “Alejandro! Stop.”

“Why? I want you closer to me.” I got her into my lap, her skin cool from the pool. Water splattered over me as we collided, skin on damp skin. Goose bumps rose on her flesh. “Mmm, this is better.” She was all juicy curves and plump lips.

Her knees were bent so she could rest in my lap facing me. “Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi.” I reached down and stroked between her folds. Miranda sighed. “What’s this?” I asked. “I found something wet that I want.”

“How do you want it?” She shook her head a little in an attempt to get her hair back off of her shoulders, but it clung there, damp.

“That’s a loaded question.” I sank my thumb into her body. “I want it every single way possible.” I kissed her. “But for now I want it wrapped around my cock just like this. I want you to lift yourself up just a little so I can fuck you. Can you do that, baby?”

She nodded eagerly. “Uh-huh.” She made little sounds of excitement in the back of her throat as she raised up her ass, all while I continued to tease at her clit with her own moisture.

I wondered if she knew how much she looked like an old-school porn star. She was a breathy seventies goddess, all full hips and big tits, teased-up blond hair, and wide doe-eyed innocence. It was unbelievable. She had the most amazing combination of a killer body and a sweet heart that made it seem like an act, even when she was either groaning with pleasure or seeming totally startled by how good it felt.

All I knew for sure was that I was one lucky son of a bitch because most men would give their right arm for a woman this damn hot sitting herself down onto their cock.

When her body connected with mine, her hands gripping my biceps, I lost all ability to think. I could only feel. And what I felt was the most intense ecstasy I had ever experienced.