They stepped off the elevator into a gorgeous rooftop garden. There were potted trees, flowers, and even patches of grass. There was an area with thickly upholstered outdoor chairs, a barbecue, fireplace, and twinkle lights overhead. And then there was the pool.
Maya assumed the pool had water in it and was… well, a pool. But she really had no idea, because as she turned to face it, Alex was just getting out.
He wore red swim trunks. And nothing else. It was kind of ironic, really, that her mouth went entirely dry, because there seemed to be a lot of water sliding off the contours and planes of his hard, lean body as he walked toward her.
He ran his hands through his hair, then down over his face, but he didn’t reach for a towel. Or a shirt. He came to stand right in front of her.
“Maya.”
She simply nodded. What with her tongue being stuck to the top of her mouth and all.
“What are you doing here?” Alex shifted his gaze to his cousin. “What’s going on?”
“Maya came by to drop off some books,” Austin said. “Right, Maya?”
Maya. Hmm. That word sounded familiar. But she couldn’t really focus on that right now. She was busy watching the water drops chase each other over his hard pecs and down the ridges of his abs.
She felt someone bump her from behind, and startled, she looked up. Into the green eyes that were watching her with a mixture of confusion and amusement.
“You brought me books?”
Then there was that deep, rumbling voice. And that smile. She felt her own mouth curl up. “Um, yeah.”
What was the question again?
“Hey, Austin, you don’t have to stay,” Alex said, his eyes never leaving Maya’s.
“Oh no, I’m fine. Totally good right here.”
“Austin. Leave.”
Alex’s voice had gotten more commanding, and Maya felt a tingle low and deep.
Oh, yes. She loved tingling low and deep. That hadn’t happened in far too long.
“Alright,” Austin said with a chuckle. “But now that your Supergirl is here, I’m shutting down the computer research.”
Maya didn’t turn to see if he was gone. There was water still clinging to Alex’s naked skin—and she didn’t blame it. Why would she possibly look anywhere else?
“You brought me books?” Alex asked again.
He was standing really close. Not close enough that she could lean slightly and lap up that one drop of water right in the middle of his chest, but close enough that she was able to see the light stubble on his jaw and the way his wet eyelashes clung to one another.
“I did… bring you… books,” Maya said, as the words slowly came back to her.
“Books about what?”
“Superheroes.” But if she did lean in and lick him, what would he do?
Alex ran a hand over his bare chest, wiping away some of the water, then ran his hand through his hair again.
For the life of her, Maya could not remember ever thinking the area under a man’s arm and down the side of his torso was sexy. But she did now.
“Thought we were going to email,” he said, his voice gruff.
Maya started to wet her lips but froze at the flare of heat in Alex’s eyes as he focused on her mouth. Oh, boy. She finished the motion slowly, fascinated by the way he watched the tip of her tongue.
“We were going to email,” she agreed. “But you had so many questions, I thought maybe this would be better.”
“There’s only one problem with that theory,” he said. “Now that you’re here, talking about superheroes is not even in the top three of the things I want to do.”
Lust flashed through her. She really wanted to take her jacket off before she overheated, but her arms were full of books. Books about a topic that was not in Alex’s top three at the moment. She definitely wanted to hear that top three.
She glanced around and noticed a small glass-topped table. She moved to set the books down and then pulled off her hat and jacket, tossing them onto the lounge chaise next to it. She fluffed her hat-hair as she faced Alex again.
“Let’s talk about that top three,” she said.
“You don’t know what they are?”
“I’m hoping that at least two of them match up with my top three.”
“You have a top three for what you want to do right now?”
She shook her head and went to stand right in front of him again. “More like a top ten.”
Alex sucked in a breath then blew it out slowly. “Maya—”
“Oh no you don’t,” she told him quickly. “You can’t suddenly play the we-can’t-be-alone card. You said top three first.”
“I know… dammit. It’s like I lose my mind when you’re around.”
He combed his fingers through his hair again, all those pec and shoulder and arm muscles bunching and flexing, and Maya gave a little sigh.
“I’m doing a few things around you I’m not used to too,” she told him.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, like having tingles where I haven’t tingled in a long time.”
