Page 22 of Forbidden Kisses

Jeremy went first up the ladder, and Riley climbed in front of me. I nearly walked face-first into her perfect, round ass. I’ll never know how I managed to bite back a groan.

I looked sideways as I went, trying to think more about the upcoming call I needed to make, then numbers and more numbers. I needed to distract myself. Her bikini was simple, but her body made it breathtaking. I was so attracted to her that I could barely get my thoughts together.

"Okay, Dad, you first," Jeremy said once we were all at the top. "Then you can catch me."

"All right.” The sooner I got off this platform, the better. There wasn’t enough space for us all, and I was far too close to Riley. I lowered myself and went down the slide.

"Oh, Jeremy, pity we don't have a camera," Riley said loudly.

I looked over my shoulder as I flew down the slide. "What do you mean?"

I hit the water as gracefully as a whale and swallowed a mouthful of water. When I got up, I saw that Riley and Jeremy had succumbed to a fit of laughter.

My entire body instantly relaxed. I hadn't seen my boy laugh like this with anyone besides my youngest brothers. It was great that he and Riley hit it off so well, but I couldn't see any way of persuading her to continue being his nanny once her new job started. I knew lawyers worked crazy hours, so it definitely wouldn’t work.

Then Jeremy pointed to the slide, and Riley hurtled downward. I reacted far too late. She slid down so quickly that she slammed right into me. I instantly gripped her arms, pulling her up. She burst out laughing, spewing water straight into my face.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

"Are you hurt?" I asked.

She opened her eyes. "Wait, let me rub my eyes. I got some water in them.” Closing them, she wiped the backs of her knuckles across them before opening them once more. “No, I'm not hurt. Are you? I slammed into you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Oops, I'm sorry. Rule number one, always get away from the slide once you land.” She waved me forward. “Come on, let's move."

I chuckled. "Really? Now you're all about rules?"

She smiled sheepishly.

"Why did you distract me when I was deciding on the best way to go down the slide?"

"Oh, Duncan. You don't see anything wrong in that sentence? 'Deciding on the best way to go down the slide'? It's meant to be fun!"

“Okay, that does sound wrong," I admitted. When did I become such a stick-in-the-mud? I’d always thought I was the cool brother—responsible, yes, but cool. Now I was worried about myself.

"Yes, but we’ll loosen you up yet," she teased.

Jeremy didn't come down the slide right away, and I realized that he was talking to a neighbor friend of his, Andreas.

"Those two are going to chat for a while, probably exchanging stories about Spider-Man," I said. "Let's you and I move away from the slide and give them space."

She nodded.

We headed to the edge of the pool. Instead of taking the stairs, Riley pushed herself up on the edge… or at least tried to. She gasped and then dropped back into the water. She was holding her hands weirdly around the left strap of her bra.

"What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, my swim top came undone," she said.

Numbers. Think numbers, Duncan.

It wasn’t working.

“I think I can tie it back," she mumbled.

She was red in the cheeks as she straightened up. She clumsily tried to tie it behind her neck, then let out a frustrated groan.