Page 50 of To Catch A Rogue

How the hell was he going to manage this? His condition was quite emphatically clear. Even in the faint moonlight she wouldn't be able to miss it, and while they'd been avoiding direct insinuations, the second she caught a glimpse of his erection, all pretense went out the window.

Water splashed behind him as she waded in. "Oh, my goodness," she moaned. "This is delicious. I'm so glad you talked me into this."

Me too.He rolled his eyes at himself.I thought it would be fun, but it feels like torture.

Just who has the upper hand now, Charlie?

His mind's eye provided an exquisitely detailed image of what she'd look like as she entered the water like Venus de Milo in reverse. The dimples in her bottom shifting as her powerful thighs flexed. Her hands fanning through the ripples as she sank deeper with each step.

Breasts swaying. The water level rising, obscuring the lower half of her body.

"Did you just say something?" she called.

I'm fairly damned certain I just groaned."No. Are you covered?"

"Almost."

He heard her submerge and whipped his shirt over his head, and then began stripping his trousers and drawers down his thighs briskly. His erection slapped against his stomach as he freed it. Grabbing a towel, he draped it around his waist as he headed for the pool.

Lark watched him come, only her bare shoulders revealed. Water spiked her lashes together, making her eyes look dark in the moonlight.

Charlie steeled himself and forced a smile. His hands dropped to the towel. "Best close those innocent eyes," he warned, tugging his towel loose from his hips.

"Charlie!"

He slipped into the water, heat rushing up his body. Lark had clapped her hands over her face, so he dove under and then surfaced, raking his sopping hair out of his eyes.

He saw her peeking through her fingers and smiled at her. "Enjoying the view?"

Lark's eyes narrowed.Challenge accepted. "It's adequate."

The look in her eyes told him the truth. "Lark Elizabeth Rathinger. Don't make me prove my point."

"And how would you prove it?"

They circled each other, arms fanning in slow back-and-forth movements. He could touch the bottom, but he doubted she could right now.

Charlie took a step closer. "Dare me."

Water slicked her shoulders. The heat in her eyes wasn't just imagined now. It was practically incendiary. Inches separated them as he edged closer, then Lark sniffed and stroked backward, almost, but not quite revealing everything he wanted to see.

"I'll concede the point. You've always looked like an angel."

"Anangel?" He was the furthest thing from that, and the thoughts he'd been having tonight were far from pure.

"Don’t pretend you didn’t know that. You used to bat those pretty lashes at Honoria in absolute innocence and lie through your teeth. She never fell for it, and neither will I."

Her hair draped down her spine like a wet curtain of dark silk, and she settled on the ledge opposite him, resting her arms along the lip of the pool with an arched eyebrow, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Bloody hell.

His eyes narrowed, and heat flushed through his cock. The water barely hid the taunt of her nipples, and there were curves there he'd never seen before.

Not in this much detail, anyway.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's filled out," he purred, because if she was going to shoot him that challenging look, then she could accept the consequences of it.

Lark's eyes narrowed.