"What?" The look he gave her was a stirring combination of innocence and sin. "It's not like you've never seen me naked." The jeans and briefs whooshed down his legs, and she averted her gaze, though from the corner of her eye she saw a flash of smooth, muscled skin and the toned curve of his buttocks as he stepped into the spa.

"Ahh." He sighed contentedly as he stretched his arms along the rim. "This feels great. Your turn."

She wasn't about to give him a free show. "Close your eyes."

The rogue laughed, the sound deep and throaty. "I thought I'd stripped you of all inhibition long ago."

He had, and she'd be the first to admit that she'd done things with him that had shocked her sensibilities in the beginning. Eventually, though, she'd gained enough confidence to freely explore her sensuality and desires. But that had been before, when she'd believed they had a future together. The uncertainty of their relationship made her more discreet.

"Eyes closed, Nichols."

He grunted a complaint but complied. "For crying out loud, Mariah, I've been intimate with that cute little mole on the inside of your thigh and that bunny-shaped birthmark on the curve of your breast and you're worried about me seeing a glimpse of…oh, man," he groaned as she stepped into the spa, completely naked.

Mariah froze, her gaze darting to his wide-eyed one as he stared at her breasts, the indentation of her waist and the juncture of her thighs with a hunger that sent her pulse into a tailspin. Quickly, she sat across from him, submersing herself to her shoulders in the hot water.

She glared at him. "You promised not to look!"

He dragged a wet hand over his jaw. "I'd never be so foolish as to promise any such thing. Do you realize how long it's been since I've seen you naked? Since we've made love? Really made love?" Need thickened his voice.

Beneath the froth and caress of water her nipples tightened into aching points. She could give him the exact days, narrowed down to the hours and minutes if he really wanted to know. "I have no idea."

"It's been too long," he said. "Much too long, don't you think?"

She gave a one-shoulder shrug. "I haven't thought much about it at all." Liar, her body taunted.

He took a drink of wine. "So, is Richard going to wonder where you are this weekend?" The change of subject made his features tighten and turn grim.

She wasn't sure why, but she took pity on him and divulged the truth. "Richard and I aren't dating any longer."

A low, audible sigh of relief escaped him, though his gaze never left her face. "Why not?"

She stretched out her legs and her foot touched his at the bottom of the spa. Because he's not you. Because you hold my heart and soul. Because I can't forget you, even when I do my best to try. "It's none of your business."

Grey trapped her foot between his ankles, and before she could rescind the move he reached down and caught her leg and settled her foot on his hard thighs. She gasped and jerked back, but lost the match.

"Relax, sweetheart. I only want to massage your foot."

She should tell him no, but he was already rubbing those incredible hands and fingers of his along her sole and heel. It felt too wonderful to fight, and as long as he didn't explore above the calf, she'd be okay. She relaxed slightly, trying not to think how close the foot resting in his lap was to his-

"Richard wasn't any good in bed, was he?" Grey asked abruptly.

She choked on incredulous laughter. "We never got that far!"

"Good." His thumbs pressed into her arch, the satisfied gleam in his eyes slowly fading. "Who's next on Jade's list of eligible bachelors?"

"No one." Thank God.

"And what about your father's?"

She smiled and sank deeper into the water until her neck rested on the rim. Her earlier tension gradually ebbed from her body. "Don't you think I can find my own dates?"

"Oh, absolutely. I just know your father when it comes to his single, available daughters."

She tilted her head and bravely settled her other foot on his knee for equal treatment, wiggling her toes. "Do you now?"

"Yep." Beneath the eddying water, his finger slowly slid between her toes, caressing the sensitive skin there. She shivered, and a smile lifted his mouth. "Remember how we met?"

How could she forget that monumental moment when she'd looked into his gold-brown eyes for the first time and become a devout believer in love at first sight? "Yes, I remember. We met through a consultation appointment."

"Your father set us up."

"He referred you to Casual Elegance," she corrected. Lifting her glass of wine from the side of the spa, she drained the rest of the pale liquid. A languid warmth within her mingled with the heat of the spa's jets, making her lazy and lethargic.

"He set us up, Mariah," he said, the skin around his eyes crinkling in humor. "As soon as I mentioned I was building a house he told me his daughter was the best interior designer in southern California. So I let him set up an appointment with you."

She frowned, recalling her father's enthusiasm when he'd called months ago to set her up with a potential client who owned his own security firm. As much as she loved and adored her father, she wouldn't put it past him to do a little matchmaking, just to speed up the process of one of his daughters getting married.

"You didn't have to see me," she said quietly.

"Your father insisted, and since he was about to become a major account for Nichols' Security I figured it couldn't hurt to see his daughter about a consultation." He stroked his hand along her ankle and cupped her calf in his palm before kneading the taut flesh, loosening the muscle. "Though I have to admit I expected to find a spinster."

A tiny groan of pleasure slipped from her. Instinctively she flexed her foot. "And what did you find instead?"

He gazed at her with a tenderness he rarely displayed. "Instead I found the woman of my dreams."

She rolled her eyes to dispel the softening of her heart. "And I thought you were the most arrogant man I'd ever met."

He grinned wolfishly. "I knew what I wanted."

She shook her head at his presumptuousness. "And it wasn't to see carpet samples."

"No, it certainly wasn't that," he agreed. "And we didn't get much business done that night, did we?"

She reflected on that evening, and how he'd deliberately steered their conversation away from business, and onto more personal topics…such as, was she seeing anyone? "Not after you said you just had to kiss me, then did just that without my permission."

"I didn't need it. Your eyes said you wanted the kiss as much as I did."

Scooping a handful of frothing water, she trickled it over a dry patch on her shoulder. "You obviously saw what you wanted to."

"You didn't object." He leaned forward, his thigh flexing where her foot rested. "In fact, if I recall correctly, your mouth opened beneath mine for a deeper kiss when I'd only intended to give you a chaste one."

She lifted a brow. Nothing about Grey had ever been chaste. Not the way he'd relentlessly pursued her, not the way he made love to her the first time and every time since and certainly not the way he kissed. She was certain that if she hadn't parted her lips beneath his he would have found a way to coax her into giving him the taste he really wanted.

His thumb pressed into the ball of her foot and rubbed in sensuous circles. "Admit it, sweetheart, you wanted it every bit as much as I did."

"You think too highly of yourself, Nichols."

His gaze narrowed challengingly and dropped to her mouth. "You gonna make me prove how much you want it, and like it?"

Her heart raced. She wouldn't put it past him to make good on his threat. Summoning strength against the desire ribboning within her, she removed her feet from his lap and gave him the confession he sought. "Okay, I'll admit I was attracted to you."

His expression turned cocky. "So much so that when I asked for another appointment you gave me one."

"To talk business!" Not to be swept off my feet by you. Which is exactly what he'd intended, and exactly what had happened. "You hired me as a consultant, Grey."

Grinning, he dipped his hands into the water and ran all ten fingers through his hair, dampening the strands away from his face. "It was the only way I could get you to see me. I've never had to work so hard at getting a woman the way I had to work to get you."

His admission secretly pleased her. "It was good for you."

He wiggled his dark brows. "The chase wasn't half as much fun as your surrender."

Perspiration beaded on her upper lip, as much from the steam rising off the water as the hot look in Grey's eyes. The man was a master in seduction, wearing down her resistance with kisses and intimate caresses that shattered all coherent thought, until she surrendered heart, body and soul. "You didn't play fair."

"I was crazy about you," he said softly, meaningfully. "I still am."

Her throat closed up with emotion, and she looked away, out into the darkened woods around Mark's cabin. She believed Grey, which made their breakup all the more difficult to handle. But the difference between being crazy about someone and loving someone was too great when it came to making a commitment.

Suddenly tired and weary of trying to sort out her feelings for Grey, she started to stand. But remembering her state of undress, she promptly sat back down. "I, uh, think I need to get out before I shrivel up."

Grey nodded his agreement, knowing they were close to the "rehashing" point. He didn't want to end their relaxing evening with an argument. Apparently neither did she.