“Sounds good,” he said. “With the understanding that we will take our time from now on.”

“I’ll think about it,” she finally murmured.

“Ah, don’t do that,” Kel said, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. “This should be a simple decision, Darcy. Either you want me or you don’t. Don’t think, just do.”

“Who died and made you Yoda?” Darcy asked. “There are a lot of things to consider here.”

“Like what?”

Darcy opened her mouth, prepared to list all her reasons for not sleeping with Kel again. But then she’d be forced to admit she might not be able to control her feelings for him. Yes, the time they’d spend together would be incredible, but she’d still be left to deal with residual effects once he’d gone.

And then there were the tricky morning-after conversations. Oh, by the way, great orgasm last night. And that thing you did with your tongue, that was the best. “I’d rate it 43 on a scale of one to ten,” she muttered.

“What?” he asked, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on the table.

Darcy swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking out loud.”

“Here’s how I see it,” Kel began. “We seem to have this attraction to each other. I haven’t quite figured it out, but I’d sure like to. The problem is I can’t be in the same room with you without wanting to tear your clothes off and kiss your naked body. So, I suggest we deal with that.”

“You-You’re thinking about that right now?” Darcy asked.

“I’ve pretty much been thinking about that 24 hours a day since I saw you at the candy shop,” he admitted with a boyish grin.

And before that? Darcy wondered if he’d thought about her at all in the past five years. Had he stared at the ceiling, trying to sleep at night, with thoughts of her running through his brain? Had he caught the scent of her perfume in the air and remembered the way she’d kissed him, or seen her in a crowd and followed until he realized it wasn’t her? Had he been obsessed with the memory of her?

“I have a job to do here,” she said. “My father is coming in at the end of the week to do a walk-through and I have a million things to finish before then.”

“But I bet not one of them is as much fun as I am,” Kel said. He leaned over the table and caught her chin with his thumb, tipping her face up to his. His lips touched hers softly, his tongue barely grazing the crease in her lips.

God, why did his kiss have such a profound effect on her? She ought to be able to resist him if she wanted to. After all, she knew he’d spent years honing his talents on a string of other women. For Kel Martin, she was just one more in a long line of females to tumble.

So what was wrong with that? As long as she kept herself from becoming emotionally involved, Darcy could have a fabulous week with him. Ending each day in his arms, in his bed would be sheer decadence-something that even a fifty-pound box of chocolates could never match. And didn’t she deserve a little pleasure in her life?

“I have to go to work,” Darcy said. “I’ll see you tonight and let you know what I’ve decided.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Kel called as she walked away.


DARCY GLANCED over at the clock, then kicked back from the edge of the pool. Midnight. She’d spent the entire day thinking about Kel and nothing she did could distract her mind from what they’d shared the night before.

An afternoon business meeting in San Francisco had occupied her time but she’d barely been able to focus on the architect’s plans for the new wing of the spa. Instead, she’d thought about what she’d be doing later that evening, running the possible sexual scenarios over and over in her head.

She’d expected to return by dinner, in plenty of time to discuss the terms of her decision with Kel. But a conference call with her father had delayed her for hours. Darcy had finally pulled into the parking garage at eleven, exhausted yet filled with a nervous anticipation.

A quick check of the computer brought up Kel’s itinerary for the day. After breakfast, he’d played 18 holes of golf, then had two beers in the bar along with a late lunch. At four p.m., he’d enjoyed a deep-tissue massage with Cynda, then bought some toiletries at the hotel gift shop. He’d made two phone calls to his home phone in San Francisco and watched an action movie on pay-per-view before ordering room service-a steak and baked potato with apple pie for dessert. He’d also left three messages on her voice mail and a note at the front desk.

Darcy floated on her back and stared up at the ceiling of the pool house. The reflection from the underwater lights swirled in a soothing pattern above her and she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Swimming always exhausted her. Whenever she found herself facing a sleepless night, when her mind was plagued with business worries, she’d come to the pool and swim laps until her head cleared and her body relaxed.

Resisting Kel Martin was what really worried her. The temptation to go to his room was almost overwhelming. She’d sat in her office for fifteen minutes considering her choices. Take a swim, try to sleep or sneak up to Kel’s suite and see if they might be able to enjoy a repeat of yesterday’s activities.

Darcy stroked to the far end of the pool where a huge glass wall overlooked the grounds. Outside, a full moon hung low over the horizon and a chilly winter wind buffeted the high pines. As she made a neat kick turn, her gaze caught sight of a figure strolling across the wide stone terrace outside. Probably one of the maintenance staff, she thought as she started another lap.

But when she returned to that end of the pool again, she saw Kel standing on the deck. He was dressed in an old T-shirt and a faded pair of jeans that hung low on his hips. His feet were bare and his hair tousled, as if he’d just crawled out of bed.

“The pool is closed,” she said, grabbing onto the edge and tucking her knees to her chest.

He raked his hand through his hair. “I couldn’t sleep. Too many things on my mind.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“The front desk clerk said you sometimes swim here late at night. I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Darcy’s hair was plastered to her forehead and she submerged once more and brushed it from her eyes. She watched as Kel’s eyes drifted from her face to her chest.

“When you retire from baseball, you ought to consider a career as a private investigator,” she said.

“Maybe so.” He squatted in front of her, his elbows resting on his knees. “I need to find something to do with myself pretty quick.” He shook his head, a rueful smile twisting his lips. “I’m pretty much done with baseball.”

His words were so thoughtful, so direct, that Darcy felt as if she had been offered a glimpse of the real Kel Martin for the very first time. “How do you feel about that?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. You’re the first person I’ve told. I was supposed to have surgery in the post-season and I just didn’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“Another shoulder operation, a year of rehab, all for a chance at another year or two at most. If the arm didn’t come back, I’d probably bounce around the league. I was thinking, instead, maybe I should get a start on the rest of my life.”

“Isn’t baseball your life?”

Kel shook his head. “I thought so, but I know better now. I’ve had a good run. My arm has lasted longer than 95% of the guys in the league.”

“Will you miss it?”

“It’s not real-the money, the fame, the women. I knew it wasn’t real from the start, but the past few years it was starting to feel…like normal life and that scared me.”

“And what will you do now?”

“The things all guys do sooner or later. Marriage, a family.” He chuckled softly. “But right now, I’m thinking about taking a swim.”

He stood, then reached down for the hem of his T-shirt and tugged it over his head. Darcy couldn’t help but stare. He really did have a beautiful body, lean yet muscular, his wide shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. Her gaze followed a light trail of hair that began at his collarbone and disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans.

“It’s not like people won’t remember you,” she said, searching for anything to distract her from a careful study of his crotch. “You-you pitched a no-hitter, a perfect game. People will remember that.”

“I didn’t realize you followed my career.”

Darcy’s smile faded as she pushed away from the edge of the pool, swimming to the middle. “You were all over the papers. It was kind of hard to miss.”

“You followed my career,” he repeated.

“What if I did?”

“I like that,” he said. “I like knowing that you thought about me once or twice in the five years we were apart.”

“More than once or twice,” she admitted.

“Me, too,” he said. “I thought about you quite a bit.”

She watched him from the water as he unzipped his jeans and skimmed them down over his hips and knees. She’d expected boxers, but he hadn’t bothered with underwear. “You-you didn’t bring a suit,” she stuttered, stating the obvious.

“I wasn’t planning to swim,” Kel said, standing naked in front of her. “I understand the whole theory of skinny-dipping is that everyone takes their clothes off.”

Darcy shook her head. “Oh, no. I run this hotel. If someone walked in and found me in the pool, naked, with a naked man, the staff would never stop talking about it. If you come in, I’m getting out.”

Kel stepped to the edge of the pool and dove neatly into the water, swimming to the center. He came up in front of her, grabbing her waist as he did. Darcy screamed and tried to kick away from him, but Kel held tight.

“I can’t seem to get enough of you,” he said, gently tugging down one strap of her tank suit and dropping a kiss on her shoulder. “Why is that?”