Going Overboard (9 page)

Chance leaned over the railing and smiled down at her. “In that case, would you mind straightening this boat out? It seems to be stuck and none of us can do a damn thing about it.”

“And after that, you can give me a rubdown and a beer,” Bowie said.

“And gather firewood and rocks for a fire circle,” Andi added. “Oh, and if you could—”

“Hey, all right! I get the point! Fussing’s good. I like fussing.”

“That’s better,” Chance said. “Deck chairs, coming down.”

Nicole glanced up at him. “And a bowl of ice cream?”

“Okay.”

“With some of that fudge sauce Andi brought?”

“You’re sure you don’t want me to whip up some baked Alaska? I’ll be in the kitchen anyway.”

Nicole smiled sweetly at him. “Not right this minute. I’ll let you know.”

After Chance passed down the deck chairs, along with a cooler full of beer and Nicole’s gel pack, book and ice cream, he disappeared inside to change into his suit. As Nicole exclaimed over the wonders of Andi’s fudge sauce, Bowie came over and gave Andi a smacking kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“Whatever you said to Chance while he was helping you off the boat.”

“Believe me, I didn’t say anything.”

“Okay, then, whatever you did. And I’m not asking. But it’s had a good effect, whatever it was. He actually asked for our opinions for a change.”

Andi blushed. “Maybe he’s finally starting to get the message that he’s not God.”

“Looks like. He even condescended to go swimming.”

Nicole looked up from her bowl of ice cream. “You have to remember, though, that he may well slip right back into his old ways after this trip.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Bowie said. “But it’s a start. And I think Andi’s been a good influence.”

“Now
that
would be a first,” Andi said. Then her attention was thoroughly captured by the man who walked out on deck in sexy black trunks. “Last one in is a rotten egg,” she called to him, and without seeing whether he’d heard her or not, she ran down to the water.

Splashing her way around the end of the boat until she was waist-deep in the lake, she looked up just in time to see Chance execute a shallow dive off the side and disappear under the surface. The wind ruffled the water, making it impossible for her to see beneath it.

Launching herself into the coolness, she swam to the area where she’d seen him disappear. Fear clutched at her stomach at the thought that he might have hit his head on
a submerged rock. Men were so foolish. They always had to do one of those macho dives when they had no idea what was under the waves.

A hand closed around her ankle, and a moment later she was under the water, in his arms. Holding her tight, he kicked to the surface and grabbed one of the loose mooring ropes that dangled from the lake side of the boat.

“You scared me,” she said, gasping. “You shouldn’t be diving into water you can’t see under.”

“That was the channel we came in through.” He worked his way up the rope so they drew nearer the boat and shallow water. “I knew it was okay.”

“Then why did you have to stay under and scare me like that?”

“It’s part of the coed swimming game,” he said, grinning at her. “You say, ‘Last one in’s a rotten egg,’ which is me, so I have to get back by grabbing you from under the water. I thought you said you went to junior high?”

“I did, but it’s hard to picture you there.”

“Oh, I was there. That’s where I learned to take off a bra with one flick of my fingers.” His chest muscles flexed, creating a sensuous friction against her breasts as he eased along the length of the rope.

His nearness and the conversation were heating her up, and fast. “Tell me,” she asked. “Do guys steal their sister’s bras and practice that technique by fastening them around the back of a chair?”

“Maybe, but I didn’t have a sister, so I had to practice on the real thing.”

“Gee, that must have been tough.”

“Sheer hell.” He let go of the rope when they were within a short distance of the boat. “Can your feet touch here?”

She wiggled her toes toward the bottom. “No.”

“That’s okay. I can. Wrap your legs around me, Andi.” She did, and immediately realized how aroused he was. Glancing up into his fevered gaze, made even more intense by the moisture spiking his dark lashes, she decided there was nothing sexier than a gray-flannel-suit type who was, even temporarily, unplugged. As her attention drifted to his mouth, she noticed the glistening drop clinging to his full lower lip. She slowly wiped it away. “Aren’t we going to swim?” she murmured.

“Not if I can help it.”

T
HE PRIVACY CREATED
by the shelter of the boat made Andi bold. “Then I guess you’d better kiss me.”

Chance smiled. “Where?”

She placed a finger against her lips. “You can start here.”

And start he did, with an inborn talent that soon had the blood pounding through her veins.

After several seconds he drew back very slowly. “Where else?” he murmured in a husky voice.

Mouth tingling, her whole body coursing with need, she leaned back in his arms and tilted her head as she traced a circle on her exposed throat. “Here.”

He licked and nibbled as she ran her finger along her shoulder. Taking her bathing-suit strap in his teeth, he pulled it down before nuzzling her shoulder. “Now where?”

Andi slipped her arm out of the strap and cradled her breast just above the cool lap of the water. “Here.”

“Devil woman.” He eased down into the water and took her nipple into his mouth.

Fierce desire tightened the womanly core deep within her as he suckled and licked. Whimpering softly, she wrapped her legs closer around him, pressing herself against his erection. She was going slowly crazy. “Stop,” she whispered, easing away from the delicious feel of his
mouth on her breast. “I can’t take this. Now without being able to…”

He cupped her face in one hand and pressed his lips gently over her damp face. “I can help you if you’ll loosen up.”

“That’s the problem. I’m so loose all I can think of is having you make love to me.”

“Which I want to do.” He slid his hand down to her inner thigh. “I meant loosen up here.”

She held his gaze and relaxed the grip of her thighs around his torso. The elastic of her suit gave way before the questing probe of his fingers. As he found the pulse that was throbbing so desperately for release, she gasped.

“There?” he murmured.

She could barely breathe. “Yes.”

His voice was a low rumble of restrained desire as he stroked her. “I would kiss you there, too, but I might drown.”

She closed her eyes, transported on a wave of pleasure. “Who…cares?”

The next thing she knew, he’d slid beneath the water, pulled the fabric aside and pressed his mouth against her flash point. She wriggled free and sank down to take him firmly by the shoulders. As she urged him to the surface, he brought her up with him and they clung together, breathing hard.

“I was kidding,” she said, gasping. “I don’t want you to drown.”

His chest heaved as he drew in several gulps of air. “Some things are worth drowning for. I would have died a happy man.”

She wound her arms around his neck. “You’re absolutely insane.”

“And it’s your fault.” He kissed her again, thrusting his tongue deep until she moaned in frustration.

He lifted his lips from hers a fraction. “Let’s try something.” He turned her slowly in the water until her back was to him and the water sloshed just above her collarbone. Then he pulled her in tight with one hand around her waist. “That’s better.” He nuzzled her neck as he pushed the other strap down. “Lean into me, Andi. It feels so good when you do.”

She hooked her feet behind his knees and locked herself against his arousal. “Somebody’s a little worked up,” she murmured.

“Somebody’s a lot worked up,” he said, his mouth close to her ear. “It’s a small price I pay for touching you like this.” Beneath the concealing water he pushed her suit to her waist and cupped her breast in his hand, stroking his thumb across her nipple until she quivered in his embrace. He leaned close to her ear. “I’ve wanted to strip this suit off from the first minute I saw you in it.”

Her breathing was ragged. “Is that why you spilled your coffee?”

“Yes, that’s why I spilled my coffee.” He nipped her earlobe. “And then you just had to go out on the deck and wave that tempting bottom of yours in the air, didn’t you? Did you know how I’d react?”

“I had hopes.”

“You’ve been driving me crazy all day. You’re the reason I wasn’t paying attention when the stakes pulled out, and why I’m here right now, loving you instead of making calls and writing memos.”

She leaned her head against his strong shoulder and arched into his touch. “Good.”

“Yes, it is,” he murmured against her ear. “And it’s about to get better.” He shifted his hold, wrapping his
arm beneath her breasts as he slipped his free hand inside the front panel of her suit.

She drew in her breath as he teased his way down through her wet curls and pushed into the moist channel that ached for him.

“Better?” he whispered, stroking her.

“Mmm.” She shuddered as the tension began to build to an almost unbearable level.

“It’s risky,” he said into her ear. “If you cry out, we might have company.”

As he lightly caressed the nub of her passion, holding her on a maddening plateau of desire, all she wanted was release, whatever the cost. “I…won’t. Please, Chance.”

His touch grew firmer and more rhythmic as he held her tight against his body.

So close. So very close. She whimpered and pressed the back of her hand to her mouth.

“Shh. Now.” He pushed deep and pressed upward.

Her world exploded, and she rammed her fist into her mouth to stop the cry that rose from her throat as she convulsed in his strong grip.

He turned her around and gathered her close, kissing her face, her hair, her throat as she clung to him limply and tried to catch her breath. Gently he repositioned the straps of her suit.

As her sanity slowly returned, she gave him a long, sensuous kiss. Then she eased away from him, held up both arms and slipped under the cool water. She allowed herself to sink until she was even with his hips. Figuring he needed a surprise as well as some pleasure, she hooked her thumbs in his suit and pulled it down in one lightning move that freed his manhood. She had a split second to admire his impressive dimensions before he hauled her to the surface.

“And what are you doing, devil woman?” he asked, crushing her against him.

“I figured I could die happy.”

“I’m not letting you drown, either.”

“But I’ll bet you’ll let me do this.” She reached down and grasped his shaft firmly.

He gasped. “I…might.”

She stroked him, paying special attention to the sensitive tip, as she gazed into his eyes.

The blue of his irises grew dark and a muscle tensed in his jaw.

“This is risky,” she murmured. “If you cry out, we might have company.”

He said nothing, but his breathing quickened.

“Ah, no promises from you, I see. No begging, either. I’ll bet I could make you beg, but as mellow as I’m feeling, I won’t.” She caressed him deliberately, relentlessly, as he trembled and grabbed at the rope to steady himself.

At last he shuddered, wrapped both arms around her and pulled her down under the water, where they melded together in a slow-motion dance until he captured her mouth in a gentle kiss as they drifted slowly back to the surface. All this unbelievable pleasure, she thought, and they hadn’t even made it to the main event. She was beginning to wonder if by tempting the likes of Chauncey M. Jefferson the Fourth, she’d bitten off more than she could chew.

C
HANCE HAD HOPED
the interlude in the water would give him some relief from his obsession with Andi, but no such luck.. After they returned to the beach, she pulled up a deck chair next to Nicole’s and they started reading sexy passages aloud from Nicole’s novel. Chance joined Bowie in the bawdy discussion that followed each reading, but
beneath his lighthearted laughter desire boiled and flowed like lava.

Behind the protection of his sunglasses, he followed Andi’s every gesture, traced the contours of her laughing mouth, focused on the curve of her breast and the tilt of her thigh. Although it was obvious Andi and Nicole had shared books like this aloud before, Chance figured Andi had initiated the activity now just to taunt him and keep him at a fever pitch. If total conquest was her goal, she was waging one helluva campaign.

“How are real guys supposed to compete with the heroes of those books?” Bowie asked.

“Sweetheart, you stack up just fine against them,” Nicole said.

He adjusted his visor. “Well, I knew that. But I meant ordinary guys, like Chance, here.”

“It’s a struggle.” Chance looked at Andi. “The dragons just aren’t out there waiting to be slain like they used to be.”

“That’s what you think,” Andi said.

“So you have dragons that need slaying, lady?”

She gave him a little smile. “Every day.”

“Tell me about it,” Nicole said. “There’s the dragon of the leaking brake line, and the dragon of the frayed lamp cord, and the dragon of the tight jar lid, and the dragon of the plain old blues.”

Bowie raised his fist. “And I slew them, every one.”

“My hero.” Nicole smiled at him.

The exchange had the most curious effect on Chance. He longed to play the same role for a woman, a woman like…Andi. The only times he could claim to be a hero on a white horse involved Jefferson Sporting Goods. And a company couldn’t smile at you with love the way Nicole
was smiling at Bowie. He was—hard as it was to believe— jealous of Bowie’s life.

The sun was beginning to sink behind the mountains, and he wished he had the power to personally shove it below the horizon. He wanted the cover of night so he could be alone with Andi again, alone to make love and to explore the unusual feelings this vacation had offered him.

“Well, this hero is ready to eat dinner,” Bowie said. “Time to form our little supply line again, build a fire, all that hero stuff. Ready, Chance?”

Chance sent Andi a look. “Yes.”

A
NDI WAS WORRIED
about Nicole. She didn’t think either of the men had noticed, but Nicole was in pain. Maybe only another woman would notice the little hitch in her laughter, or the way she twisted in her seat and pressed her hand low on her belly when she thought nobody was watching. Andi was watching.

As the men gathered rocks and driftwood to build a fire, Andi leaned toward Nicole. “What is it?”

“What’s what?”

“Don’t pretend with me. Something’s bothering you.”

“It’s nothing. Just little…twinges.”

“The baby?”

Nicole chuckled. “Yeah. She probably wants to join the discussion.”

“In French.”

“Right.”

“How long have these twinges been going on?”

“Not long.” Nicole put her hand on Andi’s arm. “Please don’t make a big deal of it. I’ve talked to lots of women who’ve had babies, and you get all sorts of things like this. Nothing to worry about.”

“Not if you’re sitting at home, right next to a phone and blocks from a hospital. This is a little different. The houseboat’s not even sailable right now, and even if it were, it doesn’t have running lights. The manual says very plainly not to go out on the lake at night with it.”

“I don’t need to go anywhere.” Nicole’s grip tightened on Andi’s arm. “This has been so good for me, Andi. I’m not letting anything spoil it.”

“But—”

“Bowie’s great, but I’ve missed being with you, especially at a time like this. And I can’t tell you how grateful I am that he and Chance are talking again.”

“Even if it leads to arguments?”

“Arguments are better than no discussion at all. Chance was well on his way to being just like his father, but I see signs that he could still be saved.”

“Such as?”

“Take a look.” Nicole glanced over toward the cliffs.

Andi watched as the brothers dueled with sticks. Chance’s stick kept breaking, until he was dueling with a piece about five inches long. As he continued to thrust and parry, laughing all the while, the setting sun gave his skin a ruddy glow, and he looked very hero-like indeed. A telltale emotion twisted her heart. It felt like…no. She didn’t want to start building castles in the sky.

“I’d Be in heaven if those two became friends again,” Nicole said.

Andi glanced at her. “That’s all well and good, but you have to promise to tell me if the twinges get worse. We have Chance’s cell phone. We’ll do something.”

Nicole patted her arm. “That isn’t going to be necessary. Besides, you know how I hate drama like that, especially if I’m in the middle of it.”

A
N HOUR LATER
, shortly after dinner, Andi was wondering how long before she and Chance could steal off into the shadows for some serious necking, when Nicole cried out.

They all rushed to her side.

“I think I’d better…go back to the boat,” she said. “I—oh, dammit!” She doubled over.

“You’re in labor!” Andi cried.

Nicole lifted her face, her expression defiant. “I am
not.
It’s just gas. I’ll
be—augh!
”

Bowie squatted in front of her. “If that’s gas, we’re gonna have to give you an antacid the size of a manhole cover.”

“Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

Chance gazed at her. “Childbirth does, I hear.”

“Childbirth?” Bowie sounded frantic. “But it’s only seven months! The baby’s not done yet!”

“It’s…a little more than seven months,” Nicole said.

Bowie stared at her. “You were pregnant before the wedding?”

“A little.”

Andi gasped. “Omigod. How pregnant?”

“Six weeks.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Bowie shouted.

“I didn’t want your mother to know!”

“I wouldn’t have told my friggin’ mother!”

“I wasn’t sure!”

“Oh, Nic,” Andi said, her heart aching that her sister hadn’t felt free to confide in her. “You could have told me.”

Nicole looked miserable. “I was afraid to tell anyone. I didn’t want anything to spoil the wedding…or this vacation.”

“But your doctor,” Andi said. “Surely she knew. I can’t believe she let you come on—”

“I didn’t exactly tell her about it.”

“Nic!” Bowie yelled, his face red.

“I had to be here! We all did! And first babies are supposed to be late!”

Chance drew a deep breath. “None of this matters now, guys. The main thing is to get her inside.”

“You’re right,” Andi said, drawing strength from his calm voice. “Let’s go.”

As the men helped Nicole to her feet, fluid rushed down her bare legs.