Paradise (24 page)

Robbie broke free from his embrace and hurried toward the tent, but his hand on her elbow pulled her up short.

“Whoa there, darlin’. You’re not going in there smelling like that. You have way too much back-to-nature scent on you and your hair reeks like day old bait left out in the July sun. We don’t want to be subjected to that all night, do we?”

In the glow of the lantern, he watched her angle under the lean-to, hugging the tent side to avoid the worst of the storm.

“Well, it’s not my fault those stupid ol’ alligators got me all wet.” She pulled a fistful of hair forward, sniffed it and made a face.

He raised his eyebrows. “No, it’s never your fault.”

“So now what? Are you going to make me stay out here all night just because I’m not as fresh as the morning dew?”

Ah, now there was the sarcasm. She would be all right.

“Nothing quite so drastic. I have a much better idea.” He pulled his khaki shirt over his head and dumped the sodden garment on the platform. Squatting down, he untied his boots, then heel-toed them off, kicking them under the lean-to. Two sopping socks landed on top of the shirt. He sluiced water from his chest and arms and shook his head, hoping he didn’t resemble a shaggy dog after a bath.

“Wait here,” he instructed.

“What? You think I’m going to run away?”

Ah, she was almost back to fighting form.

He unzipped the tent flap and entered, uselessly trying to drip as little as possible. The unicorn backpack lay at the head of her sleeping bag. He rummaged in several side pockets before finding what he needed. The glow of the lantern cast dim shadows on the sleek orange walls. He turned it to high, extending the pool of light. After tucking a few towels next to the inside tent flap, he came back outside in less than two minutes.

Robbie huddled in the narrow space under the lean-to. Following his example, she’d removed her shoes and socks but left on her shorts and t-shirt.

She looked so pitiful, he wanted to take her in his arms and make up for the rotten time she’d had. Instead, he briskly zipped the tent flap, reached for her hand and pulled her back into the rain.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Aren’t you through making me miserable yet?” She tried to jerk free, but he held her firm.

“It’s shower time. No point in letting this rain go to waste. Your next opportunity to clean up is tomorrow night. You don’t want to drive all the way back home smelling like that, do you?” The thought of her leaving hit him harder than the gators on the flashlight. Somehow, he imagined they’d have weeks, months, years together. Banishing the thought, he held out his hand with her bar of lavender soap and a small plastic bottle of shampoo.

She eyed him skeptically. “Isn’t it dangerous being out here? What if we get hit by lightning?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, there isn’t any. This is only a rainstorm. Soak your hair and put your hand out.”

She slid her fingers through her hair, separating the strands. Water dripped and ran down her cheeks and neck. It took every ounce of restraint not to pull her toward him and sip each droplet from her pale skin.

When she extended her hand, he squeezed a sizable amount of shampoo into her palm.

Rubbing her hands together, she lathered her hair. “You know don’t you, this ranks way up there on my ‘too weird for words’ list?”

He couldn’t respond, all he could do was gape. When he’d hit on the idea of a “back to nature” shampoo, he hadn’t thought through the entire process. But there she was, arms elevated over her head, eyes closed, her face greeting the raindrops, a slight smile curving the corners of her full lips.

Her wet shirt hid nothing but molded to her lush breasts like a latex glove to a surgeon’s hand. Slipping his gaze lower, her legs, spread to shoulder width for balance, drew his attention. White shorts, now transparent and tighter than skin outlined her every curve, every motion. His mouth went dry at what he planned next.

“Hey, Tarzan, feel free to help yourself to my shampoo. I wasn’t the only one to get a swamp shower from your friends.”

He snapped back to the present. “Right…Thanks.” He quickly lathered up then rinsed his hair, unable to ignore her rounded butt as she bent from the waist, allowing the rain to slough through her long tresses. Her hair fell to an inch off the platform, making him wish his fingers were running through those wine-colored locks.

“What the…?” She spurted.

“You missed a spot. Let me help you.”

* * * * *

At the touch of Eddie’s fingers, she stood bolt upright, bumping her head on his chin. His palms rested against her cheeks while his fingers gently massaged the rainwater through her scalp. Oh, did this man excel in the art of seduction.

“Just making sure all the shampoo is out,” he murmured, easing closer. She allowed him to draw her to him. She smoothed her palms up the hard contours of his chest and reveled in the contrast of his hot skin with the cool rain.

He was going to kiss her, no doubt there. The only question was whether it would be hard and demanding or soft and caressing. Her pulse quickened at the thought. Any second now. She could feel his breath against her lips, soft puffs of air mingling with her own growing desire.

She angled her head, waiting, anticipating as the knot in her stomach grew and a warm flush shooed away the chilly night air. The roar in her ears drowned out the rain, drowned out the world. The gentle motion of his fingers continued their subtle seduction.

“Your hair smells good, babe,” he growled. “Almost as good as you’re going to taste.”

He lowered his mouth and surprised her with a gentle, searching kiss. Her toes curled and her mouth opened to welcome his now-familiar tongue.

“Okay, then,” he said, breaking the kiss and pulling her into the shelter of the lean-to. “On to phase two.”

“Phase two?”
Now what?

He dug into the pockets of his cargo shorts, then withdrew his hands and held them out. Her lavender soap lay nestled in one big palm, his Irish Spring in the other.

The sight of the half-used bars heated her inner coil like no inanimate objects ever had. Her mouth went dry as she read his intentions. Oh yes, wouldn’t it be lovely to be that bar of soap for the next ten minutes? Who knew what delicious contours it would find?

She extended her hand and plucked his Irish Spring. “Am I going to like phase two?”

A wicked smile crossed his face. “I can guaran-damn-tee you will, Miss Robbie.”

Chapter Twelve

Eddie awoke with a start. The midday sun shone brightly through the opaque fabric of the tent, but that wasn’t what woke him. He listened. There, off in the distance, a motor. Robbie lay naked across him, one leg settled between his. Damn, she was something. He wrapped his arms around her, savoring her warmth. The motor grew louder, coming their way. He slipped from under the warm, supple Robbie, gently easing her onto the sleeping bag. With one last, longing look at her shapely derriere, he covered her.

Taking a deep breath, he dispelled the image and feel of her fingers on him. He located his cargo shorts but couldn’t find a damned shirt. Oh well, whoever was out there would have to deal with it. He smiled. Robbie never minded when he went shirtless.

“Ahoy, Platform Five!” called a deep baritone when the motor cut off.

Eddie shook his head. No mistaking that voice. Stepping from the tent, he wished he had found a shirt. He tripped over a pile of wet clothes. Robbie’s bra caught on his foot. He hopped on his other foot, disengaged his toe from the strap and ambled over to the edge of the dock.

“Morning,
Harrison
,” he called as the ranger maneuvered his flat bottom boat alongside the platform. Eddie plopped cross-legged on the platform, putting himself on eye level with the ranger.

“If you say it is. Seems more like afternoon to me, son.”

Oh, yeah, he was definitely in for it.

“I was by before,” continued
Harrison
, eying the platform behind Eddie, “but seeing as it was early, I didn’t stop in to chat -- even though there was a lot of noise coming from this area. You doing some laundry?”

The disapproval in Ranger Harrison’s voice as he regarded the pile of discarded clothes from last night irked Eddie.

“If my memory serves me correctly, this is the last day you have reservations for a platform this week. Your tour ends today, ain’t that right?”

Eddie smiled, ignoring
Harrison
’s accusatory tone. “As a matter of fact, it is. We’ll be heading back to town this afternoon.”

Harrison
lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “What on earth are you thinking, boy? Where are your brains? Never mind, I already have that answer. Why are you trying to mess this up for your brother? He’s worked hard to build up this business, and now he has a chance for some big time publicity and you go and do this. Couldn’t you behave yourself just this once?”

“Now wait a minute,
Harrison
, you don’t know --”

“Yes, I do know. When I saw you two days ago, I actually thought you were being good.” He shook his head and waved his hand toward the tent. “Then today, I find this.”

Eddie didn’t know what was worse, being thirty-five and getting dressed down by
Harrison
or disappointing the old man.

“Look
Harrison
, what I do is none of your business. So if that’s the only reason you came by, I guess we’re done.” He stood in one motion.

“Maybe you’re right and I shouldn’t be butting in, but just for your information, it’s after one o’clock, and you were supposed to be outta here by ten.”

He shoved back his hat and scratched his head. “There’s a family with three canoes about forty minutes behind me. They have this platform reserved for tonight. So, unless you want more company, you better pack up and clear out. Besides, you’ve got a long trip if you want to make it back before dark or the rains set in.” He pushed off and bent to pull the motor.

“Uh,
Harrison
?”

The older man looked up, his expression halfway between question and exasperation.

“This one is different.”

A slow smile spread across
Harrison
’s face, and he shook his head. “I guess I already figured that out, son. I just didn’t think it would ever happen. I saw the way you stared at her the other day, like a starvin’ man been given the key to the smokehouse. That’s why I want you to be careful. Now, get yourself out of here before you scare off that family.” He yanked the motor to life and disappeared into the reeds.

Robbie stepped from the tent and wandered up behind him. “I heard what he said. What did he mean about behaving yourself just this once?”

Damn.
“He didn’t mean anything by it,” Eddie backpedaled, then decided on honesty. “No, he did. Before I left for
New York
, I had quite a reputation as, shall we say, one of the bad boys. I was pretty wild and had myself a good time. Nothing illegal, at least nothing that I went to jail for. Mostly stupid kid stuff. When I went away to college, I worked hard and I played hard. And I really enjoyed the playing part.”

Robbie wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his back. “To be honest, I don’t care. Want to know why?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No. Mainly, it’s because I had a good time. You’re just what I needed, Eddie McGraw. You made me feel desirable again.”

He folded his arms over hers, keeping them anchored to his waist. “You are desirable. Any man who doesn’t think so is an ass.”