EXCERPT

Prologue

His mother used to say that if they could box up smiles and give them away for Christmas, people would line up around the block for his. His teachers used to overlook the skipped classes and late assignments because with one gut-twisting smile he’d convince them of his utter commitment to doing better next time. His ex-girlfriends always walked away from the breakup shaking their heads, sighing, and wondering how the hell he managed to make them feel as if they were the brightest star in the cosmos—even though he no longer wanted them.

As to what it was, exactly, about his smile that was so captivating…no one ever seemed able to put their finger on it. It wasn’t just the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, or the way his lips curved into a wide, unselfconscious bow. But he did like the way his sister had once put it.

She had said that it was as if he smiled with his whole heart. As if, in those unguarded moments she could see all of him. As if a little piece of his soul leaked out and shone through his eyes, making him seem absolutely real and absolutely vulnerable all at once. He didn’t know if that was true or not, but he knew he liked it. And he also realized very early on in life that he would be an idiot if he didn’t take advantage of it.

David Metcalfe had tried the modeling gig for a time. He’d posed for the portfolios and strutted the runways. His smile, searing blue eyes and wavy black hair that never quite managed to be tamed, hinted at a bedevilment that translated beautifully to the camera. His lean six-foot frame, broad shoulders, narrow waist and enviable ass could make almost any item of clothing look stylish and flattering. And his confidence and subtle masculine grace drew the eye and held it like a magnet.

So he modeled and he did well at it. Too well. David soon realized that it bored him. He tired of interacting with the faceless, unforgiving lens of the camera, of strutting runways in a spotlight that left him blind to the people beyond it. The outcome was too predictable, too certain. It lacked challenge. And if there was one thing David needed in his life to keep him motivated and driven, it was challenge.

He needed variety, excitement and perhaps even a little danger. So David quit modeling and went in search of his dream.

And eventually he found it—in the most unexpected of places.

 

Chapter One

 

She watched him. She so enjoyed watching him.

From her position on the lounge chair, a strawberry daiquiri in hand and the hot July sun beating down on her bikini-clad body, she thought she couldn’t have asked for a better view if she’d ordered it up from the Sears catalogue. His body was a work of art. All smooth, tanned skin, lean muscle and taut sinew. She enjoyed every flex and every ripple as he swished the skimmer back and forth across the pool’s glassy surface. She had enjoyed watching his denim-clad ass as he bent over the pump and changed the filter and worked his magic with the chemicals.

And it truly was magic. He’d been coming here every week for the past month and in that time had changed their smelly, occasionally cloudy pool into a clear, blue oasis from the brutal summer heat.

She sipped, savored and swallowed, reminiscing over the moment twenty minutes ago when he’d asked her if it was all right if he removed his shirt. Such a gentleman, she thought. And then when she’d agreed, all but salivating at the prospect of seeing his pecs and abs, he’d smiled at her—and the bottom had dropped out of her stomach.

Such a smile. A smile that could break a woman’s heart, if not fell nations, or at the very least corporations, she’d thought. And here he was skimming scum off a pool? It was ludicrous. And at last she decided to say so.

He was standing just a few feet away from her at the time, his back to her as he bent down and worked at something that must have been suspended far below the surface. At her question, he paused and turned to face her, propping his long-fingered hand lightly on the end of the skimmer pole.

His gaze rested on her, strangely intense and very disconcerting. She fought the urge to squirm inside her skin.

“I might ask you the same question,” he said, his voice a soft, husky baritone that had that panty-melting quality she loved.

But the comment puzzled her. “Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Well, you seem to think I’m wasting my time and talents as a pool boy. But I see you here every time I come, sitting by the pool and sipping your drinks. I know your husband is very wealthy and you hardly need to work, but I have to wonder if you’re not bored. I wonder if you aren’t wasting some potential too.”

Rather than being offended, she was intrigued. “You’ve wondered that? You’ve thought about me?”

His eyes raked over her, from head to toe and back again, the gaze as hot as the sun on her flesh. She felt her bikini bottom dampen in response.

When his eyes returned to hers he said simply, “Constantly.”

 

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