A Lone Star Love Affair / Falling for the Princess: A Lone Star Love Affair / Falling for the Princess

“I’ll race you. Go,” she said, splashing away from him and swimming with long strokes, aware he was beside her.

She relished the physical action, for a few moments trying to avoid thinking about the rest of the evening, yet she kept recalling the vision of him standing at the end of the pool, almost naked except for the strip of black, appealing, sexy, breathtaking.

She pushed herself while he was even with her until the return. Near the end of the pool she gave an extra spurt and beat him, bobbing up as he did.

“You win.”

“You let me,” she accused, smiling. “Do it again and stop holding back.”

“I held back very little. You’re a good swimmer. Especially if you haven’t been swimming often this year.”

“I haven’t been in a pool since last July. Race again? For real?”

He smiled. “Sure. You call go.”

“Go!” she exclaimed, plunging away from him and stretching herself. He stayed alongside her until they turned in the shallow end of the pool and headed back. Then he pulled away to win handily and wait for her while she swam up to him.

“You won easily as I expected. I concede. I suspect that last race was one of the few times you’ve allowed someone to beat you at something.”

“You’re saying I like to win,” he said.

“Yes. You’re competitive, perhaps controlling.”

He hit the water with the palm of his hand, causing water to splash her. “Controlling—I don’t want to be that. I’ve fought that all my life in my dad.”

“All your life?” she asked, treading water. “Surely you exaggerate.”

“Hardly,” he remarked. “That’s one thing that drives me to make money when I already have a fortune. If I have more than he does—or he sees I will have, he’ll get off my back.”

“I can’t imagine,” she said truthfully.

“It’s getting to be less a problem,” he said dismissively and she guessed he didn’t care to discuss it further.

She broke away from him, swimming lazily, and he joined her as they swam leisurely together.

When she stopped, treading water, he faced her to slip his arm around her waist and pull her closer. Her heart thudded because he was warm, wet, touching in so many places, legs, arms. “Tony—”

“I missed you this week and I’ve wanted to see you,” he said. His brown eyes were dark as night with desire in their depths. Her breathing became difficult again and her pulse raced as she placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. She wanted to stop fighting him, to wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him. The attraction between them was mutual and strong, but she saw that as a swift road to disaster. Resistance to Tony was her only hope for avoiding entanglement, which meant heartbreak. Yet right now, she was captivated once again, unable to break away, too aware of his hands on her.

“I wasn’t going to do this again,” she whispered.

“You want to. I can see it in your eyes,” he whispered. He leaned closer. Without thought, she turned her mouth up to him and then his lips were on hers, her mouth opening at the first hot touch of his tongue. Their bodies pressed more closely together and she could feel his hard muscles, his warmth, his masculinity.