Kyra takes a deep breath and inhales the familiar scent of his hair and skin. She's never really been able to experience it this intimately before so now she is luxuriously enjoying the moment.

"I'll be gentle, I promise..."

Kyra blinked a few times as JC nudged her with a folded, fluffy white towel. "Want one?" He questioned before handing it to her and unfolding his own towel to start  roughly drying his dripping hair. She watched as his biceps flexed in the process before he quickly ran the towel over the rest of his body. Frankly, she was openly staring at his body and her mouth was probably hanging open.

"So, can I sit down or you aren't done taking inventory of my abs yet?" He smirked and she wanted to smack him but she laughed instead.

"All present and accounted for, Sir." She grinned and started towelling herself off as he laid down on one of the padded lounge chairs. She sponged most of the water from her hair and let it hang loose and damp on her bare shoulders.

She'd actually been looking for a towel when she'd caught sight of him pulling himself out of the crystal clear pool, water dripping off every inch of skin and hair. It was like a scene straight out of a movie, possibly a pornographic one, and she'd been unable to keep her thoughts from wandering.

She licked some water droplets off of her lips and took a seat in the lounge chair next to him.

"So you're telling me that you're the only one with access to this pool?"

He chuckled. "Just me and whoever is renting the three other suites. It's sort of a perk for renting those rooms that you have access to a private rooftop patio and pool. You need a special key to unlock the elevator so it comes up here."

"I sometimes forget how very VIP you are." She yawned and he didn't reply; he only looked at her for a moment through his aviators then smiled.

She'd been amazed when they'd pulled up to the hotel and seen how fancy it was. She'd felt incredibly embarrassed to hand over the keys of her old beater to a man wearing a suit and white gloves.

The embarrassment had only gotten worse when she'd looked in her pockets for a tip but had only found a pack of gum and a hair tie. Thankfully the valet hadn't seemed to notice as JC had stepped up and smoothly pulled out a folded bill from his pocket and placed it in the man's palm.

She'd scolded herself for not putting her wallet in her pocket instead of in the catacombs of the bag slung over her shoulder. It wasn't like she was broke or poor, she was just very smart about where and when she spent her money. Compared to him though, she was probably a pauper.

She'd been saving her money for college ever since she'd been a young girl. Her Mom had been a hard worker and had done everything in her power to save as much money as possible so that their combined savings would end up covering any costs she'd incur.

When her Mom had passed, she'd left Kyra with enough savings and assets to cover college, buy an old car as well as put a very healthy down payment on her new house.

"I saw that your book is doing well," he said quietly with his arms over his head as he seemed to be enjoying the sun.

It was distracting to have him laying there shirtless with wet swim trunks plastered to his thighs leaving very little to the imagination.

She blinked a few times again behind her sunglasses and decided to lay back in her chair. She needed to find something else to look at.

"Um, yeah. I'm not Sandra Brown or Catherine Coulter but it's doing relatively well. They've actually given me an advance on the other two books since this one is bringing in money."

"Good for you, Ky. I knew you'd do well. I'm really proud of you."

She smiled and blushed as she nervously played with the edge of her towel. "So um, have you read it?"

She turned her face toward him to see him smirking, his eyes still hidden behind his sunglasses, his face not turned toward her. "Mmhmm."

She panicked a little and started wondering if he'd recognized himself in Scott, her main male character. After all, she'd foolishly used his middle name.

"I never knew you wrote erotic novels..." He chuckled then laughed when she swung her towel at his face.

"It's not an erotic novel! It's a romantic suspense and well...they do have some...salty moments but that's not the core of the story," she huffed but felt a little better. She should have known that he would have completely missed it and focused only on the sexy stuff.

"I especially liked the scene where they're at one of his construction sites and they baptise a set of scaffolding..."

She groaned and ran a hand over her face. "I'm going for another dip," she sighed as she stood up quickly and headed over to the pool.

Just as she was about to dive in she heard him call out to her, "Yeah, I needed some cold water after that scene too!"

***

"Are you serious?" She gasped as they stepped out of the elevator directly into the large foyer of his hotel room. He laughed softly as he watched her slowly look around the penthouse suite, her flip flops slapping on the tiled entrance and kitchen area.

Earlier when they'd gotten to the hotel he'd brought her up to the roof directly since she'd put her bathing suit on under her clothes before leaving her house. He'd then come down to his room to change and met with her again at the pool.

"Nice huh?" He said as he unwrapped the wet towel from around his waist, threw it over his shoulder and slipped off his own flip flops onto the small rug near the door.

"Really nice. This must be costing you an arm, a leg and three fingers."

He laughed again and walked over to the kitchen area where he opened the fridge and pulled out two very cold bottles of water. He set one on the granite countertop and twisted the cap off of the other. After taking a long gulp of the frigid water he replied, "Actually it isn't costing me anything."

She scoffed as she walked forward and dropped the bag that was over her shoulder onto the floor before grabbing the other bottle of water. "What do you mean?" She asked before opening the bottle and taking a long sip as well.

He shrugged self consciously. "I reserved a regular room. When I showed up to check in, they tell me they've upgraded me to the penthouse suite and that they've comped it for me. I just have to make sure that I tell 'all my friends' how great of a stay I've had here."

"So you can stay here for as long as you like and it doesn't cost you a thing?" She eyed him quizzically and for some reason he sort of felt embarrassed all of a sudden.

He nodded and scratched his chest uncomfortably over the damp fabric of the shirt he'd thrown on before coming down to the room. "Pretty much...at least until someone rents it outright or when someone more important than me shows up."

She giggled and he smiled. "That's craziness."

"That's the thing with being...famous. Once you can afford to buy everything you ever wanted and do everything you wanted to do, no one wants to take your money. They all want you to have everything for free so they can say you're wearing their stuff or eating their food."

He watched her as she shook her head and took another sip from her water bottle. He liked the way her hair was drying in a slight wave that crested her collarbone. He’d frankly enjoyed it earlier when she’d been checking him out. He knew his body had changed somewhat drastically since they’d last been together and it had made him feel good to think she may be turned on by him again. He’d certainly gotten an eyeful when she’d removed the sundress she’d been wearing over her dark green bikini. He didn’t remember ever having seen her in a bikini before; when they were growing up she’d always either work a one piece or one of those two piece things where the top goes down to the waist.

Thank god his sunglasses were mirrored and he’d been apparently more skilled than her at covering the fact that he’d been checking her out. Especially when he’d thought he’d seen the hint of a tattoo peeking out from the top of her bikini bottom.

Now she’d put the sundress back on but her hair was still damp and her skin was slightly reddened by the recent exposure to the sun. He kind of wished she’d take the sun dress off again.

“So, do you want to shower first?” She asked while bending down to unzip her bag and rummage through its contents.

“Actually, there are two bathrooms.” He pointed to the left, then the right where two sets of french doors were closing off rooms beyond them. “My stuff is already in that one, go ahead and use the other,” he said indicating the one on the right.

She nodded and picked up her bag before she headed off toward the spare room. When she shut the french doors behind herself he couldn’t help but wonder if she still used the sweet smelling satsuma body wash whose smell had been imprinted in his mind all those years ago.

***

Kyra looked at JC over the top of her restaurant menu. He looked really handsome wearing a white collared dress shirt over a pair of dark blue jeans. He’d rolled the sleeves up on his forearms and again, it was difficult for her to not keep staring at the prominent veins snaking up his muscled forearm.

This restaurant was really fancy and she was happy that she’d brought a pretty summer dress to wear. It was a simple light blue maxi dress with a pretty pattern which looked great with the white flip flops she was already wearing. She’d pulled her hair up in a stylish bun and only applied a little makeup on her eyes and some gloss on her lips. After a spritz of her perfume, she’d gone back into the living area of the hotel room to find he’d just finished getting ready as well.

All he’d had to do was call down to the restaurant and ask for a table that was more on the secluded side and he’d been accommodated immediately. Now, as they sat in the high backed booth both looking at their menus all she could think about was how good he smelled and how close his knees were to hers under the small table.

“Did you decide on what you would like?” The voice of their waiter returning brought her back to reality.She looked up over her menu to find JC motioning to her, indicating he wanted her to order first.

Damn, she should have been paying attention.

She quickly glanced over the menu and picked the first thing she recognized. The waiter smiled at her and nodded before looking over at JC who ordered some kind of veal dish she didn’t recognize. When he inquired about what the house wine was, he looked over at her inquiringly and she nodded indicating that she was fine with the choice.

“So, when did you start drinking beer? Or tequila for that matter?” He asked as the waiter quietly moved away from their table.

She laughed softly and shrugged. “College, I guess. I rarely drink any hard liquor.” When he smirked at her she continued, “That...was a hard night.” She answered addressing the night he’d had to bring her back to her room when she’d had a little too much to drink in the hotel bar.

He laughed softly and scratched his cheek. “It wasn’t that bad.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Not that bad? I’m pretty sure I puked on you.”

He shook his head. “Not on me...thankfully in the toilet.”

She winced and shook her head. “Still that wasn’t cool, I feel bad.”

He shrugged and leaned back as the waiter returned with their bottle of wine and he served them their first glass before placing the bottle on the table and moving away again.

“It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen you be sick, plus I think we’re pretty much even now.”

It took her a moment to remember what he was referring to and then she laughed into her wine glass. “Oh my god. How did I forget about the night of the lebanese food?”

His cheeks reddened even in the dim lighting of the restaurant as he took a sip from his own glass before he chuckled too. “If you don’t call that a bonding experience...nothing is.”

She shook her head, remembering the night they’d gone on a road trip and he’d absolutely insisted on trying lebanese food at this little hole in the wall restaurant. For some reason he’d gotten food poisoning from it and while she’d been in the shower of the hotel room’s bathroom, he’d burst in the door apologizing over and over again as he’d gotten sick over and over again into the nearby toilet.

Though at the time he’d been really sick, when he’d gotten better all they could do was laugh at the sounds and smells that really shouldn’t ever have to be shared between two people.

“Stop thinking about it!” He said comically and leaned back against the padding of the booth as he took another sip of wine.

She couldn’t help it, but she kept giggling as they enjoyed their wine and made small talk until their meal came. As she tucked into her seafood linguine, which was really rather delicious, she asked, “So, how long are you staying in Boston?”

He chewed the bite of veal he had in his mouth and swallowed before answering. “I’m not sure. Another few days I assume. If you’ll have me around of course.”

She smiled widely and nodded. “Of course. I’m having a good time. I have to work a few shifts at the bookstore in the next few days, but I wouldn’t mind hanging out again.”

When he smiled at her answer and it reached his eyes, crinkling them at the corners she felt something stir in her stomach again and she knew that it definitely wasn’t the linguine.

***