“We can rinse off, then we can go in, and I’ll get the first aid kit. You can find something for us to dry off with in that chest over there.”
Aside from towels, she also discovered a stack of towel robes. She grabbed a couple of each and carried them over to where the shower spray was running all over his glorious body. She couldn’t help but watch with fascination—the sight was just too mesmerizing not to enjoy.
“So what made you come here on vacation?” he asked.
She slid her gaze from his glistening torso. “I did an Internet search and found a bed-and-breakfast near here. I was dying to spend some time at the beach.”
“What do you think of the area so far?” He carefully stepped out of the open-air shower, which featured a privacy glass-block wall on the beach side. He grabbed a towel off the bench and dried off. Then he pulled on a robe and drew it around himself, cinching the belt before he sat down to wait for her.
“I love the beach. I just didn’t realize how easy it was to drown yourself. I’m used to lakes.” She pulled off her shorts. The one-piece bathing suit she was wearing was one of her creations, though she wasn’t sure she would offer a swimsuit line. But she loved the suit. Even though it was a one-piece, the front had a lot of see-through crocheted netting; the top and bottom were bikini-like; and the thong backside was cut high on the cheeks to add to the sex appeal. She’d been wearing shorts so she wasn’t as exposed to the crowd. As she showered, she felt sexy and self-conscious at the same time, mainly because of her wolfish audience and the way his tongue was dragging on the patio.
She wished she could strip off her bathing suit and rinse the inside because she still felt sandy.
“I think you would have been okay if you had just relaxed and didn’t try to swim in against the current. If I had known you were a wolf, I would have thought you were strong enough to make the swim on your own. Believing you were human, I couldn’t take the chance.”
Yet when he’d learned she was a wolf, he still hadn’t let go. “Thanks, Rafe, for saving me out there.”
“Hey, you saved me too, remember.” He held up his foot.
She sighed. “Yeah, but that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t come to my rescue. Let’s get this taken care of before you need hospitalization.”
He just laughed.
* * *
Rafe didn’t believe Jade’s story. Not exactly. He wanted to. He was tired of being wary of people’s motives related to his wealth and power. Just once he’d like to meet a she-wolf like her who wasn’t looking for a sugar daddy or a glamorous lifestyle. But it was too much of a coincidence that she’d happened to catch his interest when male lupus garous had been following him around.
He didn’t think she’d acted shocked enough that he owned the beach house, as he called it. He didn’t believe anyone as pretty as she was, and a wolf, would be here on vacation without having a pack member with her. And he didn’t think she would have picked this particular spot to vacation. Why not somewhere closer to where she lived? Maybe South Padre Island on the Gulf of Mexico, or Galveston. Why come all the way to California?
Why come to where a billionaire wolf happened to live and potentially drown herself in the ocean right in front of his house? He hated that he couldn’t believe she was here by coincidence.
He would continue to talk to her, to learn more about her. If she hadn’t been so intriguing, he would have sent her on her way. He really was curious to see if she had some devious plan in mind. In the meantime, he’d have one of his men learn all he could about her.
If he hadn’t been so interested in her, Rafe would have left her on the beach and taken care of his injury on his own. But he enjoyed seeing her so concerned and willing to take care of him. He hadn’t had anyone do that for him since he was a boy.
Unless someone wanted money for the service.
The first aid kit was in his master bath. He led her into the bedroom, then motioned to the seating area. “I’ll be right back.” Instead, she walked over to the french doors to observe the view from the veranda.
“Be right back.” He was still annoyed about cutting his foot. He’d wanted to walk with her down the beach to the Crab Shack, even though it was two miles south of where he lived.
He heard the french doors open, and when he returned to the bedroom with kit in hand, he saw her standing at the railing, looking out to sea, the wind sweeping her damp hair around. In that instant, as he walked out to join her, he really hoped she was there without any ulterior motives.
“About lunch…” he said, taking a seat and putting the first aid kit on the table.
“Here, let me do that.” She hurried over to sit opposite him and lifted his foot onto her lap. She retrieved supplies from the kit and cleaned the wound with care, then dried it and bandaged it, the intimate gesture filling him with a strange longing.
“So about lunch… I had thought we’d walk along the beach,” he said.
“You can’t until your foot heals up.” She tucked the rest of the supplies away and set the kit aside, his foot still on her lap.
“I can drive us there.”
She sighed. “The reason I wanted to go there was that I’d be sandy and wet and…” She shrugged. “They have a patio for the bathing suit crowd, but I don’t want to mess up your car.”
“I can change into something dry. I’ll throw on some sandals and a T-shirt. And we can take a couple of towels for you to sit on in the car. We could drop by your bed-and-breakfast, and you could get a change of clothes. Or just go as is. It’s up to you.”
“‘As is’ is fine with me. I’ll just sit by the pool until you’re ready to go.”
“Okay. Be ready in a jiff.” He had a meeting this evening with an interior decorator about one of the homes he wanted staged before he put it on the market, but he wasn’t letting this opportunity go if he had a chance to spend more time with Jade. He’d ask his personal assistant to take care of the meeting.
As soon as Jade returned to the pool still wearing one of his towel robes, Rafe texted Edward Manning, an ex-Navy SEAL who served as a bodyguard and as whatever else Rafe needed that required muscle, intelligence, and finesse.
Rafe texted: Got a job for you.
Edward texted back: Yeah, Boss?
Need you to check out a woman for me. All I have is her first name, Jade. She’s here now. I just want you to learn all you can about her.
No response.
Edward?
Yeah, sure, I’m on it.
We’re going to the Crab Shack in just a few. Then I’ll drop her off at her car sitting in the public parking area. You can take it from there.
Will do.
Rafe had never had Edward check out a woman for him. He could just imagine what the lone wolf was thinking about that.
* * *
Jade was dying to take off her salty, sandy bathing suit. She was used to swimming in lakes, and this wasn’t the same. Her skin would be chafed and miserable if she didn’t rinse off more. She knew Rafe would take some time getting dressed, so she practically sprinted for the patio, then spied a table with a piece of junk mail addressed to the current resident. She sailed past the table and outside, yanking off the robe and tossing it on the bench. When she reached the outdoor shower, she stripped off her shorts and bathing suit and quickly washed herself all over again.