CHAPTER FIVE
The sweat glistened off Luis back and her fingers itched to touch him. She smiled
when she realized he hadn't noticed her standing there yet. An idea suddenly formed
in her mind and as quietly as she could, she walked up behind him. The moment she
was close enough, she ran her forefinger down his back stopping at the edge
of his jeans. He gave an involuntary shiver and slowly turned around. Then
he smiled and without warning took her in his arms. His mouth came down
hard on hers and started them in a soul-searching, heart-stopping kiss. By
the time he finally pulled away, her heart was hammering in her chest.
Wait, Sheridan thought as she slowly started to wake up and open her eyes, that wasn't her heart hammering in her chest. No, the noise she was hearing sounded like it was coming from outside. Sheridan threw back the covers and walked to the window. Sure enough, there was Luis hard at work. He was currently hammering in a nail, which she now knew was the noise that had woken her. He looked just as he had in her dream. He wore faded blue jeans, no shirt, and she could see the sweat glistening off his body even from her second floor window.
In her dream, she'd run her finger down his back and he'd given an involuntary shiver. Then he'd turned around taken her in his arms and kissed her. She smiled remembering the feel of his lips as they met her own. God, the man could kiss. She watched as he bent down to pick up another nail and felt an idea forming in her head. She'd often heard the phrase dreams do come true. Maybe it was time to see if it was really true.
She walked to the closet and pulled out a pair of faded cutoffs and a white tank top that allowed her to show off her belly button. She smiled. Luis was in for a big surprise today, she thought walking into the bathroom to change out of her nightgown. She doubted that he would be expecting to see her this morning. But that didn't bother her any. In fact, she rather liked catching him off guard. She laughed and pulled on her cutoffs. Ah, yes, Mr. I'll-break-your-heart-in-a-New-York-minute wouldn't know what hit him.
Sher finished dressing, then brushed her hair and teeth. She put on a small amount of makeup and a touch of her favorite perfume then started to make her way downstairs. She stopped when she passed Ethan's door and heard him say her name.
"No, Sher doesn't know. I thought I'd let it be a surprise. Hey who knows, maybe she'll meet the man of her dreams at this party tonight. Maybe, if we're lucky, she'll even change her mind and stay away from Luis."
Fat chance, she thought, as she stepped away from Ethan's door and made her way downstairs. She had already made up her mind and there was nothing Ethan or anyone else could do to change it. Luis was the perfect man to help her ruin her good girl image. He'd already proven himself twice now and if she was really lucky... he'd prove it again today.
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Luis wiped the sweat off the back of his neck, then started to hang another board. He stopped when he realized he couldn't hold the board and hammer in the nail at the same time. Damn, he thought shaking his head, it was times like these when he wished he'd taken Ethan up on his offer to help him. He supposed he'd have to go inside and ask him now.
Luis had just started to lower the board when he felt someone run a finger down his spine. "What the -"
"Need some help?" A voice asked interrupting him.
Oh hell. He wasn't ready to see her yet. In fact, he had hoped he could avoid seeing her all day today. Evidently, she didn't share the same sentiment. "I'm not sure your helping me is such a good idea."
"Why?" She asked walking her fingers up his back. He had to force himself not to react. But then, just as he thought he had himself under control, she stepped closer and whispered in his ear. "Because you don't trust yourself?"
He shivered as her warm breath hit his ear. Then again, a second later, when she slowly ran her hands down his arms and over sides. He nearly groaned in agony when she wrapped her arms around his waist and slowly started running her hands up his chest. God, he thought gripping the board in his hand until his knuckles turned white, the girl was trying to kill him. "Sher, don't -"
"Don't what?" She asked as she softly bit his ear. "Don't do this?"
She ran a hand over his butt and he barely managed to keep himself from groaning aloud. A second later, she ran her other hand down his chest toward the button on his jeans. Then she slowly circled the button with one slender finger and he lost all self-control. He threw the board down in front of him and turned to pull her roughly into his arms. Then he kissed her - hard. If she wanted to play games, then she had learn that there were consequences. His forced her mouth open with his tongue then explored her mouth with determined thoroughness. She didn't pull away. In fact, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. Okay, he thought as her tongue dueled with his, this approach was definitely not going to work. He pulled back a moment later and looked into her eyes. He saw, not fear this time, but burning desire. The same burning desire that was, at this very moment, coursing through his veins. Ah hell. "Sweetheart, you're playing with fire and you're about to get burned."
She laughed. She actually laughed. "Really? Well, at least I won't be burning alone."
This time he did groan aloud. Damn it, he had to get control of himself. He had told Ethan that what had happened yesterday wouldn't happen again. He had to be stronger. He couldn't... wouldn't jeopardize his friendship with Ethan. He shook his head and stepped back away from her. "This is not going to happen, sweetheart."
"Why not?" she asked her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "I promise it will be fun."
She started to reach for him again, but then they heard the back screen door open and she stopped her hand in midair. He glanced around her and saw Ethan and Theresa walking toward them. Thank god. He didn't know how much more he'd be able to take or how much longer he could resist.
"Hey Ethan, I could really use your help over here." In more ways than one, he thought as he turned around and grabbed the board he'd thrown down a few minutes before. "Can you hold this board up while I hammer in a few nails?"
"Sure thing buddy." Ethan walked over and held the board up with both hands while Luis hammered in the nails. When all the nails were in, they both stepped back to survey what they'd done. But when Luis stepped back he didn't know Sher was so close behind him and almost knocked her over. He reached out and grabbed her arms to steady her. "Sorry. I didn't know you were so close."
She gave him another one of those flirty smiles and ran a finger up his chest. He narrowed his eyes about to say something when Theresa interrupted them. "Hey Sher, Ethan and I are going into Boston today. Why don't you join us?"
Please say yes, he thought letting her go and walking over to grab another board. If she stayed here and they were alone, who knew what would happen. "I don't think so." He heard her say. "I want to stay here and work on... my tan."
Tan? Did she say tan? Oh hell. She had to go. If she stayed... Well, he wasn't even going to think about it. "You have the whole summer to work on your tan." He said turning around to face her. "Why don't you go into Boston with Ethan and Theresa. I bet it would be a lot of fun."
She laughed. "No thanks. I've been to Boston before. I don't need to go again. Besides, I really want to work on... my tan."
He caught the slight hesitation in her voice, but he had no idea what it meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to know either. "Suit yourself."
"That sounds like a great idea. I think I'll go change into my suit right now." Oh god. That wasn't what he meant! He couldn't take seeing her in seeing her in another bikini all afternoon. He just couldn't. She was halfway to the house when she turned around again. "Have fun in Boston guys. I'll see you tonight at the party."
With that, she was gone. He turned to look at Theresa and Ethan, who both had a surprised look on their face. Had he missed something? 'You guys okay?"
Ethan recovered first. "Yeah, I just... I didn't know she knew about the party tonight. Did you tell her?"
"Me? No, I wasn't even sure it was still on until just now."
Theresa nodded. "Yeah, it's still on. Ethan wanted to surprise Sher and introduce her to everyone, but I guess that's out of the question now. I wonder how she found out."
"Who knows." Ethan said shaking his head. "One of the maids could have let it slip or something."
"That's true enough." Luis said barely able to hide his smile. The maid were really good at spilling secrets. In fact, that's how he'd learned where Sher's bedroom was yesterday. "Well you guys I've got to get back to work. Have fun in Boston."
"Thanks." Ethan said taking Theresa's hand in his. "We'll be back in time for the party. But if anyone arrives early, you know what to do."
"Yeah, I'll take care of it."
Ethan nodded. "Good. We'll see you later then."
"Okay." Luis said watching them walk back into the house hand in hand. An image of a blond in a barely there blue bikini flashed in his mind, but he immediately forced it back out again. He had a lot of work to do today. He wasn't sure he could get it all done as it was. He knew he wouldn't if he let her continually invade his thoughts. He shook his head then turned back around more than ready to lose himself in his work.
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Sheridan walked into her bedroom intent on finding the perfect bathing suit. She knew Luis was going to try and ignore her this afternoon, but there was no way she was going to let him. She walked to the dresser and pulled out the red bikini she had purchased a few weeks ago. She knew red was a good color for her and she knew she looked good in this particular bikini too. She laughed as she tried to picture her parent's reaction if they knew she'd bought it. They still thought of her as a little girl. The last bathing suit her mother bought her was an unflattering turquoise one-piece that she had only worn once - the day her mother had given it to her. After that, Sher had bought all her own bathing suits and kept them hidden in a special box in her closet. She'd been saving them for this summer.
Her parents were so concerned about appearances that they would totally flip out over the thought of her wearing such a revealing bikini. Too bad, she thought throwing off her tank top and bra and putting on her bikini top, they would just have to learn the hard way that she was old enough to make her own decisions. She smiled and slid her shorts and underwear down her legs then pulled on her matching bikini bottoms. She was going to teach them that she was her own woman and that she made her own decisions. She was through allowing them to control her life. She knew that even though they weren't here watching her every move that Julian and Ivy would relay what was going on. Ah, yes by the time she was finished, her parents or anyone else would never look at her the same way again.
Suddenly an idea occurred to her and she slipped her cutoffs back on over her bikini bottoms. What would Luis do if she were to strip for him? She could just imagine the look in his eyes as she slowly slid the shorts down her legs. She could just see the way his eyes would darken. Would he come to her then? Would he take her in his arms and kiss her again? She hoped so. She loved kissing him. She smiled and raised a hand to touch her lips. Even now twenty minutes later, she could still feel the heat from that kiss he'd given her. The man definitely knew how to kiss a woman. She supposed he'd had enough practice at it.
She had to admit that his experience bothered her some. She knew he was way ahead of her in that area and she briefly wondered if he could tell how inexperienced she was. She hoped he couldn't. It would ruin the whole effect she was gong for. She knew Ethan had told him she was innocent, but she hoped that she had given him enough reason to doubt that description. If not, she certainly planned to do it today. She knew she was being rather forward in her pursuit of him and she couldn't really say why. She had the whole summer to destroy her reputation and yet the moment she saw him climb the diving board and dive into the pool, she'd made the decision to get his attention. She wasn't sure what had prompted her to kiss him or the episode in the bedroom later on, but she knew she didn't regret it. She couldn't. He was way too hot for her to regret doing anything with him.
Sher shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Come on Sher, get down to that pool. It's time to put your plan in motion."
Operation seduce Luis was about to begin!
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"Luis?" Sher called from behind him. "This water looks awfully good. Care to join me for a swim?"
Luis stopped his hammer in midair and turned around even though he told himself he shouldn't. Sher was standing at the edge of the pool, wearing a very revealing red bikini top and a pair of daisy duke cutoffs. God, she was hot. He watched mesmerized as she slowly unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs. Then he continued to watch as she kicked her shorts out of the way and walked to the edge of the pool.
She gave him a sexy little smile and dove into the water. He tried to turn away, but he found he couldn't. He watched as she slicked the hair back away from her face and climbed the ladder, making her way toward the diving board. He could see the beads of water clinging to her skin and felt his groin tighten in response. When she glanced at him and winked, Luis dropped the hammer in his hands
He reached down to pick it up and nearly had a heartattack when he straightened back up just in time to see Sher untie her bikini top and let it fall to the ground. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but then he realized he wasn't. He shook his head and forced himself to turn away from her. It took everything he had but he managed finally managed to do it. He knew if he didn't get himself under control and fast that he would walk over there, take her in his arms, and start a fire neither one of them would be able to put out. He groaned and decided the best thing he could do would be to concentrate on his work. Just as he was about to hammer in another nail, her bikini bottoms hit him in the face and he heard a splash. Oh god, Sher was naked in that pool.
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Sheridan knew she was going a little overboard, but she didn't care. She was fighting for control of her own life and the only way to win was to make her folks - and Ethan - realize she was through playing little miss innocent. Sheridan watched as Luis turned toward her, her red bikini bottoms dangling from his right forefinger. "Did you lose something?"
She grinned. "I sure did. Would you mind bringing it to me?"
She swam to the edge of the pool and the moment he got close enough for her to reach, she grabbed his pant leg and pulled him in. He came up sputtering and she grinned. "Why Luis you're all wet."
He shook his head. "Sher, be careful. You're on dangerous ground here."
She grinned again and swam closer until she was just an inch away from him. "How dangerous?" She asked as she closed the gap between them and wrapped her legs around his waist.
"This dangerous?" she asked settling her hips over his.
"Or maybe this dangerous." She whispered pressing her breasts against his chest and staring into his eyes. "Which is it Luis? Because the curiosity is killing me."
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Luis groaned and did the only thing he could. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her as if his life depended on it. The moment she opened her lips to him, his tongue darted inside to mate with hers. The kiss went on and on until they were both out of breath and begging for more.
Sher rubbed her breasts against his chest and Luis felt his groin tighten even more... if that were possible. The woman had to know what she was doing to him. As he finally raised his head, he saw that she did and that she was enjoying every damn minute of it. Well, he thought, two could play at that game.
Luis placed his hand under her buttocks and raised her so that her breasts were even with his face. Then he took one nipple into his mouth and began a gentle sucking that had her moaning in pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his neck in an attempt to hold his head to her breast. He continued his slow torture of her breast then moved to the other side to give it the same treatment. He ran his tongue over one taut nipple and Sher lost it. Her head flew back, her legs tightened around his waist and she climaxed right there in the pool. He smiled, he'd made her lose control. The thought alone caused him to go right over the edge with her.
Luis held her until the tides ebbed then slowly lowered her to the ground, letting her body slid against his own on the way. He pulled back to look into her face. There was a sense of wonderment in her eyes that he knew he had put there. It made him feel as if he were the greatest man alive. She smiled a brilliant I've-been-kicked-in-the-gut smile then lowered his face until her lips touched his. He was so lost in the kiss that he didn't hear the back door open. In fact, he didn't even know they had company until he heard the wolf whistle and a male voice say, "Well, well, well, what do you we have here?"
Oh god, he thought pulling away and standing in front of Sheridan to hide her body from the two pairs of male eyes standing at the edge of the pool. It was just his luck to be caught in such a compromising position by Hank "Big Mouth" Bennett and Josh "The Babe Hunter" Edwards.
To Be Continued...