innate power.
Up close, not only was he strikingly handsome, but he was even bigger than she’d first thought. Between the wide breadth of his chest and the muscles flexing beneath his T-shirt, from the size of his biceps and the way his chest tapered down to slim, tight hips, she could feel her breath slowly leaving her body, quickly being replaced with something that felt—uncomfortably—like desire.
It wasn’t until several long moments later that she realized he was staring back at her. His eyes were making a lazy path from her face to her partially covered breasts, then farther down to her hips and legs before slowly moving back up to her face.
Suddenly, she remembered what she was wearing. Or, more to the point, wasn’t wearing.
She’d never go out in public without a bra, but here, in the privacy of her own house, she did as she wished. It was one of the things she enjoyed most about having her own place. The freedom to not only do whatever she wanted, but to wear whatever she wanted.
A tank top and cutoff jeans had never been part of her city vernacular. But here at the lake, especially when she was getting down and dirty with her paints, when the thermometer read eighty and the humidity was ratcheting up all day in preparation for a rainstorm, she liked the bohemian feel of cutoffs.
Not thrilled about flashing some stranger—even less thrilled about him taking any surreptitious pleasure from looking at her—she crossed her arms over her breasts to stop the peep show. But then she realized he hadn’t given her the lease back yet, so she had to unfold one arm and reach for it.
The corners of the papers crumpled in his fist. Damn it, he’d already cut into most of her dwindling painting time for the afternoon. She wasn’t in any mood for games.
Switching into a stern demeanor that had been known to make billionaires quiver in their Ferragamos when they “forgot” to give one of her charities the money they’d publicly promised, she said, “Now that you have your proof, I’d very much appreciate it if you’d give me back my lease.”
But this man didn’t quiver. He didn’t shake. Instead his eyes continued to hold hers and she was almost certain she saw a challenge in the blue depths.
And wouldn’t you know it, her heart started leaping around in her chest. She supposed it was some sort of instinctual response to the combination of his devastating looks and the threat that he clearly posed to her perfect summer on the lake.
“Lucky you,” he drawled. “Getting this place all to yourself this summer.”
She was caught off guard by the way his low, rough voice slipped and slid through her veins so seductively. How the hell had he managed to almost make her toes curl on the porch floors with nothing but a few words?
Up until now he’d been hard. Unyielding. Definitely not in a bargaining mood. But now that she’d not only staked but proved her claim, it looked like he’d decided to change tactics by stunning her with the full force of his sensual power.
Well, just because she liked what she saw (she’d have to be drained of all hormones not to), didn’t mean she had any intention of touching. Which meant she was immune.
Mostly, anyway.
“You’re right,” she agreed, and even though she wouldn’t normally feel the need to rub in her win over a virtual stranger, she couldn’t resist adding, “It’s breathtaking.”
He looked out at the lake. “Not many views this good, even on this lake. My grandfather used to call it the million-dollar beach.”
When he turned back to her his lips were curled up on one side in what might have been a half smile under other circumstances. But right at that moment it was colored more with a sneer than anything even remotely connected to happiness.
“I’m just wondering one thing. How did you know my grandparents were thinking of renting it when they didn’t even remember to tell their own family?”
It was a sucker punch. Oh no, he