Below the Line Read Online Free PDF

could have woken her and taken advantage of her sleep-fuzzy brain to make a move. However, it hadn’t seemed right.
     
    Marissa had looked completely different while asleep. All the lines of worry on her forehead had smoothed, and she looked much younger than usual, innocent and trusting. It brought out protective feelings in him that he wasn’t completely comfortable with.
     
    He had played the gentleman and put her to bed, fully clothed. Then, he left her alone to rest. He was finding that he wasn’t himself around her. Last night had proven that in more ways than one.
     
    Never, in all the years since he had left home, had he told a woman about his past. Usually, he changed the subject and dodged any questions before ending whatever situation had gotten him to that point. However, he had offered it up to Marissa without thinking about it at all.
     
    What he’d done hadn’t hit him until after he’d put her to bed. He’d stood there, staring at her for several minutes, wondering what it was that made him want to open up to her.
     
    In the light of day, it had seemed a little more than he wanted to think about, yet he couldn’t stop thinking about her . Coffee hadn’t cleared his head, so he went to his standby – laps in the pool.
     
    Nate thought he had more time before she got up, but on his last turn he spotted her standing close to the edge of the pool. He hadn’t intended to expose himself, but it looked like he didn’t have much choice. The devil on his shoulder was anticipating her reaction.
     
    She watched him make his final lap and come up to the edge, pushing the hair off his forehead. “Do you always swim nude?” She refused to look away and give him the satisfaction of knowing she was shaken by the thought of him naked in the water.
     
    The cocky grin that she was supposedly so immune to split his face. “I’m not used to having company here. It’s a habit.”
     
    It might have been habit and she could almost believe it was unintentional, but she also knew that he was getting a big kick out of the thought that she might be curious to see him nude. Well, two could play that game. “Mmmm, I can see how that might be true. I’ll turn my back so you can cover up. You know, in case the cool water has caused any—shrinkage.”
     
    Somehow she managed to contain her grin until her back was to him. The look of insult and shock had nearly caused her to lose control and give herself away. Her smile faded quickly when she saw his reflection in the glass of the door in front of her. It was like looking in a mirror.
     
    Water ran down his body like a lover’s caress. Tattoos covered a large portion of his chest and upper arms. The colors stood out against the warm tan of his skin. Her breath quickened, and she knew she should look away, but she didn’t. He was beautiful, in a wholly masculine way. His broad shoulders and chest tapered down to a slim waist and hips. He widened again in the thighs, the muscles taut and defined. Even his feet were cute. 
     
    He bent over to pick up his towel and saw her reflection in the door. She could see him as clearly as he was seeing her. The way her eyes were checking him out had his body reacting in ways he wasn’t able to hide with nothing more than a small bath towel.
     
    Swallowing hard, Marissa decided that the rumors about men and shrinkage were all bunk. She tried to raise her cup to drink, but her hand was shaking a little too much. She tried looking away, but her eyes came right back to his image in the glass. She was glad her back was to him so he couldn’t see how turned on she was. Every ragged breath caused her nipples to rub against the fabric of her bra, exciting her even more.
     
    Nate took his time toweling off. He was careful to make sure his eyes never met hers in the reflection of the glass. He had seen the tremble in her hands and the way her nipples had gotten hard while she was watching him. Her breathing was erratic, easily