“Nope,” I reply as cheerfully as I can. “Just bruised. I’ll be good as new in a week or so.”

Dominic rolls his eyes. “Are you always this cheerful?”

I shake my head. “Hell no. Try waking me up before nine A.M. and you’ll see a whole new level of ugly.”

He chuckles, settling back into the cushions. “Do you want to go to bed? You must be tired.”

I shake my head. “The pain meds your guy gave me are making me a little sleepy, but I’m sort of too amped up to rest. Can we just talk for a while?”

Dominic looks pained. “Oh yeah. My favorite thing to do.”

The way he says it makes me laugh and Dominic smiles. “So glad to be a source of amusement to you.”

I smile again as the warm breeze lifts the hair away from my face. “Can you help me into the pool? It was so hot and dry out in the canyon that I’d like to get wet.”

I left myself wide open for a sexual jab by Dominic, but he ignores it.

“Are you sure?” He raises an eyebrow. “The doctor said you should rest your foot.”

I shake my head. “He also said it wasn’t broken. Trust me, I’ve got enough pain meds in me to put out a small horse. I’m feeling no pain.” To prove my point, I stand up awkwardly, swaying a bit before I catch my balance. I strip off my shirt, then sit back down to take off my shorts.

Dominic doesn’t say anything… he just sits back and watches me, his eyes darkening as I strip off my bra. There’s a million things hidden in his eyes right now, but he doesn’t voice any of them. Instead, he just stands up and gently grabs my arm.

“Ready?”

I nod, expecting him to help me hobble into the water, but that’s not what he does. Instead, he scoops me up and carries me directly into the pool, pausing only for a second to kick his shoes off at the edge.

Other than that, he’s fully clothed.

He carries me straight into the water, completely soaking his clothes. I stare at him in shock. “Why didn’t you undress?”

He stares down at me, his dark gaze meeting mine. “Jacey, you jumped in front of a cougar for me today. If you say you want to swim, I’m going to drop what I’m doing and carry you into the water.”

A weird feeling ripples through me, warm and tingly.

“Seriously? That’s all I had to do to impress you? I just had to jump in front of a hungry wild animal? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve done it a long time ago.”

He throws his head back and laughs, a genuine laugh and his teeth gleam in the dark. He tightens his grip on me for a second, then he lowers me carefully into the water, holding me up as I gingerly set my foot down, then pick it back up and tread water.

“Who says you impressed me?” he asks mockingly, treading water in front of me. “I’m only admitting that I owe you. I pay my debts.”

I roll my eyes now. “Whatever. I know you’re impressed. And what’s more, you like me. You just don’t want to admit it. You don’t want to admit that I’m a decent person… because you think that the world is only made up of assholes. To admit that I’m not horrible would mess up your deep-seated belief system. I wouldn’t want to do that.”

Dom cocks his head, studying me in the night. “I thought you said you weren’t decent?”

I shrug, my fingers slicing through the cool water. “I don’t think I am. But compared to your opinion of humanity, I think I do okay.”

“If you’re not decent, then who is?” Dominic demands, swimming toward me. “Because I’d like to meet that person.”

“My best friend Maddy,” I answer immediately. “She’s pretty amazing. But she moved to Connecticut, so you probably won’t ever meet her. That’s good though. She’s drop-dead gorgeous, and my brother would kick your ass if he caught you drooling over her, so it’s for the best.”

“Do you really think I would drool over her if you were in the room?” Dominic asks softly, treading water very close to me. The moonlight makes him look pensive, thoughtful. And I stare at him.

“Probably,” I answer finally. “Everyone does.”

“Not me,” Dominic replies firmly. “I wouldn’t have any need to.”

“Why are you being so nice to me today?” I demand quickly. “First a picnic in the Grand Canyon, then you ordered a private midnight snack on your veranda, and now you’re giving me compliments. You’re freaking me out, Dom. Knock it off.”

“I haven’t even begun to get nice yet,” he tells me, his voice growing as dark as his eyes. He pushes me through the water until we reach the side of the pool, where he rests his hands on either side of my hips. “Want me to start right now?”

He doesn’t give me a chance to reply. Instead, he kisses me, suddenly and thoroughly. His mouth covers mine, his lips cold and wet. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on, melting into him, absorbing his heat, enjoying the way his wet body feels against mine.

“Why did you do it?” he whispers into my ear. “Why did you risk yourself like that for me?”

He nips at my ear and trails his lips down the length of my neck until he reaches my collarbone. “Tell me,” he demands. “I need to know. I don’t see what you gained from it.”

I force myself to pull away from him, just for a minute. “I didn’t gain anything from it,” I answer sharply. “Just the knowledge and satisfaction of knowing that you didn’t get eaten. That was enough.”

He pulls away too, just for a minute, and stares into my eyes. In the night, his eyes look almost black. Without saying another word, he kisses me again, and again, and again. Hard, soft, brutal, exquisite.

“Take off your clothes,” I urge him. “I want to feel your skin.”

To my surprise, he does. He peels off the wet clothes and flings them onto the stone deck, turning again to pull me to him. His chest is hard, his stomach flat, and his dick hard. Very hard. It wedges between my legs and I shiver a bit, at the mere thought that it’s all for me.

He’s hard for me.

He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist, kissing him yet again. I decide that I could kiss him forever… he’s perfect at it. His tongue slides along my lip and he bites at it, just a little.

“Do you want more?” he whispers. “Yes or no?”

“We’re back to that?” I answer softly. “You can’t tell what I want?”

He looks at me. “I just like hearing the word yes.”

“I’d think you’d get tired of hearing it all the time,” I reply as he holds me up in the water.

“Not from you,” he answers. He kisses me again, his lips consuming me. And then he stops, looking at me seriously.

“I’m a very good actor,” he tells me matter-of-factly. “I’m good at pretending that I’m someone else. And tonight, I’m going to be someone else. Does that bother you?”

I’m surprised by his sudden turn and by the oh-so-serious expression on his face, but no, I’m not bothered. I tell him that and he smiles.

“But who do you want to be?” I add curiously. He shrugs.

“Anyone but me.”

He pushes me against the side of the pool, thrusting his hips against me, rubbing me. His weight is perfect, hard, rigid, amazing. I suck in a breath when he bends his head and nips at my breast, sucking my nipple into his mouth. I throw my head back as he sucks harder.

“But why?” I manage to persist, even though he’s trying his best to distract me. “You’re pretty amazing. Why would you want to be someone else? Are you sure that you just don’t want me to be someone else?”

Dominic stops what he’s doing and pulls away, looking at me with a hard expression. His green eyes have a dull light in them now, something that happens when he’s annoyed. I stare back, trying to be unabashed.

“What do you mean?” he asks slowly. “Why would I want you to be someone else?”

I shrug, trying to ignore my pounding heart. Why did I choose this moment to bring this up? Why? But I’m not one to back down, so I don’t.

“I don’t know. I just thought maybe you were pretending that I’m Emma.”