Eye of the Beholder

commanded his full attention at that moment. Everything that he had been thinking just a few seconds earlier.
    It was not that he forgot about Guthrie and Kenyon or what had happened twelve years ago. It was just that, right now, while he was holding Alexa in his arms, those things could be put aside for a while.
    The past could wait until tomorrow.
    He tightened his hold on Alexa. She was soft and vibrant. Her scent captivated him on an elemental level. He'd known women who smelled good, but none of them had smelled this good.
    The contours of her body were exquisitely satisfying. They seemed to fit him perfectly. It was as though she had been made just for him. When she sighed and opened her mouth he wanted to go out and conquer a large chunk of the civilized world and maybe finish exploring the Amazon.
    But first he wanted to make love to her. He had to make love to her. And he had to do it now, tonight.
    He eased her closer. Her thigh brushed against the inside of the leg he had braced on the fountain rim.
    There is nothing so seductive as water in the desert.
    Without breaking the kiss, he closed his hands around Alexa's waist, scooped her up, and stepped into the low fountain pool with her in his arms. The soft, warm rain cascaded over them.
    Alexa gasped and pulled back a little, but her hands still clung firmly around his shoulders. She stared at him through the gentle mist. Her eyes gleamed with astonished wonder as the water plastered her hair to her elegantly shaped head.
    He could not tell her that he was even more amazed than she was by his exuberant passion. For some reason it felt perfectly natural to make love to this woman in a fountain tonight.
    "Trask." She caught his face between her palms, closed her eyes, and nibbled hungrily along the line of his jaw until her teeth closed around his ear-lobe.
    He slid his hands down the length of her body, savoring the feel of her. The water had turned the tissue-thin dress into a second skin. He was aware of every inch of her through the wet fabric. When he curved his fingers around her breasts he discovered that her nipples were tight and full beneath a near-transparent bra.
    The vapors that filled the spa chamber created a dream world, a place where reality could be checked at the door. For the first time in his life, he did the unthinkable. He knowingly allowed himself to enter the fantasy.
    He could always step back out of it when this was finished, he thought. He could deal with the facts. He always understood the bottom line in any given situation. But just for tonight he would revel in the fantasy. He needed it.
    Just for tonight.
    Alexa made no protest when he eased the zipper of her dress down to the small of her back. He peeled the wet silk away from her body and let it sink into the churning pool. Then he unfastened her bra. It, too, fell into the water and floated away.
    He shuddered when he felt her hands on his bare chest. He realized with a shock of excitement that she had unbuttoned his shirt.
    "You feel so good," she whispered against his shoulder.
    He heard the unveiled appreciation in her voice. The knowledge that she wanted him was the ultimate aphrodisiac.
    As if he needed any other drug tonight.
    He went down on one knee, hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her pantyhose, and stripped them down to her ankles.
    Slowly he drew his palms upward from ankle to thigh. He urged her legs apart and slid his finger into her. She gave a choked moan and clutched at his shoulders to steady herself . He felt her nails sink into his skin.
    He wrapped his hands around her buttocks and found her clitoris with his tongue. The taste of her was utterly unique in all the universe. It made him ravenous, insatiable.
    She trembled violently.
    He could feel himself, hard and full, inside his trousers.
    He rose in the sparkling water until he was once more standing in front of her. He looked into her eyes and saw the sultry yearning there.
    He reached down and unbuckled his belt.
    It took him only a moment to get out of his trousers and retrieve the foil packet from his wallet.
    When he lifted Alexa high into his arms and carried her to the nearest lounger, she whispered his name. He considered it a near-miracle that he did not climax then and there.
    He put her down on the cushions and lowered himself on top of her. She folded one leg around his thigh. He discovered that she was damp and slick all over.
    And hot. So very, very hot.
    With a groan, he thrust