Hidden Talents

about the pictures?”
    “Forget the damn pictures. They don't matter.”
    “Caleb, are you sure?” If only she could believe him.
    “I'm sure,” Caleb said. “The day I kissed you in my office, you told me I'd be sorry for overreacting to those photos.” He held out his hand. “You were right.”
    Serenity contemplated his strong fingers for a long moment. She knew that she had wanted this to happen all along. It was the real reason that she had allowed Caleb back into her life.
    But it was too soon. She wasn't certain yet.
    Slowly, mesmerized by the knowledge that he wanted her, she lifted her hand out of the water and put it in his.
    He wrapped his fingers tightly around hers. Without a word he tugged her toward him through the churning foam. She glided, weightless, straight into his embrace. He settled her against him and brought his mouth down on hers with a driving hunger that swamped her senses.
    Serenity savored the hot, male taste of him. His arms were tight around her. She was intensely aware of the hard shape of his thigh under her bottom and the fierce length of his erection lodged against her leg.
    “I was a fool to let you walk out of my office that day,” Caleb whispered against her lips. “I knew it would be like this between us.”
    “Yes.” She had known it, too. She clung to him now as the urgency within her rose to new levels. She was shaken by the force of the desire she felt. The sheer power of the sensations pouring through her was new to her. It threatened to push her beyond the safe boundaries she knew she should maintain with him.
    Caleb's hand moved downward, seeking the curve of her breast beneath the water. He took the soft weight of it in his palm and slid his thumb over one delicate peak. A tight, taut sensation gripped Serenity. She gasped, her head tilting back against his shoulder.
    Not yet. Too soon.
    Caleb lifted her buoyant body upward just far enough to expose one budding nipple. He lowered his head to it. She shuddered when she felt the edge of his teeth close lightly around her. She clenched her fingers in his hair, turned her head and nipped at his shoulder. Then she kissed his neck. She loved the feel of him under her hands, loved the sense of exultation sweeping through her. Loved the anticipation.
    Loved him.
    “You taste good,” Caleb muttered. “Very, very good. And I've never been so hungry in my life.”
    He slid his hand down across her stomach to the place where her legs were still pressed close together. When she felt him probe deeper, Serenity slowly parted her thighs. His fingers found her, stroked her, opened her carefully and entered her.
    “ Caleb .”
    “So tight.” Caleb's voice was raw and gritty with passion. “Tight and hot. You want me.”
    “Yes.” She kissed his throat with a curious desperation that she could not explain.
    He withdrew his finger slowly and then thrust it deeply back into her. The edge of his thumb moved against the throbbing little button hidden in the folds of her flesh. He repeated the caress over and over again until Serenity thought she would shatter. She twisted against him, her nails digging into his skin.
    “I'm going to go out of my mind,” Caleb whispered. He withdrew his hand from between her legs, gathered Serenity against him and made to rise to his feet.
    Reality returned in an anguished surge of awareness as the water cascaded off of her. “No, wait,” Serenity gasped. She clutched at him and burrowed her face into the curve of his neck. “I'm sorry, I can't. Not yet. It's too soon.”
    “Too soon?”
    “Don't you see? I can't be sure anymore. Everything's confused now. Please, I'm sorry. I can't explain. I just don't think this is the time.”
    “The time?”
    “Oh, damn, this is all my fault. I should never have gotten into this tub. I knew it. I knew it but I couldn't seem to help myself.”
    Caleb said nothing. He stood waist deep in the churning water and held her clamped in his arms. The muscles in his chest were rigid. His arms and shoulders were tensed for battle or sex. Serenity half expected him to lift his head and howl his anger and frustration to the moon.
    But he didn't. Instead he lowered himself slowly back down into the bubbling water and cradled her close. She could feel the enormous control he was exerting over himself. It awed her.
    “Caleb, I'm so sorry.”
    “Hush.” He thrust his hand heavily through her wet hair and kissed her roughly on the mouth. “I started