Read Online Torch Ginger by Toby Neal - Free Book Online

house alarmed yet, but nothing was broken into. It seems like the burglars unlocked the door, took what they wanted, and locked up again.”
    “Anything else?”
    Alika was standing a hair too close. She couldn’t help feeling the heat from his near-naked body and pick up his scent—a subtle hint of clove and cut grass.
    “Yeah. They took some supplies I was storing in the garage downstairs.”
    “I better see that; then you can put in a claim with your insurance.”
    He led her back downstairs. She looked out the sliding-glass doors off the living room to the patio, where a cobalt-tiled pool shimmered.
    “Wow. The pool really is gorgeous.”
    “I’m kind of proud of it.” His voice warmed. “I wanted it to go with the Mediterranean feeling of the house, so I used Portuguese tiles.” He led her over to the sliders, pushed one open. The pool area was surrounded by a redwood fence that cut the wind. Areca palms bent gracefully over smoothly groomed grass, and oversized terra-cotta planters bloomed with bright red geraniums. The pool was set among them like a giant lapis lazuli.
    “Oh—that looks so good,” Lei said longingly.
    “Well, let’s go swimming. The garage isn’t going anywhere.”
    She paused, considering. She felt suddenly intolerably hot and itchy from the day.
    “Okay. Let me get my suit.”
    She went back out to the truck, dug the brand-new bikini out from behind her seat. The tags still dangled as she hadn’t had time to wear it, and she eyed the scraps of yellow material apprehensively. A fast-talking saleslady had gotten her to try it on when she went in for her annual black tank suit and wouldn’t take no for an answer once she saw it on Lei, giving too deep a discount to turn down. Lei put it behind her back as she returned to the house and Alika.
    “Where can I change?”
    “Through there, guest bath.” He pointed.
    Lei walked through the house and into the elegant bathroom, where she reached over to the sink and splashed water on her face. She peeled off smelly clothes, avoiding looking at herself until she had the suit on.
    It really was amazing. The halter top was just ruched enough to give her a little more fullness up top, and the high-cut bottom with a gold ring at the hip emphasized her long, toned legs. The yellow highlighted her tan, and tiny brown polka-dots subtly mimicked her freckles.
    She’d never looked better.
    She shook her hair out of its wadded ponytail, ran her wetted fingers through so her curls reared up like a lion’s mane, and decided there was nothing to do but knock his proverbial socks off.
    She strode out of the bathroom like a model working the ramp. Alika was already in the pool, and she got the pleasure of seeing his mouth drop open before she executed a smooth dive in and came up next to him, gasping.
    “The water feels great.”
    “Yeah,” he said, his eyes alight with appreciation. She pretended not to notice and went into a tidy overhand crawl, doing ten laps before she took a break at the shallow end.
    He was still lapping the pool with a smooth, powerful backhand. The cobalt tile made the water look clear as sapphire, and with the sunset gilding the gracious plantings, catching the splashing water shooting off his arms, it was a scene out of a fantasy.
    He pulled up beside her, blowing water off his lips, drawing her eyes to their well-cut form.
    “I could get used to this,” Lei said.
    “I hope you will.” His dark eyes were serious as he moved in on her. She moved away, keeping several feet between them.
    “Ha-ha. I bet you say that to all your pickups.”
    “I told you. You got me wrong. But I can see I’m just gonna have to put in the time and prove it to you.”
    “You don’t have to prove anything to me.”
    “Yes, I do. You think I’m this big playboy. I’m a little bit of a player, yeah. But mostly I work. I don’t have time for any ‘relationships.’ I haven’t wanted to get to know someone in . . . well, a while. You