“I could live like this,” she murmured dreamily, eyes still closed against the light. “I’d love nothing better than to go naked all the time.”

“You should live in the Pacific where there are islands filled with people who wear little or nothing, then. I’m afraid we’re too civilized, even out here.”

She opened her eyes the tiniest bit as he straightened, raked a hand through his hair and glanced around them. Then her eyes widened slightly.

When had he taken off his clothes? She watched through slitted eyes as he loomed above, silhouetted against sunlight, a dark golden god with an aura of light behind him, familiar and beloved. He was the only man she had ever loved so passionately, ever risked her life for, or would again if necessary….

Her throat ached suddenly, with love and yearning, and all the things she wanted to say. Reaching up, she lay her palm against his lean jaw as he gazed down at her, his eyes slightly narrowed, the lashes making long shadows against his dark skin.

“I don’t want this moment to end, Steve. I wish we could stay here forever—oh, I don’t mean abandon our children, of course, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could stay a little longer, at least?”

Instead of replying, he scooped her into his arms, startling a gasp from her as he carried her from the rock to the edge of the pool that seethed with lacy froth.

She thought for a moment he intended to drop her, but as a protest formed on her lips, he stepped down into the pool with her in his arms, laughing as she clutched at him. He said something, but she couldn’t hear him over the pounding crash of water pummeling dark rock, splashing back up in delicate geysers that sprayed over them. It was surprisingly shallow where they stood, the water so clear she could see pink, brown and black rocks lying on the bottom.

The world closed in around them, enveloping them in spume and sound. With her arm still around his neck, Steve released her legs and she slid down him in a sensuous glide of damp skin against damp skin until her feet gained purchase in water that came just above her waist. Sculpted muscle drifted under her palm as her hand coasted over his body in a light skimming exploration, over the taut band of muscles on his chest, then the corded ropes of muscle on his belly, lower until she found him in a brazen caress.

He sucked in his breath as she held him. She didn’t need to hear the words to decipher his mood, for his body was willing evidence that he wanted her.