Barefoot Bay: When You Touch Me (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Marilyn Baxter

advised. “Sea salt purifies the aura. And spend more time with nature. It’s the ultimate aura cleanser. Maybe meditate on the beach.”
    Jillian had tried to meditate on the beach. With Sam. That went really well , she thought sarcastically. Why did the man have to be so…so…complicated? So difficult? So damned appealing?
    What had begun as a plum assignment had turned into a bowl of rotten fruit. He seemed to know how to push every one of her buttons, and damn it, she had allowed him to do it. If this didn’t stop, and stop immediately, she could easily lose her license and, consequently, her job at Casa Blanca. Without a license, she couldn’t work anywhere. Then she would really be in a tight spot.
    Also against her better judgement, she had let Sam persuade her to do the morning’s aquatic massage in the pool at his villa. Their earlier session in the resort pool had not achieved the results she had desired. Sam had been unable to relax, and by the end of thirty minutes, his muscles were strung tighter than a Stradivarius. The upper end of the resort beach would have been a better location for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was its proximity to the resort. Sam couldn’t try any funny business out on the beach, could he? She was learning all too quickly to never underestimate what the man might attempt. But he had vetoed the idea with his usual argument about sand. Only he’d prefaced the word with two expletives.
    She stepped through the wrought iron gate at Artemisia at nine o’clock sharp, fully expecting to be kept waiting by the ever-tardy Mr. Hartman. Surprisingly, he answered her knock almost immediately. He wore red swim trunks that drew her eyes to his narrow waist like a red cape attracted a bull.
    “Like what you see?” he asked, the corner of his mouth lifted in a smart-ass grin.
    She was so busted. She lifted her chin, took a deep breath and directed her gaze to his crystal blue eyes. She held eye contact until she could hold her breath no longer and her lungs felt as if they would burst. Her breath rushed out in a whoosh. “Jackass,” she muttered under her breath.
    Sam placed his fingers against her lips. “Careful. Miss Swear Jar is here with the extra pool towels you requested. I’ve already contributed a couple dollars this morning. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that woman had bionic ears.”
    “Thanks for the warning.” Jillian’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “I’ll just think dirty and unless she’s a mind reader…. Oh sh…sugar.” Sam didn’t need to think she had anything on her mind but business.
    “Nice catch.” He laughed, and his blue eyes sparkled and crinkled at the outer edges. Her heart did a little flip, and she wondered if she might be able to persuade the housekeeper to stay at the villa during their session. Sam needed a chaperone. Or a trainer who would use a whip and chair to keep him in line. How could one man exasperate her to her limits one minute and intrigue her the next?
    “Come on in,” he said and swung the door open wider. “Do you need to change? You can use the bedroom. Or the bathroom. You’re safe since Poppy is here.” The twinkle in his eyes made her revisit the thought about asking Poppy to stay.
    “I only need to take off my cover-up.” Jillian had worn a tankini with a purple and turquoise striped top and black bottoms along with a turquoise knee-length cotton cover-up. She had piled her hair up in a messy bun instead of her usual braid. She had made sure the swimsuit passed approval from Jocelyn and didn’t reveal too much flesh. “I can do that by the pool. Why don’t you go ahead and get in? I’ll leave my things in here and join you in a minute.”
    She was stalling and she knew it. In nine years of working in a spa environment, she had never let a client affect her so much. Were it not for the money she was making from this special assignment, she would ask Jocelyn to transfer him to one of the other