Crime & Punishment 3: Theirs to Share by Trista Ann Michaels Page B

murmured.
    She glanced at him. “Is that a bad thing?”
    Grayson pursed his lips and with a shake of his head replied, “No. She loves waterfalls so much she actually had one put in her backyard. It took Dad, me, and Parker all summer to get it done, but it turned out really nice. She sits out there all the time.”
    Cheyenne was intrigued. “An actual waterfall?”
    “There’s a big embankment that faces the rear of the house. We dug into the hillside, brought in rock and plants. It was a lot of work, but it definitely spruced up the backyard and gave a purpose to that awkward hill. It’s probably what, Parker? About ten feet tall or so?”
    “Close to that. Did you see that last set of pics your mom sent once she got the rest of the hill landscaped?”
    “Yeah, I did. We’ll have to show those to Cheyenne.”
    “I would like that,” she said with a smile. “Let’s keep going.”
    Without waiting for a response, she resumed her hike. They were close. She could hear it. So far they hadn’t seen many people along the trail, so it didn’t surprise her to finally see the falls but no tourists. The three of them were alone.
    It brought to mind images of the Playboy mansion and Hugh Hefner’s grotto. Had sexy, naughty things taken place at this one? Had any other visitors done what was currently going through her mind?
    With a dismissive shiver, she walked toward the falls. The water fell over the rocks and into a circular pool before funneling between two large boulders and creating another, smaller waterfall before flowing farther down the mountain. The circular pool created the perfect swimming hole.
    Sweat dotted her brow and made her shirt feel sticky. She was tempted to jump in, but she would have to walk back to the car in wet jeans, which would be incredibly uncomfortable. She didn’t dare swim nude because as soon as she stripped, someone would top the hill and see her. So it looked like swimming was out.
    The closer she got to the falls, the lower the temperature seemed to go. The breeze created by the falling water ruffled her hair and felt so good. She sighed and stopped, letting her eyes close and her body absorb the cool mist. She loved waterfalls. Especially in the summer.
    The temperature helped to slow down her ardor as well, which was something she silently gave thanks for.
    “This is gorgeous,” she said as she raised the camera to snap off a couple of pictures.
    “You should walk behind it,” Parker suggested.
    She lowered the camera and to her surprise realized the path did go behind the falls and circle around the other side of the swimming hole.
    “Oh, that’s cool,” she said and headed toward the grotto created by the falling water.
    As she stepped behind the falls, she smiled at how the light sparkled like diamonds against the curtain of falling water. She lifted the camera and got off a couple of shots before the guys joined her. The temperature inside the grotto seemed to rise several degrees as the men joined her.
    “Interesting angle, huh?” Grayson murmured close to her ear.
    A slight tremor slid down her spine at the feel of his breath against her ear.
    She tried to ignore it and replied, “It would be neat to have chairs back here. I could sit and watch the light play on the falling water all day.”
    In an effort to put some distance between them, she stepped forward, held the camera behind her back, and reached out her free hand to feel the water.
    It was cold—ice-cold—and she smiled as it slid over her hand and wrist. Her shoes and shins were getting wet from the splash of the water as it hit the pool below, but she didn’t care. This spot was gorgeous.
    She started to edge closer, but a tug on the belt loop of her jeans held her back. She looked questioningly over her shoulder at Parker.
    “It may be summer, but I doubt very seriously that you want to fall into that.”
    “I bet people swim in this all the time,” she argued.
    “True, but they come up here