Tempted in the Tropics by Tracy March Page A

couldn’t stop it. She’d dated her fair share of good-looking guys, but something about Lane had her wanting to impress him more than she had the others. He could piss her off in a heartbeat, but he was smart, sexy, single, and super-buff. And those were just the adjectives that started with S . Given time, she could wear out the entire alphabet describing him. Don’t forget stiff and stubborn .
    “So maybe we should just skip it,” Lane teased. He’d seemed hesitant at first, but now she’d swear he was excited about going in the mineral baths. Trying to get him to shake his uptight image might be fun.
    “No way, mister. There’s mud in there with your name on it.”
    Beneath an electric-blue sky, they made their way over to the Black Water Pool. The tropical sun tingled on Paige’s bare shoulders. She tried to hold back a step so she could get a good look at Lane from behind, but he matched her pace, even slowing some, seeming to have the same idea about her.
    “Are you trying to look at my butt?” she asked.
    He nodded, the curve of a smile on his lips. “Absolutely. Could you do me a favor and make it a little easier?”
    She faced him and walked backward slowly. “Not a chance.” She turned around, walking in step with him. “Nothing easy to get is worth having.” She unfolded her brightly striped towel and wrapped it around her waist, knotting the ends at her hip.
    “That’s just wrong,” Lane teased. “At least I was honest.”
    They stepped onto the rustic patio that surrounded the Black Water Pool. Adjacent to the mineral baths was a wall of sheer rock where a cheery attendant stood. She greeted them with a smile and nod. A large tree shaded a portion of the bath that was about the size of an average backyard swimming pool. Several people, dressed in shorts and T-shirts or bathing suits, sat at the edge. They dangled their feet in the dark water—so dark there was no way they could see their toes.
    “I’ve never seen water that black before,” she said, now a little hesitant herself. “Unless it was toxic.” She’d chosen her brown bikini with a gold shimmer, thinking it could withstand exposure to the mud without noticeable damage, but now she wasn’t so sure.
    Lane reached out and tugged at the knot of her towel, his fingertips skimming the super-sensitive skin at her waist. A rush of sensation pulsed through her, lingering long after his touch. The towel quickly fell free. He caught it before it slipped to the ground and slung it over his shoulder. “Consider this your first time,” he said, his tone low and sultry.
    Good Lord… Paige could hardly blink. If this was any indication of the doc’s bedside manner, she could only hope for long-term, intensive treatment.
    “You ready?” he asked.
    “As I’ll ever be.”
    They took the steps into the pool together, their feet disappearing into the black water, then their knees, up to their waists and almost to Paige’s shoulders.
    “It’s warm.” She clenched her teeth as her feet sank into the muddy bottom of the pool. “And squishy.”
    She was surprised to see him looking as excited as a five-year-old. “I’d guess a hundred-one to a hundred-two degrees—with a high slime factor.”
    “Ever said that to a patient before?”
    He shook his head. “Not that I haven’t wanted to.” He grinned, flashing his dimples without a warning.
    “One-hundred-and-one point six Fahrenheit,” the attendant said with a lilting island accent. Paige imagined the woman could make a string of curses sound like a lullaby.
    “Your guess was pretty close,” she said to Lane.
    “Pretty close? I was dead on.”
    “Dead’s not a comforting word to hear from a doctor.” Paige splashed black water on his chest and watched, mesmerized, as the rivulets ran down his temptingly touchable pecs. She quickly snapped out of her daze when he dipped beneath the water, then came up with two fistfuls of mud and plopped the pitch-black slime on her