WHEELS UP

Richard checked his passport for the third time at the curb.

Cars idled behind them at Meridian International, the airport that handled most of Plyth Valley's overseas flights; porters pushed carts through the crowd as jet fuel drifted from beyond the garages.

"The blue shirts made it?" Richard asked.

"Both of them, plus the white one."

"And the car on Thursday?"

"Confirmed, and they'll meet you outside your office."

He nodded, with silver showing above his navy travel jacket and one hand fixed on his carry-on, after spending the ride answering emails while Bella supplied every travel detail.

"I'll call when I land. You've got everything at home?" he asked.

Bella almost laughed because she had the house, the staff calendar, his mother, Dean's club dinner, and three weeks of Richard's life packed in two suitcases.

"I've got it."

His face softened. "I know you do, Bells."

He kissed her forehead and stepped back, leaving cedar cologne between them as Bella held his cheek for the proper length of time.

"I'll miss you," she said.

"It's only three weeks."

"I know."

Richard squeezed her waist and walked through the automatic doors without looking back, while Bella waited until six red suitcases hid him and then gave him several extra seconds.

A driver behind her tapped his horn, so Bella lifted one hand, got into her car, and pulled away.

For the first few miles, she drove as if Richard were still beside her: both hands on the wheel, radio low, windows shut, and back held away from the seat.

At a red light near the airport, one bright phone chime confirmed Richard's flight was airborne, and Bella lowered all four windows.

Warm air rushed through the car and lifted her hair while she raised the radio until the doors shook; Richard would've called the fast new song noise, so Bella sang every wrong word.

Her shoulders came down before her grip loosened, and by the time she reached the highway, the whole seat belonged to her.

Three weeks.

At the next exit, she turned into a pharmacy.

The condom aisle faced baby care, where a tired woman with a loose ponytail stood while a little boy begged for gum; her eyes moved from Bella's box to Bella's wedding ring before returning to him.

Bella could've turned the ring toward her palm, yet she kept it in place, took a second box, and made the scanner chirp twice.

***

The estate felt larger with Richard in the air, and Bella changed into a black bikini before carrying a towel bag outside with the condoms hidden under a paperback.

The pool lay behind the house, bright blue inside a pale-stone terrace hidden from the road by a clipped hedge; at the far end, the pool house opened onto a narrow path to the back gate.

The pump made a low, rough sound while the water looked dull near the deep end, and having a real problem made the call easier.

Bella stretched out on a padded chaise and dialed Ashton Valentine, who answered on the second ring. "Mrs. Lune, are you calling me on a Sunday?"

She heard his smile and said, "Tell me you work Sundays."

"For pool emergencies and sometimes lonely homeowners," he said, and Bella replied, "That line needs work."

"I'll let you know because you're my first lonely homeowner today."

Bella slid her sunglasses down her nose; no one stood there to see it, yet the motion still felt good.

"The pool needs attention," Bella said, and when Ashton drew out the word pool, she added, "The pump sounds wrong and the water's cloudy."

"Okay, that's a real service call," he said, and Bella replied, "At first."

Silence held for one beat before he asked, "Where's Mr. Lune?"

"His plane just took off for London, and he'll be gone three weeks."

"I can be there in forty-five minutes," he offered, and Bella replied, "Make it thirty."

"Shit, yes, ma'am, I'm moving," Ashton said with a laugh.

"Don't call me ma'am," Bella warned, but he answered, "Thirty minutes, Mrs. Lune."

He hung up before she could answer and made it in twenty-eight minutes.

His white truck stopped beyond the hedge with POOL PROS PLYTH VALLEY painted on its door; the local company tested water and kept private pools running. Bella opened the back gate with her phone, and Ashton came down the service path carrying a test kit and long net.

He was twenty-six, with sun-lightened blond hair, clear blue eyes, and tan skin; his navy work shirt fit his shoulders too well for Bella's peace of mind. Bright orange flip-flops slapped the stone with ASHTON printed across both straps.

His wide smile held such easy delight that Bella felt it low in her belly.

"Those shoes are awful," Bella said, but Ashton blamed the gift on his mother because she thought he lost things.

"That sounds like a yes," Bella said.

Ashton set down the kit. "All the time, but I've never lost a pool."

He took in her bare legs, black bikini, and the empty chaise, then let his eyes pause at her breasts. "Pool looks rough," he said.

"You should probably focus," Bella said, and Ashton replied, "I'm trying."

Ashton crouched at the water, dipped in a small strip, waited, and held it beside a color chart.

"Your pH is high," he said. "That number shows the water's balance, and yours needs an adjustment."

"Fix it," Bella said, and he glanced over his shoulder. "That's why you called me."

"Part of the reason," she said.

His grin came back before he returned to work.

Bella had met him in early April, when he came to open the pool for spring; their first six-minute talk covered leaves, weather, and nothing worth keeping, though Bella kept every word. Two weeks later, he called her black swimsuit distracting, so she said a trained worker should survive it and wore the bikini next time.

Today she lay in full sun while Ashton checked the filter gauge, opened the pump basket, and pulled out wet leaves; chlorine mixed with sunscreen as his quick hands worked. His skill mattered to Bella, who wanted the man without treating his job as a costume.

"Pressure's high too," he said; "the basket's blocked, so give me ten minutes."

"Take your time," Bella said, and Ashton replied, "That's not what you said on the phone."

Bella smiled and turned onto her stomach, and the net stopped moving.

When she checked on him, Ashton admitted, "I forgot what leaves are."

She laughed against her folded arms while he shook his head.

Ashton finished the filter, added what the water needed, and wrote the readings on his service card before closing the kit.

"Your pool is fixed, but don't swim for thirty minutes."

"Good," Bella said as he wiped his hands on a clean cloth, letting the play leave his face while the heat stayed.

"What happens now, Bella?"

It was his first use of her name, and the sound made Bella sit straighter.

She sat up. "I want you to stay, and I want you here as Ashton."

He took one step closer, but Bella held up a hand. "If you don't want this, say no, and you'll still keep the account and get paid. I won't punish you for it."

Ashton's brows rose. "You think I've spent two months staring at your ass because I'm scared of losing one filter job?"

"I think I'm the client, so I need to hear you."

He dropped the cloth on his kit. "Then hear me because I want you so bad I've started hating this pool."

Bella's mouth pulled into a grin. "That's an extremely strong feeling for a pool."

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

He leaned down, but Bella stopped him long enough to say, "You're still taking too long."

He caught her mouth with his.

The kiss was warm, deep, and a little messy, with spearmint gum on his tongue as Bella grabbed his shirt and pulled him between her knees.

"Shit," he said against her lips, giving one surprised laugh before promising, "Okay, I got you."

"Don't get quiet now," Bella said, and Ashton promised, "No danger of that."

She pulled his shirt over his head and ran both hands down the hard lines of his chest and stomach, which outdoor labor had built under sun-hot skin.

Ashton's fingers reached the knot behind her neck, and Bella told him, "All of it."

He untied her bikini top and let it fall between them as his mouth moved down her throat, then closed over one nipple.

Bella gripped his hair and said, "Fuck," while he sucked harder and used his tongue until her nipple stayed tight against his mouth. His other hand cupped her breast without rushing onward.

When he told her to lie back, Bella obeyed, caught his chin, and said, "Ask better."

His blue eyes lifted to hers. "Can I taste you?"

"Yes, and take the bottoms off."

Ashton hooked his fingers under the thin black ties and eased the bikini down her legs. Kneeling at the foot of the chaise, he spread her knees and took in her bare pussy under the afternoon sun.

"Jesus, you're fucking gorgeous," he said.

"Use your mouth," Bella said, and he obeyed immediately.

His tongue slid through her slowly before finding her clit, making Bella's hips lift; Ashton put one forearm across her lower belly and held her close to his mouth.

"More pressure," Bella said, and he pressed his tongue flat against her clit in firm, short strokes while one finger entered her, followed by another.

Bella's hand tightened in his hair. "Curl them and stay right there; don't speed up."

He followed every word, working his fingers inside her while his mouth stayed on her clit. Bella let the pleasure build without faking a sound, guiding his pride, or waiting for the whole thing to end.

"Fuck, Ashton. Don't stop."

He made a pleased sound against her pussy and kept the same pace.

Bella came hard, her thighs closing around his head as her heel struck the test kit. Plastic tubes rattled across the stone, and Ashton lifted his wet mouth laughing.

"Don't you dare," Bella warned while she was still shaking, and Ashton replied, "You attacked my equipment."

"Come here," she said, and he grinned. "Threats already."

She pulled him up and kissed the taste of herself from his lips while his laughter faded into another kiss.

His shorts had gone tight across the front, so Bella opened the button and pushed them down with his briefs. His cock sprang against his stomach, hard and thick when she took it in her hand.

"Well," Bella said, and Ashton warned, "Don't sound so surprised or you'll hurt my feelings."

Bella stroked him from base to tip until a drop of precum gathered under her thumb. She rubbed it over the head, bent, and took him into her mouth.

"Holy shit, Bella," he said as his hand settled in her hair without pushing; she sucked him deeper, pulled back, and worked the head with her tongue.

"If you keep sucking my cock like that, this is going to be a very short visit."

She let him slip from her mouth and reached into the towel bag for a condom. "Then don't come yet."

Ashton glanced from the packet to her. "You planned this."

"I hoped," Bella said, and he answered, "That's somehow even hotter."

She tore it open, rolled it down his cock, and pushed him onto the chaise before climbing over him.

"My turn," she said, and Ashton answered with an eager, "Please."

Bella guided him to her opening and lowered herself onto him, but the stretch made her stop halfway. Ashton gripped the cushion and held completely still.

"You good?" Ashton asked, and Bella answered, "Very."

After one slow breath, she sank the rest of the way.

"Fuck. Your pussy's so tight," he said as his hands closed around her hips.

Bella rocked once and saw his face change, then did it again. "Like that?"

"You know exactly how," Ashton said, and Bella told him, "I want to hear you say it."

"Ride my cock, please," he said.

She set the pace while Ashton watched her breasts move and filled the air with praise, curses, and one amazed laugh when she ground down hard.

"Look at you. Fuck, Bella," he said.

"Hands on my ass."

He grabbed her with both hands and helped lift her, letting each drop take him deep as Bella braced her palms on his chest and moved faster.

"You always talk this much?" Bella asked, and Ashton shot back, "You always fuck your pool guy this way?"

"You're the first," she said, and he answered, "Good, because I hate competition."

She laughed, and he thrust up into her until the laugh broke into a cry.

"Shit, do that again," she said, and he did.

Bella rode him until sweat ran between her breasts, then climbed off when her legs began to shake.

"Turn me over and use the chaise," she said.

Ashton was on his feet at once. "Bossy, and I fucking love it."

He bent her over the raised end of the cushion, and Bella spread her legs before looking back at him.

"Hold my ass."

He pulled her cheeks apart and pushed his cock back into her from behind.

Bella gasped and said, "Harder."

Ashton gave her deeper strokes, with one hand on her hip and the other sliding around to her clit. The chaise shifted half an inch across the stone with each thrust.

"This what you wanted?" he asked.

"Yes, fuck me."

His fingers rubbed her clit while his cock drove into her, and Bella pushed back to meet him. Raw sounds filled the open air: skin, breath, his running curses, and her own voice asking for more.

When Ashton said, "You're going to kill me," Bella looked over her shoulder and answered, "Not yet."

He laughed hard enough to lose his rhythm, found it again, and fucked her harder.

Her second orgasm started under his fingers, and Bella came with her cheek against the warm cushion and his name loud enough to reach the hedge. Ashton followed a few strokes later, holding her hips tight as his body jerked behind her.

For several seconds neither of them moved, and then Ashton said, "I may need to update my rates."

Bella laughed so hard her arms gave out.

Ashton held the condom at its base when he eased out, tied it off, and carried it into the pool-house bathroom. Bella pulled on his work shirt and went inside for two beers.

***

They drank beer on the dry edge of the pool while the chemicals settled.

Ashton wore his shorts while Bella wore his work shirt with nothing under it. Her bikini lay in a black pile beside the chaise as late sun warmed her bare legs and birds moved inside the hedge.

"Three weeks," Ashton said, and Bella replied, "You've mentioned that."

"I'm checking the number because it still sounds fake."

Bella took a drink, and her wedding ring clicked against the bottle when she rolled it once with her thumb.

She had expected a sick drop in her stomach, yet none arrived. Her thighs were loose, her mouth hurt from smiling, and Ashton had already misplaced one orange flip-flop under the chaise.

"You should get dressed," Bella said, and Ashton pointed at her chest. "You have my shirt, so this is abuse of a service worker."

Bella handed it back. "File a complaint."

She tied her bikini on again while Ashton pulled on the shirt.

He found his second shoe, packed his kit, and checked the pump once more before snapping the case shut.

"Pressure and pH are both normal," he said.

"How long will that last?" Bella asked, and Ashton said it depended on the pool's behavior.

He lifted the kit and started toward the service path, but Bella called his name and made him turn.

"If I tell you the pool needs pH testing, it means Richard's out and I need immediate professional help."

His smile made him look even younger and somehow more male at the same time.

"Same time Thursday?" Ashton asked, and Bella warned that the pool might be in terrible shape by then.

"Poor pool," he said.

The back gate shut behind him as his truck started beyond the hedge and rolled toward the road.

Bella's phone chimed before the engine sound disappeared.

POOL NEEDS PH TESTING THURSDAY?

She typed one word.

YES.