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shot past him like a seal.
    He broke the surface in time to hear the gasp of her breath as her head cleared the waterline. She sputtered, her arms churning to keep from sinking again.
    “What the hell!”
    “I could ask you the same thing.”
    Elle spun around in the water to face him, the yellow material of her dress pooling around her body like a puddle of sunshine. Zane fought the urge to dunk his head back under.
    “What did you think you were doing?” Zane demanded.
    Anger began to mingle with the adrenaline in his blood. What had she been thinking? Had she known it was him on the path and intended to make him pay for locking her up earlier today? Or had she thought he was someone else, some other guy who was following her back to her room?
    Either way, he was going to shake some sense into her.
    “Defending myself,” Elle said.
    Zane reached for her, but before he could touch her, she kicked out with her legs and swam away.
    She might be fast, but he was faster. Halfway across the pool, he caught her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he yanked her to a halt. His feet found the bottom, standing them both up in waist-high water, although he didn’t let her go.
    “Defending yourself? Are you insane? You’re, what, a hundred pounds soaking wet? You couldn’t defend yourself against a fly, let alone a man who’s probably close to double your weight.”
    Her eyes narrowed. The gray irises glittered in the darkness. They reminded him of the moon above their head, not as it was now, a sliver, but when it was full and bright.
    “Hasn’t anyone ever told you size doesn’t matter?”
    She wanted to squirm in his grasp. He could see the desire to fight for freedom lurking in her eyes. The fact that she fought against it, knowing it wouldn’t do her any good, impressed him. Most people would have let instinct overrule intelligence and struggle anyway.
    He pulled her closer, both because the need to feel her body against his was overwhelming and because he wanted to see her reaction.
    “Honey, size always matters. We both know I could hold you under this water, drown you, with little effort.” He let his words sink in. Hoped they would sink in, before adding, “If I wanted to.”
    The smirk that touched her lips for a brief second told him his threat hadn’t done a damn bit of good. Not only was she a firecracker, she was hardheaded, as well. He was about to give her a physical demonstration—nothing dangerous, just a quick dunking to prove he was right, but something else happened instead. She wasn’t the one with her head dipping beneath the water.
    In one quick burst of movement, she had his feet knocked out from under him and her hands covering the crown of his skull under the surface.
    He didn’t stay down long. She might have surprised him, but she couldn’t keep him there—not that she’d tried. Instead, she stood her ground, her face bland and expectant as he bobbed back up.
    “You were saying.”
    Okay, so maybe he’d underestimated her. The breaking and entering should have been his first clue, but skill with a lock didn’t necessarily parlay into the ability to defend herself.
    “Where’d you learn that?”
    “I grew up the only female in a household of three cops—two brothers and a father. Would you let your little girl out in Atlanta without some basic training?”
    A shiver raced down Zane’s spine. He wasn’t sure if it was the thought of her alone on the streets of Atlanta late at night, or in secret solidarity with anyone who’d risk threatening this little ball of energy under the misguided notion that she’d be an easy target.
    “Point taken.”
    She smiled. This time, it wasn’t a taunting gesture but one of understanding. Without another word, she turned and crossed the rest of the pool. Climbing up the tiled steps at the shallow end, she stood at the edge.
    For the first time since she’d left the bar, he really looked at her. She was beautiful. And bedraggled. Her hair,