[Invitation to Eden 04.0] Hydrotherapy by Suzanne Rock

to get control over some strong emotion. “So, anyone could walk by here and see you naked.”
    “I can’t see how that would possibly matter to you.” She swam to the side of the pool.
    “Of course it matters to me.”
    “Why?” She pulled herself out of the pool and placed her hands on her hips, giving him full view of her nakedness.
    “Christ—cover up, Jenna.” He handed her a towel.
    She didn’t take it. “Why?” When he didn’t respond, she lifted her chin. “I’m not some rag doll you can push around. This is my life, my choice.”
    “This is my final warning. You better put on some damn clothes or I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
    Jenna snorted and pushed her wet hair back from her face. “Responsible. You don’t know the meaning of the word. A responsible person wouldn’t walk away from me.”
    “A responsible person wouldn’t sell her body for sex.”
    “I never did such a thing.”
    He raised his brows. “Didn’t you?”
    She stared at him for a moment before responding. “Are you talking about my work at the Ecstasy Spa?”
    “Ha—you did do it, didn’t you?”
    “It was a job, Caine.”
    “There are millions of jobs out there where you don’t need to have sex with men.”
    “It wasn’t like I was educated. I spent my entire life on a boat.” She shook her head. “I was paid four times what I would’ve made at other jobs.”
    “Did you…did you enjoy it?”
    She let out a long breath, unsure of how much to reveal. “I was a trained performer. My own personal pleasure had nothing to do with it.” She considered his set jaw and hurt features before continuing. “And if you didn’t leave with all of my money, then I would never have even considered working there.”
    “Don’t you dare…” He pointed at her as some indescribable emotion crossed over his features. “Don’t you dare try to blame your actions on me.”
    “Why not?” She crossed her arms, covering her breasts. “You’ve been doing that since the moment I arrived. You left St. Lucia because of me. You’re treasure hunting because of me. You probably even stole my money because of something I did.”
    “I told you, I didn’t take the damn money!”
    “Really? Then who did?”
    Caine worked his jaw, but no sound came out.
    Jenna lowered her arms and sighed. “I’m sorry, Caine, but this is never going to work between us.” She picked up her beach towel and wrapped it around her shoulders.
    “Why not?”
    “Because you refuse to be honest with me.”
    “You want me to be honest with you?” He marched forward, closing the distance between them.
    “Of course.”
    “You really want me to be honest with you?”
    She looked up and met his gaze. “I just said that I did.”
    “Okay.” He grabbed her shoulders, although if it was to steady her or himself, she wasn’t sure. “The truth is, I’ve never stopped loving you. Wait—” He held up his hand, stopping her from speaking. “I know what you’re going to say. You think that if I loved you, I wouldn’t leave you. Well, I’m here to tell you that if I stayed, our relationship would have been destroyed.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “I do know that.” He ran his thumb over her shoulder, caressing her skin. “We came from different worlds, Jenna. You were some rich kid living the good life on her mother’s boat. She was so damn independent. It was the two of you against the world.” He shook his head. “I was a boy living on the streets, never knowing where my next meal was going to come from.”
    “That didn’t matter to me.”
    “But it mattered to me .” He squeezed her shoulders then let go. “I couldn’t see a future for us, not with how things stood. I couldn’t ask you to live my life when I didn’t know what was going to happen from one day to the next. And I couldn’t go on living off your mother forever.” He glanced away, but not before Jenna saw the pain in his features. “I was always