Laughing, she shifts to her back, and as promised, immediately sinks. My hands catch her lower back, one dangerously close to her bare ass, and lift her toward the surface. Her perfect breasts rise to my eye line. Whose idea was this anyway?
“Relax, Cricket. You’re not going to drown. I won’t let you.”
“It won’t look good for you if you do. Naked camp owner found in the arms of the primary suspect.” She closes her eyes. “Even your law firm will have a helluva time defending you.”
“We don’t handle criminal cases.”
Her legs start to drift down, and I move my hand lower to buoy her.
“Your hand is on my ass, Charles Xavier Thorpe.”
“Is it?”
“Either that or this lake has a small octopus.”
“This lake is pitch black. Nessie herself could be living here, and no one would be the wiser.” I realize my hand is still cradling her backside. “Want me to move it?”
She turns her head toward me and opens her eyes. “Only if you want to.”
Gauntlet thrown. The first kiss wasn’t planned; we could write it off as a heat-of-the-moment situation and never speak of it again. This one, however, would be premeditated. This one would say not only that we meant it, but that we liked it enough to do it again.
Challenge accepted.
I lean in for another kiss, removing my hold on her in the process. As my lips reach hers, her head slips beneath the surface.
“Shit! Cricket!”
Her head pops up and bangs straight into my chin. I bite my tongue and my mouth fills with the metallic taste of blood.
“Omigod, Charlie! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
I can’t speak.
Her lips find mine, soft and searching. When they part, there’s a sudden painful reminder that my tongue suffered a grievous wound. I groan, prompting Cricket to draw back.
“Was that a sexy groan or an ouch-that-actually-hurts groan?”
“Can it be both?”
She threads her fingers through mine. “I know first aid. Let me kiss it better.” She takes my tongue in her mouth and gently sucks. It takes all my self-control not to?—
Pain stabs my calf, and I jerk away.
“Charlie?”
The intensity leaves me breathless, and not in a good way. “Leg cramp,” I croak.
She hooks an arm around my chest and pulls me to shallower water. “Do you need me to rub it? Your leg, I mean.”
“Let me stretch it, thanks.” My calf throbs as I flex my foot forward and back until the cramp subsides.
“A friendly reminder that bananas are always available in the cafeteria,” she says.
Leg cramps and bananas. I’ve definitely ruined the vibe. “It’s getting late. We should probably go back to our cabins.”
Hesitation flickers in her eyes. “Would you like to stay over again tonight?”
“Because of the mold spores?”
