“Very innocent,” I add. Only nothing about this man feels innocent. Not from the moment I got into his truck, and definitely not now with only water and thin scraps of fabric between us.
“There is nothing innocent about you in that bikini.”
I lie on my back, letting my peaked nipples behind the red fabric peek above the water. “I almost didn't bring it.”
“Jesus Christ.” He runs a hand through his wet hair. “You're killing me.”
“I could get out?—”
“Don't you dare.”
I laugh, diving under the water and swimming away from him. When I surface, he's watching me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle.
“Race you to the other end?” I challenge.
“You remember I’m professionally trained in the water, sweetheart. You sure you want to lose that badly?”
“Maybe I enjoy watching you move.”
His eyes flash, and then he's cutting through the water toward me. Long. Lean. Powerful beyond words.
My womb literally contracts.
I shriek and swim for the far end, but he catches me easily, his hands circling my waist, just like he did on the ladder.
Big, strong, capable hands.
“Gotcha,” he says huskily.
And I have to agree. He does have me. In every way.
I'm breathless, laughing, acutely aware of how his hold spans my bare skin. “That was cheating.”
His eyes spark as we tread water, legs brushing against one another. “You had fair warning.”
CHAPTER 15
The water should cool me down but doesn't.
Her legs brush mine as we tread water, and I have to lock down every instinct screaming at me to pull her closer, wrap those legs around my waist, find out what that hidden treasure between her thighs feels like.
“You're staring,” she says, breathless.
“Yep.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Probably.” I force myself to release her waist, putting distance between us before I do something we're not ready for. “But not for the reasons you think.”
She tilts her head, water droplets sliding down her neck. I track their path with my eyes, my jaw clenching.
“What reasons should I be worried about?”
I need a distraction. Something to channel this energy before I break my own promise about taking our time.
“How's your self-defense training?” I ask abruptly.
She blinks, mouth parting. “What?”
