* * *
Leah climbedonto the slippery rock, stretching her arms out to find balance before diving back into the cold water. She swam toward Caleb, who waded in the center of the natural pool at the base of the waterfall.
“This water is freezing,” Leah said.
“Because you keep climbing out of it,” Caleb pointed out.
“But diving is half the fun. You should try it.”
“You don’t want me to get out of this water.”
“Why not?”
He glanced down. “Because something is…umm…making itself obnoxiously known. Staying in the cold water is the only way for me to control it.”
Leah bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling, but one still managed to sneak past her. “I could promise not to look, but I’d be lying.”
“You’re free to look as much as you want. I sure as hell have been.” His eyes dipped to the water’s surface, where her bra’s plunging neckline left much of her skin exposed.
They’d stripped down to their underwear before diving into the water. Leah had tried not to stare at Caleb in his black boxer briefs, but it would have been easier to run to the Jersey state line and back without stopping than to pretend she had not noticed that perfect body.
“It seems pretty unfair that only one of us is getting an eyeful while the other,” she pointed to herself, “has to use her imagination.”
A sexy smile lifted the corners of Caleb’s mouth. Without another word, he swam to the ledge and hauled himself out of the water. Leah’s mouth went dry at the sight of his back and shoulder muscles bunching with his movement. As the rest of his body emerged, her pulse began to quicken. The man was wonderfully made. The way the black fabric hugged his taut ass and the backs of his thighs made her blood heat, but when he turned to face her, Leah was sure she would spontaneously combust.
His erection strained against the snug wet cotton. Desire instantly pooled between her legs as the need to explore every inch of his body put her powers of restraint to the test.
“You done looking?” Caleb asked.
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
He chuckled as he dove off the rock, slicing cleanly into the water. He swam over to her, his face emerging with tiny droplets that made him all the more lickable. She wanted to lick every single part of him.
She could no longer deny it. This attraction had reached the point of no return. It might not happen this weekend, but there was no doubt in her mind what this was leading to. Caleb and her. In bed.
Then again, who needed a bed?
Leah wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged on the back of his head, claiming his lips in a kiss that went from sweet and tender to incredibly erotic in a matter of seconds. Caleb’s tongue pushed past her lips, plunging inside her mouth, stroking with an urgency that had her clinging to him.
Leah’s body responded to his fevered kiss in a way she hadn’t experienced in years. Her breasts grew heavy with need. The place between her legs throbbed, desperate for relief. But not just any relief. She wanted Caleb.
She brought her legs up and started to wrap them around his waist, but instead of helping her, Caleb pushed her legs away.
“Wait,” he murmured against her lips. Then he pulled his head back and said it again. “Wait. We can’t do this yet.”
She couldn’t have been more shocked if he’d doused her with a bucket of ice water.
“What’s wrong?” Leah asked, searching his face.
He dropped his forehead to hers.
“Fuck,” he whispered in a voice so soft she could barely hear it over the low roar of the waterfalls. “This is, by far, the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But if I don’t ask, it’ll just continue to needle me and I won’t enjoy what we’re about to do. And I’ll be damned if I let anything get in the way of enjoying this.” He expelled a heavy breath. “Leah, what did you mean by what you said back at lunch?”
She frowned. “What did I say?”
“You said I was too sweet for words, and that it scared you.” His deep brown eyes searched her face. “I don’t get that. What about me being a good guy scares you?”
Leah closed her eyes and grimaced. She knew those words would come back to haunt her. But she couldn’t shy away from them. At the very least, she owed him an explanation. She owed him the truth.
