“It was really good. Here, let me show you this again, though.”
I pull her against my chest again. At this point, I’m not sure if I need to hold her this close or if I just want to find an excuse to do it. She feels good in my arms.
“Here, you want to dip your hand in here…” I explain, gently pulling her arm up and around.
“I’ve only ever been to the beach twice,” she confesses out of nowhere.
“Are you serious? And now you can see the lake from the garden,” I say, stunned.
“My brother didn’t like me going out on my own. I didn’t have many opportunities to go anywhere, really,” she says quietly, shrugging.
“He was protective?” I ask, knowing how I feel about my sister and how I used to stop her from going places.
“Very,” she nods.
Her brother is going to be breaking down our door soon. He’ll figure out where Maria is and come hunting for her. I’m surprised he hasn’t already.
“Well, perhaps this evening at sunset we should go for a swim in the lake,” I grin, thinking I’d like to do something nice for her.
“Oh…That might be nice,” she blushes.
I chuckle, wondering what it is that she is thinking about that’s causing her to blush.
Damn. She’s gorgeous.
The way she looks at me stirs my body again, spiking my intrusive thoughts as I picture myself pulling her legs around my waist and pushing her against the side of the pool.
She bites her lip, letting her eyes wander over my face, studying me.What is she thinking?
I know what she’s thinking. She’s obliged to entertain me. Obliged to speak to me. She isn’t here by choice. And here I am excited by her, enticed by her. What right do I have to be turned on by her beauty when I’ve trapped her here with me?
That same guilt snakes in my veins, and I let out a low huff.
Maria tenses, her brows knitting for a moment as she reads my frustration.
“Okay…um…so I should put my hand in along my side, reaching as far forward as I can…” she quickly returns to the lesson, her cheeks glowing redder than before and her posture turned slightly inward as though I’ve made her self-conscious. She turns her back toward me. Instinctively, I slip my arm around her again and pull her to my chest.
“Yes, so reach forward,” I say, running my hand over her waist.You’re pushing your luck touching her like this. You know you’re crossing a line. But damn, it feels good. And she isn’t exactly stopping me. Does that mean she likes it?
“Like this?” she asks, repeating the movement, her body brushing over mine, her ass pressing against my cock.
“Uh, yes, let’s try again, and I can—”
“What the fuck is this?” Artur grumbles, standing at the side of the pool, looking down at us.
Maria jumps in fright and moves away from me as though she got caught doing something she shouldn’t have. Instead of letting her go, I hold her tighter and pull her close again.
“We’re busy,” I snap. “Find somewhere else to spill your toxic mood.”
“Is he teaching you how toswim?” he blurts out, speaking directly to Maria as though I didn’t exist or wasn’t worthy of his time.
“Yes,” she says, her eyes narrowing and her voice tight.
I give in and release her, because at this point, it’s just weird for me to be clutching her like that.
Maria only takes a small step from me, turning her body to the side to glare at Artur, who looks incredibly unimpressed.
“And you don’t think that Joseph has better things to do than waste his time on you? He’s aPakhan, not a babysitter or swimming instructor. Don’t you have any respect for other people’s time?” he snarls at her.
