Her breath was ragged by the time he had finished. And so was his. Desire hummed between them. Undeniable. It was like the folly all over again.
“Animalistic urges, nothing more,” she said, but her voice was low. Throaty.
Her nails dug into his skin.
The painful pleasure only made him harder.
He surged forward, the water lapping around them. She was completely naked. Her skin silken and wet. His cock glanced over her folds. “Tell me you do not want me now.”
The breath hissed from her. “I want to swim.”
He was not letting her go that easily. He kept their bodies pressed together, his erection prodding her. “I did not know you knew how to swim.”
“There are a great many things you do not know about me, Jack.” She was no longer wriggling. Nor was she trying to escape his hold. Instead, she moved closer.
“Mayhap you ought to give me the chance to get to know them.” He brushed his nose against hers, his frustration giving way to tenderness.
God, how he loved this woman.
He loved her stubbornness.
He loved her recklessness.
He loved her when she had her hackles raised and when she lowered her defenses. He loved her sleepy in his rumpled bed in the morning, and he loved her in his arms at night. He loved her mouth. Her kiss. Her smile.
Everything. Every part of her.
“You had your chance,” she whispered.
“I want another one.” He kissed her. A quick, chaste peck.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “It is too late.”
“So you told me before.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “It is never too late for love.”
“Stop saying that.” Her voice broke. “Love.Stop telling me you love me. It is not fair.”
“I do love you, Nellie.” He kissed the other corner of her lips. Then her ear. “I am desperately, foolishly, stupidly in love with you. I always have been, and I always will be.”
“I do not believe you.” She moved again, trying to escape him at last, but all she managed to do was lodge his cock more firmly between her legs.
He wanted inside her again. So badly, even his teeth ached.
“Believe me,” he gritted, kissing her throat. Beads of wetness clung to her skin, making his lips wet.
“I cannot, Jack. Let me go.” But she was not pushing him away any longer.
“Never,” he vowed.
“I want to swim.”
“Stubborn fool.” He kissed her lips, lingering this time, parting them with his tongue.
She opened for him on a sigh. Her tongue tangled with his. Their lips were wet, bodies entwined beneath the calm of the water. He cupped her bottom, guiding her legs around his waist.
But when he skimmed his fingers over her seam, she stiffened and yanked her head back. “Stop trying to seduce me, Jack. I came out here to swim. Alone.”
Curse it.
