I reach for it and he pulls me up.“Where are we going?”
“To toss the football around.”
Oh shit.Shit, shit.“Uhh, probably not the best idea.I’m not good at catch.”
Or sports, but no need to give him the dirty details.
He glances over his shoulder, increasing the distance between us along an empty patch of beach.“I’ll be gentle.”
Why do I translate everything out of his mouth into something sexual?I need to stay away from this guy.He’s messing with my head.
Jaeger throws me the ball and I lunge for it, though, of course, I miss.I pick it up and dust it off, then gamely throw it back the way I always throw a ball—like I’m launching a grenade.I can’t help it.Gen has tried to show me how it’s done, but I can’t seem to get the hang of it.
My toss lands a dozen feet from Jaeger even though he ran for it.He picks it up and stares at it, then turns and walks toward Gen and Mason.
“Where are you going?”I call.
He doesn’t answer.He keeps walking until he reaches Mason and firmly sets the ball beside him.Mason absently puts a hand on the football while he continues chatting with Gen.
Jaeger turns and stalks toward me.
My chest flutters.“What?”
He nears me like a lion preparing to pounce.“You’re not allowed to play catch.Ever.”
My heart thrums in my ears.“I just need a little practice,” I say nervously, a combination of excitement and uncertainty bubbling inside.
He shakes his head.He’s only a few feet from me now.“You need to be punished for that toss.It was pitiful.”
My jaw drops, but instead of fearing the overgrown male stalking me, I’m turned on, and too curious to see what he’s going to do to care that it might not be right.I shutter my expression.“You are mean, you know that?Umff?—”
Jaeger picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
“Hey!What are you doing?”I quickly adjust my navy bikini top to keep my boobs contained.
“Dunking you.That’s your punishment.”
I scream like a little girl.“Stop!The lake’s freaking cold!Please don’t.”But I’m giggling, and he’s hot beneath my bare belly, and his arm is wrapped around the back of my thighs, making my skin tingle.My ass is bent in an unflattering position over his shoulder, flat and wide, and I don’t even care because I’m laughing so hard.“Jaeger, I’m serious.I hate the cold.”
“You grew up here—you can’t hate the cold.”The sand disappears below us, replaced by clear blue water.
He’s deep enough now that my toes graze the freezing surface.“I do—I do—please stop,” I say, but I’m smiling and I can hear it in my voice, so he must too.
He glides me down the front of his chest, my breasts pushing up between us.We’re eye level, my legs submerged in ice-cold water to my knees, but I’m hot as hell.He’s warm, and we’re warm, and my breath hitches.
The corners of his mouth turn up.“What will you do to get out of your punishment?”
My gaze flickers from his forest-green eyes, downturned slightly at the edges, to his full lips.I want to kiss him.If I were single, I’d lean in and gently kiss the corner of his mouth, teasingly.
I glance back to his sensual eyes.They’re darker and his smile has slipped, his chest rising and falling quicker than it was a moment ago.
I swallow.I have to stop this.“Please don’t put me in the water.”
He must read something on my face, because his brows pull together.He stares for a long moment, then bends over.For a split second, I think he’s going to dunk me, but instead, he curls his arm beneath my knees and cradles me to his chest.
His mouth curves and he leans down and dips my feet in the water.I gasp, but he doesn’t drop me—he carries me to shore.
Jaeger sets me on the sand.“You’re safe.For now.”
