“Good.”
“He was probably harmless.”
“Probably.” I moved closer, and she didn’t swim away. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
“How did he look at me?”
“Like you were a thing to be had. A conquest. A prize to win.” The jealousy twisted again, hot and possessive, my hands itching to grab her hips and show her who she belonged to.
Riley was quiet for a moment. The water lapped between us, the only sound besides distant laughter from other swimmers.
“And how do you look at me?” she asked finally.
The question caught me off guard. I drifted closer, close enough that our legs brushed underwater, her smooth calf sliding against mine, sending jolts up my thigh to my cock, which was thickening again despite the cold. She shivered, and it had nothing to do with the temperature, since a faint flush crept down her neck.
“Like you’re the sun,” I said quietly, my mouth brushing off any filter it used to have. “And I’ve been living in the dark.”
Her breath caught. “That’s very poetic.”
“I’m a poetic person.”
“You’re a strange person. Mysterious hot Australian.” She was teasing, but her voice was softer now, laced with want. Her gaze flicked to my mouth. “That’s your brand, right?”
“Is it working?” I asked, voice rough, stepping nearer so our thighs pressed together under the surface.
She didn’t answer, just watched me. We were close now, so close I could see the individual droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes and the way her pulse fluttered at the base of her throat.
“Tell me true things about yourself,” I said, because I loved to learn more about her and right now, if I didn’t talk, I was going to kiss her. I didn’t think she was ready for that. “True things you don’t tell people.”
She considered it for a moment. “I’m scared all the time.”
“Of what?”
“Everything. Being alone. Not being alone. Trusting the wrong person again. Letting someone in and watching them destroy me.” She said it lightly, but her eyes were serious. “Your turn.”
“I’ve never wanted anything for myself,” I admitted, the words heavy, my hand finding her waist under the water, thumb stroking the bare skin above her bikini bottom, feeling her muscles tense and release. “My whole life, I’ve done what was expected of me. What my family needed. What my kingdom...” I caught myself, the slip almost too much, but her warmth distracted me. “What my responsibilities demanded.”
“And now?”
“Now I want something.” I drifted closer still, until we were breathing the same air, my chest brushing hers lightly, the contact electric, her nipples scraping through the thin fabric. “Something I probably shouldn’t want.”
“What?”
“You know what.” I said. I was beyond excuses, my free hand rising to cup her jaw, tilting her face up, lips hovering.
The air felt electric. I could see her pulse jumping now, could hear the catch in her breathing.
“Riley.” Her name came out rough, a growl, my thumb tracing her lower lip. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
She swallowed hard, eyes darkening. “Didn’t you want to be my friend?”
“Is that what you want?” I reached out, pushed a wet strand of hair from her face. My fingers lingered on her cheek, sliding down to her neck, pulse pounding under my touch. “A friend?”
“I don’t know what I want.”
“Then let me tell you whatIwant.” I was so close now, my lips nearly brushing hers, breath mingling. “I want to be whatever you need. Friend, more than a friend, anything.Everything. I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Riley. Just tell me.”
Her lips parted. She was leaning in.
