“True,” I say, yanking off my jeans. “But I’m also right. Nothing clears your head like cold water.”
She hesitates, studiously avoiding looking at anything south of my eyes. I can almost hear her inner good girl arguing with its wild counterpart. Then she straightens her spine.
“No, I want to do this properly,” she says, her voice firm despite the slight tremor in her hands as she reaches for the buttons of her blouse.
I turn away, giving her privacy. “I’ll go in first, okay? Join me when you’re ready.”
I walk slowly to the creek’s edge. I’m no exhibitionist, but I want to give her plenty of time to sneak a peek at me. My ass, I’ve been told, is one of my best features… might as well flaunt it.
The water is cool against my skin as I wade in, gasping slightly at the initial shock. When I’m waist-deep, I turn back to the shore. Ana stands at the water’s edge, arms crossed over her chest, looking equal parts terrified and exhilarated.
“Come on in,” I call softly.
“Uh… are you supposed to… look?” That last word came out as a squeak.
“Uh… didyoulook atme?”
I’ve thought Ana was gorgeous from the start, but this look—wide eyes, parted lips, the picture of caught red-handed—might be my undoing. Well, this one is my favorite.
Instead of waiting for an answer, I simply forge ahead. “Did you like what you saw?”
I’m betting even money she’ll pretend she didn’t hear me. Or maybe she’ll reach down, grab her neat pile of folded clothes, and run back to the cottage. Instead, she wordlessly nods, serious, as though it’s the most important statement she’s ever made.
“That’s good, Ana. It bodes well for all the things that might come next. And, might I say, I like what I see, too.”
She startles, as though she’d forgotten that the longer she stayed on dry land, the more time she gave me to ogle her.
“Come on in; the water’s fine, if a bit cold.” I flash her a smile that I hope doesn’t look as predatory as I feel.
Ana’s a beautiful woman, no doubt about it, but there’s something about her transformation from the cold, resting-bitch-face woman I met that first night to the warm, open, doe-eyed female picking her way to the water’s edge that makes her even more enticing. My body, cold as it may be, is certainly reacting.
She takes a tentative step forward, then another. When she’s knee deep, she pauses. “Nyxx, I… I’m not sure I can…”
“Hey.” I wade closer but am careful to keep my distance. “Remember what we talked about earlier? About putting your fear into your music? This is just another kind of performance. Channel that feeling. Use it.”
Ana closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opens them again, there’s a new determination in her gaze. Without a word, she plunges forward, gasping as she submerges herself up to her shoulders.
“Holy shit, that’s cold!” she exclaims, and I can’t help but laugh at her uncharacteristic outburst.
“That’s my girl,” I say with a warmth I don’t bother hiding. “How does it feel?”
She’s quiet for a moment, floating on her back and staring up at the star-studded sky. “Incredible,” she finally says. “I feel…alive.”
As we float together under the moonlight, I’m struck by how far we’ve come in such a short time. The perfection-chasing woman I met feels like a ghost compared to this one—brave, spontaneous, willing to leap before she looks.
“What are you thinking about?” Ana asks, her voice soft in the quiet night as her hand reaches out under the water and finds mine.
I turn to face her, treading water. “Honestly? I’m thinking about how amazing you are. How you’ve blown away every assumption I had about you.”
She smiles, a hint of shyness creeping back in. “I’ve surprised myself, too. I never thought I could be this… free.”
“Freedom looks good on you,” I say, meaning every word.
Ana edges closer, her eyes locked on mine. “Itfeelsgood, too.Youmake me feel good, Nyxx.”
The air between us crackles with anticipation. Without thinking, I reach out, sliding a wet strand of hair off her cheek. “Ana, I…”
But before I can finish my thought, she closes the distance between us, her lips meeting mine in a kiss that takes my breath away. It’s as though no time has passed since we were in the gazebo. Her mouth and tongue are bold, urgent. Her arms wrap around my neck, and I pull her closer, reveling in the feel of her slippery skin against mine.
