We were half in, half out of the water now, and my wet clothes were clinging to me like a second skin.
Noah tilted his head, gathering me closer.
I didn’t think we could be much closer, but we could. And it was so good.
“Damn, Luna.” His words vibrated over me. I felt his hands in my hair, tugging on it. My ponytail, and the scrunchy that had been holding it, were long gone, floating down the stream, headed for…the Pacific Ocean?
The wind chose that moment to kick in, and all the heat from this amazing, unforgettable, incredible kiss wasn’t quite enough to keep my cold shivers at bay.
“We have to?—”
“F-fudge…”
Noah tucked my head under his chin, but I was nodding. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew, logically, that in order to warm up, I was gonna have to face the cold.
Noah rubbed his hands up and down my arms.
“You didn’t, by chance, bring a few towels with you?” I asked.
He just laughed. “Unfortunately, no. When we left, I wasn’t exactly prepared for…this.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if he was referring to our dip in this icy pool or the kiss.
I wasn’t prepared either.
My skin prickled as we waded the last few steps, and then I was out—soaked, shivering, and weirdly aware of how loud the falls sounded now that my heart wasn’t drowning it out.
Noah climbed out behind me, raking his hands through his hair and shaking the water off like a golden retriever. Icy droplets scattered, glinting in the sun.
And all I could think was… what did this mean?
I wasn’t ready for this.
Even though I needed it!
Without saying a word, he reached for my hand and led me to a massive black boulder radiating heat from the sun overhead.
“Not ideal, but the sun’ll warm us up,” he said, nodding to the rock. “Just give it a minute.”
The smooth skin across his chest and shoulders was already drying. When he moved, muscles shifted in a way that made me question why I’d let him stop kissing me.
Of course, that was when the cool breeze kicked up again, reminding me. Not ideal.
But his eyes…
They dropped to my shirt, which was soaked and clinging. It wasn’t the kind of fabric that dried quickly either.
I took a fortifying breath, fingers finding the hem, and tugged the cotton top up and over my head. Really, I wouldn’t be showing anything more than if I had been wearing a bathing suit. And lucky for me, I was wearing one of my newer bras.
I would have thought I’d be embarrassed, but when I looked up and saw him watching me, I felt anything but. I gazed back at him, unflinching, and licked my lips.
There was a sense of unreality to this moment, similar to what I’d felt when we’d been in the water. I wasn’t…normally like this.
This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me.
Except, it was. And right now, Noah Grady was staring at me the same way I’d been staring at him.
He shook his head. “Come on.” He gestured to the rock. I crawled onto it, shifting to the edge so he had room to join me.
