Lissa tossed another look over her shoulder at Ria, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight.“What if I like being dirty?”
Ria gulped, fighting back the urge to accept the offer in Lissa’s expression.“Let’s start with getting you clean and go from there.”
“Whatever you say, Enchantress,” Lissa replied, winking.
She started to lower her body under the water, and Ria leaned forward to whisper in Lissa’s ear, “Don’t hate me.”And with that, she leapt onto Lissa, wrapped her arms and legs around Lissa’s body and flung herself backward, knocking them both off balance.They crashed into the water and sank beneath the gentle waves.
The shock of cold threatened to seize up Ria’s muscles, but she fought against the stiffness, forcing her body to pop back out of the water, dragging a sputtering Lissa along with her.
Bracing for the incoming wrath, Ria pushed the handful of curls that had escaped her bun off her forehead and turned to face the consequences.
Only there was no fury in Lissa’s eyes.She was…laughing?
“Oh, wow, you truly are insane, aren’t you?”Lissa managed to get out, half chuckling and half shaking from the chill.
Ria gave her an apologetic look.“I’m so sorry.I couldn’t resist.”
“That’s okay,” Lissa replied, moving closer to Ria.“Just means you need to warm me up now.”She slid her arms around Ria’s waist, pressing herself against the witch.
Ria almost went under again, her knees were shaking so badly.Shaking that had nothing to do with the chill and everything to do with the feel of Lissa’s peaked nipples rubbing up against her own chest.
Ria stared into Lissa’s eyes, searching for an uncertainty or disappointment that might have come from the ritual lessening the effects of her love spell, but she saw none of that.There was only heat in Lissa’s eyes, and she couldn’t help how her hands slipped around Lissa’s neck in response.
“How do you feel now?”Ria asked, her voice tentative and nervous.
Holding tight with one arm, Lissa reached the other up to pluck a bit of seaweed from Ria’s hair.Tossing it into the water, she said, “Honestly?Still cold.Though I think parts of me might be starting to warm up.”She leaned forward, but Ria shifted her face so Lissa’s lips only grazed her neck.
“No,” Ria protested.“I mean, how do you feel about me?”If the attempted kiss hadn’t been a major red flag her ritual had failed, Lissa’s next words solidified her fears.
“I feel like I’m willing to stay in this freezing water all night if it means I get to kiss you again.”
The words were everything Ria wanted to hear, and at the same time, the worst possible thing Lissa could have said.Because Ria felt the exact same way.
Lissa must have seen the weakness in Ria’s eyes, because she leaned forward and this time Ria didn’t pull away.She met Lissa’s lips with her own, sinking into the warmth of the kiss that made her forget all about the cold embrace of the Pacific.
A tiny voice screamed in the back of her head that this was wrong.That Lissa was under her spell.But when Lissa’s tongue swept into Ria’s mouth, she couldn’t help but flick her own out to brush against it, drowning in the taste of this incredible woman.
Ria’s hands slid up to grasp Lissa’s hair, her fingers twining among the silky wet strands.A soft whimper escaped from Lissa, and Ria gripped a little harder, scraping her fingernails along Lissa’s scalp.
With a deepening moan, Lissa arched her back, pressing her slick breasts even tighter to Ria.Her hand dropped away from Ria’s waist, slipping around the front to dip lower and lower until her fingers circled the witch’s navel.
Yes, Ria thought.Just a little farther.
Those curious fingers resumed their journey south, and Ria tensed, waiting for—
A rogue wave crashed over their heads, knocking them apart and sending Ria flying back to sink under the water once more.
For a brief moment, she wanted to stay there, letting the cold water seep into her skin and freeze out every bit of the desire thrumming through her body.She’d been such an idiot to give into the kiss.She knew Lissa was being influenced, and Hecate had clearly stepped in to put a halt to things.Ria couldn’t imagine any other reason the wave would have knocked them apart just as Lissa was about to—
Stop, she ordered herself.Do not even think about where things might have gone.
She spent a few more seconds under the water, until the demands of her lungs overrode her own fear of facing Lissa.
Bursting up, she started wading toward the shoreline.
“Wait,” Lissa protested.“Where are you going?”
“Home,” Ria replied, flinging her head back and sending a spray of droplets everywhere.She didn’t even know what had become of her hair tie, but her bun was beyond salvaging, so it didn’t matter.“This was a mistake.”
