“At what?”
“Letting people in.” His thumb traces a slow circle just above my hip bone. “I had a plan. Keep my people safe. Simple. Clean. Then you…”
My pulse hammers. “Then I what?”
“You complicated things.” His voice roughens. “I swear to you, Dakota. I won’t leave you behind.” The intensity in his gaze pins me in place. “Not ever.”
“Why not? I’m slowing you down. Extra weight. Liability.”
“Because I said so.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
“Who’s not giving direct answers now?”
He smirks. “Guilty.”
My gaze stays on his mouth. The water moves around us, creating tiny currents that nudge us closer together, so that I can feel his breath mingling with mine, our lips inches apart.
“Dakota,” he whispers, my name a question and an answer all at once.
Please.
Something brushes against my calf. Slick and quick. I shriek, jumping him like a tree.
“What? What is it?” Julien’s arm tightens around my waist, stabilizing me.
“Something touched me!” I point down into the water. Are there such things as water zombies? “On my leg.”
He laughs, glancing down. “Do you like fish?”
“I—what?” My brain struggles to shift gears, still caught in the almost-kiss moment. “Like… big fish?”
“Lake trout, or bass.” He laughs. “I could catch some for dinner. If you want.”
Oh.
My cheeks burn. Of course, there would be fish in here.
“Yes.” I clear my throat. “That would be… nice.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “Go ahead and finish washing up. I’ll keep watch from the shore. Careful with the fish.”
With that, he releases me and wades back toward the bank, water sluicing off his body, boxers clinging to his perfectly formed ass as he emerges.
I stand frozen in the lake, my skin still tingling where he touched me.
What just happened? What almost happened?
I almost kissed him. Or he almost kissed me. Does it matter who leans in first when both of us are heading in the same direction?
I dunk myself fully underwater, letting the cold shock my system back to reality. When I surface, I grab the soap and quickly wash my hair and body, trying not to think about how close I came to kissing him.
Or how much I wanted to.
From the shore, Julien scans the area, machete ready, his back half-turned to give me privacy. His profile is sharp against the darkening sky, jaw set in that permanent vigilance that somehow makes me feel both protected and exposed.
