“Believe me,” Conleth grated out through clenched teeth. “That is not a good idea right now.”
Moira’s turquoise eyes narrowed. Conleth felt currents curl about him, and for one horrific moment he thought the sea dragon was about to use her water magic to forcibly eject him.
Then the water in the immediate vicinity of his groin went cold.
Icecold.
“Does the water temperature meet with your satisfaction?” Moira asked sweetly.
“Very much so,” Conleth managed to wheeze. His balls seemed to have retreated all the way into his ribcage. “Thanks.”
“Then perhaps you would be so good as to join us for the safety briefing.” Moira stalked back to the waiting campers. “And this time, keep your attention where it belongs.”
Conleth hoisted himself back onto the dock, rather less gracefully than he would usually have managed. He’d lost his sunglasses in his abrupt dive, along with his dignity. Pushing his sodden hair back from his face, he sloshed to the back of the crowd, leaving a dripping trail of lake water in his wake.
Moira started her usual safety lecture, but she wasn’t exactly commanding the attention of the audience. Most of the campers were snickering behind their hands, casting speculative glances at him. Archie, he noted, had the biggest grin of all.
The kids might not be able to guess the real reason for his abrupt dive, but Paige certainly could. She was hardly going to believe he could help her with her problems if he couldn’t even keep control over his own damn body.
“Was that part of the plan, Uncle Conleth?” Beth whispered.
“No, Beth,” he said under his breath. “No, it was not.”
Paige was finding it hard to concentrate on Moira’s safety briefing.
Don’t stare at people’s butts,Archie had instructed her on the way to camp. At the time, it had not seemed like a rule that would be difficult to follow.
With an effort, Paige dragged her eyes upward. Again.
She tried to focus on righteous irritation rather than the way Conleths’s wet swim shorts clung to his skin. So this was what he’d been planning. He’d jumped into the lake on purpose, soshe’d be forced to try to ignore his dripping wet body—no, don’t look—all through Moira’s interminable lecture.
Well, if he thought she could be swayed that easily, he’d soon learn otherwise. There was too much at stake to let herself be tempted by a flash of eye candy.
No matter how taut.
Or wet.
…damnit.
Moira’s list of rules seemed to go on forever. By the time the lifeguard finally ran out of dire warnings about the dangers of swimming, Paige was about ready to jump in the lake herself.
“Counselors, please ensure that one of you stays on dry land at all times, to better keep an eye on your pack,” Moira concluded at last. She gestured at the lake. “Even water that appears still and placid can be deadly. Never forget that. Now, everyone, go have fun.”
The campers—who’d all gone glassy-eyed with boredom a good ten minutes ago—didn’t need telling twice. Most of them jumped straight off the dock with yells and shrieks.
“One at a time!” Paige called through the mayhem. “No pushing!”
Paige looked around for Conleth, just as he turned as well. She’d expected him to smirk and flex, but he seemed oddly self-conscious. His gaze briefly met hers before shifting to the lake.
He cleared his throat, eyes on the water. “Did you want to watch or swim?”
“Conleth!” Estelle yelled from the lake before Paige had a chance to respond. She waved both arms above her head, splashing Rufus and Beth. “Over here, Conleth! Come swim with us!”
“Estelle!” Beth hissed to her friend. “Uncle Conleth told us to act normal!”
“I am being normal,” Estelle said, still mugging with all the subtlety of a car insurance commercial. She jabbed Beth in the ribs. “But we all agreed to have fun, right? And it won’t be any fun if Conleth doesn’t swim too. So hehasto dive into the water and show us proper technique and exactly how we should be flexing our arms while Paige watches,doesn’t he.”
“Ohhhh,” Beth said in sudden understanding. She adopted a wide smile too, waving with even greater enthusiasm than Estelle. “Yes, you’re contractually obligated to swim with us, Uncle Conleth!”
