He nodded.
The pool was mostly circular and the water was clear to a point down the steps carved in the rocks, but an open dark space was greenish and dark and she hoped there were no critters in the water. Did Earth have a creature like Alpha-Prime’s nasty little crust-fish?
Axel put his hand over her fingers. “Hang on to me. We’ll go slow.” The water lapped gently against the top step. Axel walked down two steps until he was ankle-deep in water. Lucy tentatively followed, sucking up close to him once she was also ankle-deep in the cool fresh water. It felt deliciously decadent to be standing in so much water.
“We can take one more step. Any more than that and our pants will get wet.”
“Okay.” Lucy took one more step, holding firmly onto his forearm.
“What do you think?”
Lucy looked down at her feet. She then looked around the beautiful scenic green view with the tall trees swaying in the wind. In the distance, an animal, possibly a bird, made a noise, reminding Lucy that she wasnoton Alpha-Prime. She was on Earth. The heat and humidity of the atmosphere crowded around her, making her feet feel even better submerged in the cool water.
“I think it’s glorious.” She took a deep breath, wanting to memorize everything. The scents. The sounds. She smelled something floral. Like exotic Earth flowers she’d once purchased on Alpha-Prime, well before she’d come to this perfect place with this perfect man in this perfect moment.
“It smells like flowers and the air is thick with water. So different from Alpha-Prime’s dry climate. And if you kiss me, I’ll remember the taste of you for the rest of my life.”
Axel’s eyes widened the moment she said the word kiss, but he didn’t hesitate. He leaned closer to press his mouth to hers. His firm lips felt deliriously wonderful. He tasted deliriously wonderful. The kiss was as sweet and charming as Axel was.
Lucy released her titan grip on his arm and slid her fingers around his waist. She could hold on better that way. She took everything in, standing in calf-deep water, in the embrace of someone special, surrounded by big trees and kissing a man she was fast falling in love with.
The kiss ended. But their faces stayed close together.
“That was nice,” she said quietly.
“Guess I’ll have to try harder then.” Axel pressed his mouth to hers with more determination. He kissed her exactly like she imagined a date would kiss her at the end of the evening. Just like she wanted to be kissed. By the time the kiss ended, she had bunched up two handfuls of his shirt. He didn’t seem to mind.
He pulled back, his breathing a tad unsteady. “How was that?”
Her cheeks flamed with heat. “That one made my toes curl.”
“Excellent.” He pointed at the area that looked like pictures of the beaches she’d seen near oceans of water on Earth. “Would you like to go lounge on the beach over there?”
“Yes. Please.”
They carefully turned and climbed the shallow steps back out of the water and walked around the edge, staying a few feet away from the water’s edge to keep her fears at bay. Until they got to the sandy area. Axel unceremoniously dropped down to the sand, stretching his legs out and propping himself up on his elbows. Lucy lowered herself right beside him, scooting closer until their hips touched. This was a much easier way to get the kisses she wanted.
Lucy twisted to hover over him for a moment, blocking the dappled light filtering through the tall trees. He stared into her eyes with a rapturous, wonder-filled expression. She didn’t think she quite believed his interest, but apparently, he liked her. He was the first guy to ever do so.
Anytime someone had come to their home on Alpha-Prime for dinner or a party or whatever and the sisters were trotted out to meet the guests, every single one of them nodded politely until they met her. Their eyes would widen and they’d look away, like she was the ugliest creature on the planet. Francine, always standing next to her, often wrapped her arm around Lucy’s shoulder and gushed, “Don’t you love the color of her hair?” when any guest was particularly aghast.
Given her long-standing arranged marriage, Lucy hadn’t ever considered her feelings where a potential husband was concerned. Until now. With Axel in her personal space, she never wanted anyone else there. Certainly not some stranger she’d never met.
Selecting a husband for herself would be exhilarating. Because she would select Axel.
A mean little thought wiggled its way into the forefront of her mind and she wondered if Axel knew who she was and was only interested in her wealth. She batted that unpleasant thought away. He didn’t know who she was. Did he?
She rubbed the tip of her nose against his. He grinned. “There are folks in colder climates up north that consider rubbing noses together a type of kissing.”
“Oh?” Lucy lowered her mouth to his and kissed his lips. “What do they call rubbing mouths together?”
“They also call that kissing. Unfortunately, their lips promptly freeze together until the spring thaw.”
Lucy smiled, but then thought about it. “I could think of worse things than being stuck together kissing you until spring.”
“Me, too.”
They kissed again. And again. He turned and kissed her lips, gently at first then with intent. She liked the firmer kisses the best.
