Page 16 of Unscripted with Mila

It was extraordinary.

I held up my hands in supplication, even though I was sure she was joking. “No need to take me down. Simply pointing out you’re alone out here. I could be anyone.”

“And who are you, exactly?”

Her innocent question caught me off guard. It was one I asked myself every day. Wondered if I would ever have the answer.

I shrugged, forcing a smile. “Just a guy who likes late-night swims.”

“Yet I haven’t seen you do a lap.”

I dipped under the water, the temperature refreshing. “Didn’t want to interrupt the marathon.”

“I’m done.”

I turned and dove under the water, doing a few laps in a lazy front crawl. I really had no interest, but I refused to back down from her silent challenge.

At the end of the pool, I glanced back, making sure she was still in the corner. She hadn’t moved, her silhouette outlined in the shadows. Taking a deep breath, I plunged underwater, kicking off the side, and swam in her direction. I emerged from the water at her feet, pushing my hair back and grinning. “There. Laps done.”

She snorted, an indelicate sound coming from her mouth as she scoffed. “I wouldn’t call those laps. More of a dog paddle.”

I laughed at her words. She was amusing. “You want a race?”

“A race?”

“Sure. You and me. A race.”

“Why?”

“Call it incentive. Four laps. Winner gets crowing rights.”

She pursed her lips, and I held out my hand in challenge. “Unless you know I’ll beat you. Given the fact that I’m taller, stronger, and—” a grin pulled at my lips, already knowing how she would react “—a man.”

As expected, her eyes flared, and I swore I caught a glint of gold in them catch the light. She tossed her hair like a bull getting ready to gore the matador bothering it, and she let me pull her from the step. The difference in our heights became apparent—she was well over a foot shorter than I was. The same intense sensation of intimate warmth flowed under my skin when our hands made contact, and I felt the longing to feel more of her pressed against me.

But she swept past me, and I followed her to the edge of the pool. “I’ll give you a head start,” I offered, tongue in cheek. “For the, ah, height challenge.”

“Don’t bother,” she almost snarled, making me grin again. “On three.”

She counted, and we were off. Slicing through the water, both of us doing the breaststroke. I liked to swim and was decent, but the small woman beside me was part fish. She belonged in the water and churned through the laps as if they were nothing. In fact, she was leaning against the side of the pool, waiting with a smirk when I touched the edge at the end.

“I won.” She playfully splashed me.

“Hey,” I protested. “Bad sportsmanship.” I splashed back.

The next thing I knew, we were having a water fight. Two adults acting like children, splashing, laughing, ducking, weaving. I felt free and light. Caught up in the moment. I dove under the water, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to me as I broke the surface. I held her arms to her sides, rendering her incapable of splashing me. “Gotcha.”

Our eyes met and locked. The air around us changed, going from playful to intense in the blink of an eye. My throat felt thick, and I had to swallow. It seemed as if my air intake was being cut off, and I had to force my lungs to work. Mila’s breathing picked up, her eyes like saucers in her face. Who moved first, I didn’t know, but suddenly, my mouth was on hers, her full lips opening under the pressure of mine, and I was kissing her.

I hauled her as tight to me as I could, the feel of her in my arms perfection. The taste of her was unique. Minty, sweet, life-affirming. My tongue slid along hers, and she whimpered, touching her tongue to mine in a hesitant yet sexy way. I groaned as I explored her, wanting more. Wanting my tongue as deep inside her mouth as possible. Needing her body pressed against mine as tightly as I could. I wanted to embed her into my skin. Devour her until I forgot about anything else. Until I could taste her from memory.

Except, she suddenly broke away, pushing from me. Her breathing was deep, matching my harsh gasps of air.

I reached for her, but she escaped my hands and headed for the edge of the pool. Once again, she grabbed her robe and rushed away, leaving me behind. There was something oddly familiar about her retreating figure. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But I was certain I had seen it before. More than once.

Perplexed, I let her go, somehow knowing I had to. Hating every second, but certain we would meet again.

It felt like destiny.