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"What the fuck? That's one hell of a welcome," I grunt as I stumble back a step.

He shoves me again, his whole body wired with fury.

"Welcome? You're an asshole and I don't want you here."

He means to force me back, maybe straight into the deep end, but my heel clips the slick edge and I feel the drop start behind me.

Something mean flashes through me.

I catch his wrist and throw my other arm around his waist, hauling him in tight before he can pull free.

"What are you—" His eyes go wide.

Then both of us lose the fight with gravity and the water closes over us.

We hit the deep end in a tangle of limbs, bubbles exploding around us. Rowan kicks instantly, his knee catching my thigh as he tries to wrench himself free. I don't let go.

We break the surface chest to chest, gasping and splashing. Rowan is glaring at me, face flushed red, wet hair hanging into his eyes. He looks fucking delicious.

"You really missed me, little mouse."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he spits, coughing as he tries to shove me back. His hands are shaking against my skin. "I told you to stay away. You don't get to keep following me."

I steady us both with a kick, my hand still locked on his waist under the surface, and grin. "If you wanted me in the pool, all you had to do was ask."

"I want you gone," he whispers, and somehow that lands harder. Not enough to make me loosen my grip. Then he twists in my hold and lunges for the ladder, forcing me to move first.

I drive him backward until his spine hits the tiled edge of the pool. The water makes everything slippery, skin sliding against skin as he fights for purchase, but I pin him there anyway, one hand braced beside his head and the other locked on his hip to keep him from slipping away.

"Funny way of showing it."

"You don't know what you're talking about," he bites out.

"No?"

Rowan twists hard in my hold, slipping against me as the water shifts, and for a second I almost lose him. Then he wrenches free, dragging out of my grip with a sharp, uneven breath, though there's nowhere to go with the pool wall at his back.

He is trembling, and I bet you it's not just from the cold. Looking up at me, he tries to snarl, but the heat in his face and the uneven catch of his breath give him away.

"Liar." I lean in until our foreheads touch, my thumb brushing his hip beneath the water. "Go on. Say it again."

Rowan's jaw tightens. "I want you gone."

He says it like a challenge.

A laugh slips out of me, and damn, do I love a challenge.

He twists in my grip, trying to turn away, but I don't give him time to retort. Instead, I take his mouth first.

This time, there's no lead-up. Just the brutal clash of teeth and the wet, frantic slide of our lips. He tastes like heat and something sharp, like he's biting it back even now. His lips fight me for a second, then falter.

He jerks in my hold and wrenches his face aside, a soft strangled sound slipping out of him. Nuh-uh, that's not going to happen. So I catch his jaw and press my thumb at the hinge while angling him back where I want him.

"Look at you," I rasp against his lips. "Still fighting me with one hand while the rest of you gives up."

He doesn't shove me off again, hands flying to my shoulders instead, fingers digging into my skin.

Then something in him finally gives, and he kisses me back like he can't stop.