Taking Chances (BYC #3)

17. Anne

17

ANNE

T oo bad Noah offered, maybe Lennox could have skinny dipped. A chuckle bubbles out of me, and heads turn my way. Guess I drank more than I thought.

“Come on, we’ll get ready together.” Natalie grabs my arm and leads me upstairs. She grabs the bag from her room, and we get undressed in the room Rina and I will be sharing.

I take out my modest one piece, making her wince. “What is that?” Her face scrunches up in disgust.

The bathing suit is, admittedly, old fashioned, but the ruffles cover most of my areas of insecurities.

“I feel good in it.” My shoulders sag.

“You don’t feel good in it, you feel covered in it.”

“Well, covered means good.”

She sighs. “No, it doesn’t. I know Bryce and your family ruined your self-esteem, but you need to see yourself for the woman you are. You need to feel sexy and attractive, not try to blend into the background.” My eyes sting with tears approaching. She sits down on the bed next to me. “Remember how you felt in that dress. Besides, it’s only us here. We’re your real family, anyway.” She’s correct, there’s no reason to hide from them. “And Lennox,” she adds, like she just remembered he exists.

Lennox. He already saw me naked, not that she knows that. And I would dare say he liked what he saw. Releasing a deep breath, I say, “Fine, let me see what you got.”

She claps her hands, practically squealing, and rummages through her bag. “Got it,” she says, extracting two deep blue pieces of string. That’s the only way to describe it.

“What’s that?”

“A bikini.” My brow lifts, and she says, “Just put it on.”

She helps me make sense of the strings, which barely cover my ample cleavage. And it’s a good thing I recently waxed my lady parts since they’re mostly visible in the miniature bottoms. Taking a deep breath, I step to the full-size mirror, but Natalie grabs me by the forearm.

“Nope. Not letting you overthink this. You can look at yourself after the hot tub, but I won’t let you hide from us.”

I gulp, but I guess the liquid courage coursing my veins helps. “OK.”

Natalie flashes me a blinding grin in her own tiny bikini, and we head downstairs, wrapping ourselves in bathrobes.

We obviously took too long to get ready, because everyone except for Rina and Connor are already laughing in the tub. Natalie grabs us both a drink as I move the sliding glass doors and step outside. The freezing air prickles my skin instantly.

“Here.” Natalie hands me my glass and I take a big sip of the amber liquid, trying to calm my nerves. She’s already jumping in, landing directly on Matt’s lap, while I slowly set down my glass and untie my robe. Alex, Noah, and Lennox are engrossed in their own conversation.

No one is even paying attention to me; I’m being an idiot.

But the second my robe falls down my shoulders, Lennox’s eyes find me. His jaw tightens as my nipples poke through the skimpy top. The light blue of his irises quickly disappears as his pupils dilate with hunger. Heat rises to my face. I stand there like a marble statue as my nerves and his gaze have me frozen in place.

“Come on, get in. You’ll freeze,” Natalie says, giggling with Matt.

Her words snap me out of it, so I step into the heated water, barely containing a moan. The scorching temperature of the water is a shock to my cooled skin, making it feel almost like a caress. I settle into a free space across from Lennox, but my nipples haven’t gotten the memo they’re not freezing anymore, still poking their way out of the bikini.

I try to cover up a bit more, but the fabric isn’t having it, there’s no way to cover up. And to be honest, I’m not certain if insecurity is what I’m feeling. It’s a knot low in my stomach, yes. But it’s less of an uncomfortable knot and more of a pulse. A need.

Taking another sip of my drink, I join the conversation, pretending not to notice Lennox’s eyes that are still glued to me. Eventually, he looks away and the knot turns to disappointment.

It’s silly. But it’s nice to feel wanted. At least that’s what I think was happening.

“Interesting suit, Anne.” Noah smirks. He’s not much of a talker, but he notices everything, so it’s not a surprise he noticed this isn’t my usual get up.

“I was forced into it.” Alex and Noah chuckle at my response. Unlike Matt and Natalie, who are practically making out in front of us, Alex and Noah are a more modest couple, but their love doesn’t run any less deep.

“My body is sore,” Alex groans, positioning their back on the tub’s jets.

“Mine, too.” I chuckle. “But this here is doing wonders for me.”

“Yes, but my skin has already pruned up.” Alex chuckles.

“Maybe we should get out, then,” Noah says. It doesn’t sound suggestive, but there’s no mistaking why he wants them to head to the bedroom.

“You couples disgust me,” I state, making Alex choke on a laugh. “But have fun.”

They exit the tub, quickly enveloping themselves in cozy bathrobes.

“Fuck, it’s cold,” Noah grumbles as they rush inside.

Matt and Natalie are in their own world, barely paying Lennox and me any attention, so I take another sip of my drink, gazing around awkwardly. Lennox doesn’t look any more comfortable, his muscular shoulders tense under the ink. We spend a few minutes drinking in the breathtakingly gorgeous night sky, covered in millions of stars, before Matt speaks.

“See you tomorrow, guys,” he says, as he carries Natalie out of the tub, deciding to take the party elsewhere at last. She winks at me, making me roll my eyes.

“Thank God,” Lennox says on a sigh when they enter the house. A small chuckle slips out of my mouth.

“And to think Natalie was the one scolding Rina and Connor for their PDA.”

“Really? What happened?” He lifts his brows.

“Love.” I can’t help but grin, but his eyes grow serious. “Sorry, I forgot you don’t believe in love.”

“Something like that,” he murmurs.

The tub is huge for the two of us, so I stretch my legs, trying to float. Still, I manage to graze his leg, a zing of electricity coursing through me at the touch.

“Sorry,” I stutter.

His eyes are more black than blue as they stare back at me. His beefy, tattooed hand reaches out of the water, grabbing his whiskey. I can’t look away as he swallows the liquid, mesmerized by the sight of his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“So, how did you like skiing?” I try to break the silence, but my voice is huskier than I’ve ever heard it.

“Much better than expected.”

“Right? I knew you’d like it.” The tension is replaced by comfortable chatter.

In the couple of months I’ve known him, I’ve grown to be comfortable around him.

“You’re an excellent teacher.”

“I try.” I flick my hair back jokingly.

He grins but continues, “Still, I meant what I said. You weren’t in debt to me in any way.”

“Thank you.” I’m used to men doing things because they want something in return. But I’m inclined to believe he really means what he says. “At least you don’t have to share a room with me this time.”

“Right.” My joke falls on deaf ears, his face set in stone.

We moved closer to each other, so close our shoulders are touching. My breath hitches as he lowers his hand, accidentally skimming my thigh.

“Sorry,” he says, but I stare straight ahead into the night, not daring to look at him.

“No worries.” It’s more of a breathy moan than a sentence.

“Fuck, this… thing you’re wearing is making it hard to keep my hands away.” His tone is so low it’s barely audible.

“Oh,” I say, following with a whimper as his hand skims my leg again, this time intentional.

Blood rushes downstairs, my nipples rock hard as he trails his fingers up my thigh.

“Tell me to stop,” he almost growls.

I should do exactly that. I should stop this and go to bed.

But I won’t.

I can’t.

“Don’t stop,” I say on a shaky voice.

His hand turns from exploring to possessing, gripping my thigh as he inhales sharply.

His gaze is pure hunger as he turns to me. “You’ll have to be completely quiet, Firecracker. Can you do that? Can you be quiet for me?”

I nod eagerly, overestimating myself.

“Come sit in my lap.” I obey instantly. I don’t think there’s a limit to what I would do when he makes me feel like this. Wild, untethered, and so freaking sexy.

Bringing both of his hands to my top, he roughly grabs my breasts before pinching my nipples. I huff out a breath, proud to have contained a moan. His right hand stays on my breast, while his other travels my stomach down to the waistband of my bottoms. Typically, I would be self-conscious having his hand on my belly, but I’m way too turned on for that. I release a quiet whine as his hand dips lower, connecting to my clit.

“Shoot,” I murmur, eliciting a low chuckle from him.

“So fucking wet for me,” he whispers in my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck.

One of his thick fingers dips into my heat and staying quiet becomes a real freaking problem. I breathe through my moans, doing my best to obey him.

“Good girl,” he coos, and this time a moan can’t be suppressed.

He pinches my nipple harshly in response and another loud moan escapes me.

“We can’t have that, can we?” Our friends are just upstairs, they could lean over the balcony and see what we’re doing. But as his second finger joins the first, I’m ready to admit defeat.

“I won’t be able to stay quiet. I can’t.” My voice is a panicked whisper.

“Don’t worry, Firecracker. I’ll help you.” He places a gentle kiss below my ear, setting my body on fire. The hand that was on my breast goes around my shoulders, his palm clamping over my mouth.

Relief floods me as I realize we’re not done. I won’t be punished for not staying quiet.

The need is too big, his fingers stretching me beautifully. My shame flies over the wooden fence, down the snow-covered mountain. The stars above match the spots appearing in my vision as my hips lift up and I start riding his hand, the palm of it massaging my clit almost painfully. My moans are muffled by his strong hand on my face.

“Just like that, baby. Such a good girl,” he croons, spurring me on. Moving the triangles of my top to the side, my tits bounce in and out of water as I shamelessly impale myself on his fingers.

Pleasure builds low in my belly, and I know I’m close to coming.

“Play with your nipples,” he orders, apparently sensing it. Wasting no time, my fingers find my stiff peaks and roll them. His hand muffles a feral moan that comes out of me.

Fuck. This is too good. Shit.

His fingers press into a mind-blowing spot inside of me, and with another roll of my fingers, I’m coming. My pussy spasms, my whole body shaking as I experience the best orgasm of my life. When I get down from my high, he lowers his hand from my mouth, and I realize I’m sitting on a steel rod. There’s no other way to explain the stiff member between Lennox’s legs.

I’m spent, but the thought of having him inside of me is all-consuming. An apprehensive hand darts out to touch it, but he grabs it almost instantly.

“No need. This was for you,” he says, filling me with disappointment. “Besides, we’re just risking someone hearing us.”

I dip my head in agreement, though my mind is spiraling. I hate not being able to return the favor. But he’s right. It was pure luck they haven’t heard us already. And the thought of them finding out fills me with dread.

Standing up, he gets out of the tub, holding out the robe for me. I trail drops of water down his sculpted chest, to the tiny swim shorts stretched out by his jutting erection. His powerful thighs flex, drawing my gaze to them. I just had an orgasm, and I’m nowhere near sated. Not when he’s standing there looking like a Booktok thirst trap. Finally, he clears his throat, and I look into his darkened eyes.

He’s probably freezing, waiting for me to get out while I’m too busy ogling him. “Sorry, sorry.” I rush to get out of the water, not realizing that my breasts are still out.

“Shoot, sorry. Again.” My cheeks are probably beet red by now, and his jaw muscles flex. The warm bathrobe envelops me, and I get inside the cozy cabin. He follows me in before we walk upstairs in uncomfortable silence.

“Thanks for that,” I say quietly. This is beyond uncomfortable, but that’s no reason to forget my manners.

“Good night,” he responds.

By the time I get myself ready for bed, alcohol has fully left my system. The desire still courses through me, though, pulling my skin taut. Lying on the comfortable bed, a sleeping Rina next to me, I can’t help but feel disappointment Lennox’s not the one I’m sharing the room with.

Maybe I wouldn’t let it go, then. Maybe I would dare to take a chance. Take him .