CHAPTER 19 #2
“You can’t have a mustache like that with no abs.” I shook my head. “It’s math 101. If you have that mustache, but no abs, you’re creepy. But that mustache, with those—” I dropped my gaze back down to his stomach, and dear God, how deep were those lines that were disappearing beneath his shorts.
“Then I’m what?” The sound of his voice had my gaze snapping back up to his, but I simply shook my head. There was no way in hell I was going to finish that thought. I was trying to be funny, but why did he have to be so hot?
“Nothing.”
“You’re not looking at me like I’m nothing.” He teased, watching me, and I felt like I was coming out of my skin.
“That’s not what I meant.”
We stared at each other, and neither of us blinked.
The air between us felt electric, charged with something dangerous and inevitable. My skin prickled with awareness as his gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering there with such naked intent that I squirmed under his attention.
I was about to turn away when he leaned in, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, his tone pitched low for just the two of us. “Blaire?”
“Yeah?” I turned my head slightly, feeling his breath on my ear, and when his gaze caught mine, there was no teasing left.
“How wet do you think you’re going to get for me today?”
My brain stuttered, tripped, spun out somewhere between the slow, dangerous way he’d said “wet” and the flash in his eyes as he watched the color rise in my cheeks.
Then it hit, full force, and I swear my body responded before I could even gather up a retort.
A gasp, an embarrassing shiver, and the way my thighs threatened to press together to relieve the overwhelming ache, only to be caught by the solid firmness of Colt’s leg as he nudged his knee between them, pinning them apart.
My pulse ricocheted. We were only twenty feet from everyone else, and the risk of them seeing us only made it worse.
It should have been humiliating, how easily he could read my body, how he stood there shamelessly taking in every reaction I had.
Instead, it lit something wild in my chest, something that made my palms sweat and my heart race and my entire body spark with a reckless pulse that had me clenching my knees around his.
I couldn’t care less that we were in public, forgot about Maggie and McCoy and even Ruby, floating somewhere in the expanse of the lake behind us.
There was only the heat of his thigh pressing into mine, the rough edge of his breathing, and the way he watched me like he already knew exactly what it would take to push my body over the edge.
I tried to recover, to pull back, to find something sarcastic to say to diffuse my reaction, but all I could do was suck in a sharp breath, as a shameless little whimper passed through my lips.
He set his beer on the tailgate with a soft clink as he grinned, his eyes dropping to my parted lips for one heart-stopping second before his hands found my waist, palms burning against my skin.
Before I could even process the movement, he ducked low, driving his shoulder into my stomach.
I squealed as the world spun upside down.
He straightened to his full height, lifting me up on his shoulder, and my cheek pressed against his bare back.
“Colt!” I yelled, kicking out instinctively, but he hooked an arm behind my knees while his other hand rested on the back of my thigh.
Blood rushed to my head, but arousal pulsed between my legs.
His shoulder dug into my stomach with each step, and I could feel the hot press of his skin against mine.
The vibration of his laughter rippled through me as his hand slid higher on my thigh, fingers grazing the edge of my bikini bottom, leaving a trail of fire across my skin that made me want to beg him for more.
“Colt Oliver Calloway, put me down,” I demanded, but my voice betrayed me, coming out as a breathless gasp.
“Did you just middle-name me again?” His voice dropped, and his palm landed quickly on my ass with a sting that shot straight through my core.
“Colt!” I said his name again, but it was drowned out by my own helpless laughter.
The aftershock of his palm lingered, tingling in a way that sent my body into mortifying overdrive. He only hoisted me higher, the world pitching with each stride, and all I could focus on was the way his hands tightened against me.
“That’s for ignoring me over the last few days,” he said, breathless with his own laughter, and his fingers skimmed back and forth over my thigh. I couldn’t see his face, but I could imagine his smug grin, the pleasure he took in my utter helplessness.
I could hear the delighted squeal of Ruby, and Maggie’s and McCoy’s laughter echoing across the water. I twisted, trying to right myself, but Colt was a wall of immovable muscle. I caught the blur of McCoy and Maggie turning to watch us as Colt stepped onto the dock.
“Look, uncle Coy!” Ruby called, abandoning her float and doggy-paddling toward the shallow water. “Daddy’s going to throw Blaire in!”
McCoy cupped his hands and bellowed in encouragement, “Attaboy! Get her ass in here!”
Colt marched across the dock, and even as he laughed, I could feel the tension in his body, the anticipation winding through every muscle.
Every step jostled me in ways that made it impossible not to feel the slide of his skin, the heat of his body, and the certainty that he was enjoying every second of my squirming.
“Colt, don’t you dare,” I managed, my voice coming out as part threat, part laughter.
He paused at the edge of the dock, feet planted wide, and shifted me slightly. His palm splayed across my thigh, possessive and steady.
“Do you promise not to ignore me again?” he asked, and I couldn’t control my laughter now.
I kicked wildly, but his grip didn’t budge. My hands clung desperately to his waist, wrapping my arms around his middle and holding on to him as I clamped my eyes closed.
“I’m not promising shit,” I huffed and held on tighter.
“Well, you had your chance.”
I barely had time to brace myself before we were airborne. I was still clinging to his waist, and he’d held on to me. The scream that tore from my lungs was filled with laughter before we plunged into the water.
We went under, deep enough I could feel the lake’s chill curl around me.
We surfaced together, still tangled as he pulled me up with him, both gasping. His grip on me was firm, his fingers digging into both sides of my hips. The dock loomed above us, and I heard Ruby yelling, “Again! Again!” as her footsteps pounded against the wooden planks.
Colt’s hands stayed locked on me under the water, and water droplets clung to his eyelashes and dripped from the hair trailing down his face.
“You’re an ass,” I coughed, trying to push away from him, but he wouldn’t loosen his hold.
He yanked me closer, my chest colliding with his, and there was no mistaking the rigid heat pressing against my stomach through his wet swim trunks.
“And, you—” He paused as he looked down at me. He didn’t bother trying to hide the way his eyes fell to my mouth, then lower, tracking water down my neck to the tops of my breasts. “—are a goddamn test of my will.”
He finally let go of me, but not before his hands traced a lazy circle around my waist.
Ruby barreled down the dock and skidded to a stop a few feet from the edge, arms pinwheeling for balance. She looked down at Colt with her cheeks flushed and her chest heaving. “Daddy! Catch me!”
Colt’s entire expression shifted so quickly, transforming from Daddy Colt to Colt the dad, and there was so much pride and soft devotion on his face as he stared up at his daughter. He waded toward her, holding his arms up. “Come on, baby girl. Show me what you got.”
Ruby bounced on her toes. “Ready?” she asked, glancing at me.
I nodded, still floating in the water, still drowning in what the hell just happened.
Ruby launched herself off the dock, knees to her chest, and she landed right in front of Colt. His hands wrapped around her as she went under, the splash covering every inch of him. Ruby surfaced again, whooping and laughing so loudly it was impossible not to get pulled into it.
She splashed him in the face, and he pulled her into his chest before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“I think that was the best cannonball I’ve ever seen.” He pressed the tip of his finger against her nose, and she beamed.
“Did you see, Blaire?” she asked, already swimming back to the dock for another go. “I went so far!”
I found myself grinning back at her. “You did so good, Ruby. I’ve never seen someone go so far.”
Colt’s gaze tracked back over to me, his eyes still dark and hungry. He sank deeper until the lake water kissed his upper lip, his eyes not leaving mine.
I didn’t move; I couldn’t look away from him as Ruby scrambled up the ladder for another round.
But then Maggie swam over, her hair slicked back and her sunglasses covering her eyes. Even still, I could see the way she looked between me and Colt. She bumped her legs into mine under the water and grinned.
“Blaire, darling,” she drawled. “You, me, and margaritas, stat.”
She looped her arm through mine, and together, we swam to the bank. Then she was dragging me up the embankment, the dirt and slippery rocks slick beneath our feet. As we reached the shore, I adjusted my bikini and risked a look over my shoulder.
Colt was still treading water, Ruby on his back, and McCoy had joined them, splashing at each other like they were three children.
Ruby giggled as McCoy pretended to dunk them, and Colt’s laughter, so deep and unguarded, rippled all the way across the surface and straight into my veins.
It was the sound of my Colt —the one from before life got hard, before he was buried under the duties of the ranch and being a single father.
Maggie sidled closer, dropping her sunglasses enough to peer at me over the rim. “You’re hopeless,” she whispered. “You know that, right?”