Chapter 7 Caelan #3
“You have, since I took my shirt off. It’s fine.” I smiled slowly. “I stared at you first. Fair’s fair.”
“I... that’s...” She swallowed. “The wolf is my favorite.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It looks...” She trailed off, her eyes moving over the ink again. “Alive. Like it might move.”
Something warm spread through my chest. She had no idea how right she was, how the beast inside me stirred at her gaze, claws scraping, urging me to claim her right there in the shallow water, fuck her slow and deep until she screamed my name.
I took my time with my pants, stepping out of them slowly, the fabric sliding down my thighs, revealing the swim trunks that clung tight to my hips, the outline of my half-hard cock totally visible.
Her eyes tracked the movement, widening just a fraction, pupils dilating as they dipped lower, lingering on the bulge.
I pretended not to notice, but my pulse kicked up, dick twitching under her stare.
“You’re doing that on purpose,” she accused.
“Doing what?”
“Being... distracting.” Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and I imagined it on my skin, licking salt from my chest.
“I’m just getting ready to swim.” I walked past her toward the water, close enough that my arm brushed hers. “Unless you’d rather keep staring. I can stand here longer.”
“Shut up.” She laughed despite herself and dove back into the water. I followed, letting the cold rise around my legs, my hips, my chest. The temperature was a relief after the summer heat, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning through me.
Riley kept her distance at first. Not much, but enough that I noticed. It stung more than I wanted to admit.
“You scared him off,” she said after a moment, treading water. It took me a second to remember exactly who I scared off.
Right. That fucking man.
“Good.”
“He was probably harmless.”
“Probably.” I moved closer, and she didn’t swim away. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
“How did he look at me?”
“Like you were a thing to be had. A conquest. A prize to win.” The jealousy twisted again, hot and possessive, my hands itching to grab her hips and show her who she belonged to.
Riley was quiet for a moment. The water lapped between us, the only sound besides distant laughter from other swimmers.
“And how do you look at me?” she asked finally.
The question caught me off guard. I drifted closer, close enough that our legs brushed underwater, her smooth calf sliding against mine, sending jolts up my thigh to my cock, which was thickening again despite the cold.
She shivered, and it had nothing to do with the temperature, since a faint flush crept down her neck.
“Like you’re the sun,” I said quietly, my mouth brushing off any filter it used to have. “And I’ve been living in the dark.”
Her breath caught. “That’s very poetic.”
“I’m a poetic person.”
“You’re a strange person. Mysterious hot Australian.” She was teasing, but her voice was softer now, laced with want. Her gaze flicked to my mouth. “That’s your brand, right?”
“Is it working?” I asked, voice rough, stepping nearer so our thighs pressed together under the surface.
She didn’t answer, just watched me. We were close now, so close I could see the individual droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes and the way her pulse fluttered at the base of her throat.
“Tell me true things about yourself,” I said, because I loved to learn more about her and right now, if I didn’t talk, I was going to kiss her. I didn’t think she was ready for that. “True things you don’t tell people.”
She considered it for a moment. “I’m scared all the time.”
“Of what?”
“Everything. Being alone. Not being alone. Trusting the wrong person again. Letting someone in and watching them destroy me.” She said it lightly, but her eyes were serious. “Your turn.”
“I’ve never wanted anything for myself,” I admitted, the words heavy, my hand finding her waist under the water, thumb stroking the bare skin above her bikini bottom, feeling her muscles tense and release.
“My whole life, I’ve done what was expected of me.
What my family needed. What my kingdom..
.” I caught myself, the slip almost too much, but her warmth distracted me. “What my responsibilities demanded.”
“And now?”
“Now I want something.” I drifted closer still, until we were breathing the same air, my chest brushing hers lightly, the contact electric, her nipples scraping through the thin fabric. “Something I probably shouldn’t want.”
“What?”
“You know what.” I said. I was beyond excuses, my free hand rising to cup her jaw, tilting her face up, lips hovering.
The air felt electric. I could see her pulse jumping now, could hear the catch in her breathing.
“Riley.” Her name came out rough, a growl, my thumb tracing her lower lip. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
She swallowed hard, eyes darkening. “Didn’t you want to be my friend?”
“Is that what you want?” I reached out, pushed a wet strand of hair from her face. My fingers lingered on her cheek, sliding down to her neck, pulse pounding under my touch. “A friend?”
“I don’t know what I want.”
“Then let me tell you what I want.” I was so close now, my lips nearly brushing hers, breath mingling. “I want to be whatever you need. Friend, more than a friend, anything. Everything. I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Riley. Just tell me.”
Her lips parted. She was leaning in.
“HEY!” Sloane’s voice carried across the water like a foghorn. “ARE YOU TWO DONE OUT THERE? I’M HUNGRY AND JADE WON’T STOP MAKING OUT WITH YOUR SISTER LONG ENOUGH TO DISCUSS LUNCH OPTIONS!”
Riley jerked back, laughing despite herself.
The moment shattered, again thanks to Sloane.
Great. Though it was probably for the best. We were surrounded by people and if I would’ve kissed her right now, I wasn’t sure how the fuck I’d react.
Maybe I’d hunt down every single person in here to make sure they left us the fuck alone. Maim some of them. I didn’t know.
“She has terrible timing,” I muttered.
“She has perfect timing,” Riley countered, but her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was uneven. “Depending on your perspective.”
“My perspective thinks she should invest in a hobby.”
“Interrupting romantic moments is her hobby.” She mumbled under her breath, but her words caught my attention. She’d called it romantic. I filed that away.
We swam back toward shore, and somewhere in the middle of the journey, her hand found mine underwater. Her fingers interlaced with mine, hidden beneath the surface where no one could see. Our secret.
I looked at her. She looked straight ahead, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
She didn’t let go until we reached the shallows.