Chapter 6 #2
That was the fucked-up truth of it. She didn’t just light me up.
She made every nerve ending in my body go haywire, made my skin feel too tight for my bones, made my jaw clench and my chest feel so much pressure I had to physically move away from her just to keep my shit together.
And every damn day, no matter how hard I tried to keep things easy, light, casual, that fire kept licking at the edges of my self-control.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to walk back out into the sun.
The sound of Ruby’s laughter and the pounding of her little feet running across the dock cut through the ache in my chest, and I followed the path back down to the lake, counting every step and trying not to look at her before I had my head on straight.
But it didn’t work. Maggie was the first thing I saw.
She’d already stripped off her shorts and was standing there in that damned pink bikini, long legs bare and smooth as sin. There were freckles scattered up her thighs, and fuck, I wanted to trace those spots with my tongue and see if she tasted like sunshine.
Our eyes met across the distance, and she didn’t look away.
Every muscle in my body tensed, and my fingers flexed involuntarily at my sides as I stepped onto the dock.
Three steps forward and I could touch her.
Two steps and I could back her up against that railing. One step and I’d be fucking lost.
She smiled, and the want inside me burned like a wildfire I couldn’t outrun or deny, no matter how many lies I told myself.
Ruby ran by her squealing as she leapt off the dock and landed like a cannonball in the water. The splash sprayed up onto the dock and onto Maggie, droplets splattering along her legs and making her jump back and laugh.
She was sunshine and chaos and legs for days, and I didn’t bother pretending I wasn’t staring. Not with the way her skin glistened, every inch of her golden and so fucking tempting I wanted to leave marks all over her, just to see them when the sun hit her the next time.
I walked to the edge of the dock, and I let my hand trail over her hip as I moved past her, my thumb catching the edge of that pink fabric. She sucked in a sharp breath as she leaned almost imperceptibly into my touch, and I lingered there a half second too long.
Her skin was hot beneath my hand and the urge to press my fingers more firmly into her was overwhelming.
I wanted to rip that fucking bikini right off her, pin her to the dock, and let the whole goddamn lake hear the sounds she’d make for me.
I wanted to see if she’d whimper or curse when I bit the inside of her thigh before spreading her open for me.
I swallowed the groan that threatened to rip out of me and let my thumb trace the edge of her bikini until goosebumps broke out across her stomach.
She didn’t move away. She just tipped her chin up and that wild, dare-you glint stared back at me as if she could see every fucked-up thought I’d ever had about her.
“Hunter.” Her voice had gone rough and hesitant.
I let my hand linger, thumb rubbing slow, possessive circles over her hip bone. The shiver that rolled through her was so blatant I could feel it under my skin.
“What’s wrong, Sunshine?” I kept my voice low, just for her.
“What did you just call me?” She stared up at me, and I grinned, not even bothering to hide it.
“Sunshine,” I said again. “That’s what you are, Mags.”
She let out a shaky little laugh, but her entire body went tight as a hot flush rose across her cheeks then all the way down her neck to the golden curve of her collarbone.
I needed to put distance between us before I did something that she’d regret.
And she would regret it.
“I’m going to go for a swim,” I said, my eyes still fixed on the curve of her mouth.
“Yeah.” The word came out breathless as she swayed slightly when I finally let my hand start falling away.
My palm stayed warm against her skin for one more second, then two, the space between letting go and holding on stretching out until I feared I’d do something reckless.
I dropped my hand and stepped back, and the distance between us rushed in like cold water.
“Make room, Ruby girl!” I shouted to Ruby, tearing my attention from Maggie before plunging into the lake.
The cool water hit me, and my pulse thudded in my ears. I came up gasping, and I slicked my hair back out of my face and wiped the water from my eyes. For a second, I let myself lean back and float until the pounding in my chest slowed to a steady ache.
Then a flash of limbs and giggles crashed against me as Ruby latched onto my neck from behind and almost dragged me back under. “Throw me! Throw me!” Her little voice was relentless as I stood, my feet finding the bottom of the lake.
“Are you ready?” I asked, then I gripped her hands in mine and dunked us under as I flipped her around in front of me.
I surfaced to the sound of her laughter, and I swear, there was no better sound in the world. I hoisted her above me, letting her dangle while she shrieked, “Higher! Higher!”
Then I launched her, and she hit the water with a shriek so full of pure joy I was sure they could hear it on the other side of the lake. When she surfaced, she sputtered and laughed as she paddled back and latched onto my forearm.
“I can swim all the way to the buoy,” she bragged as her eyes found the buoy that was a good thirty feet away.
“Go for it, my girl. I’m right here.” I trailed behind her, letting her set the pace, and I watched her purple life jacket as she powered through the water.
Just as she reached the buoy, she glanced back at me with her wet hair plastered to her cheeks and pride shining in her eyes. “I told you!” She wrapped an arm around the buoy and kicked her little legs through the water.
“I never doubted you for a second.” I grinned. “You are my niece after all.”
Ruby’s face scrunched into a serious expression, and her eyes narrowed at me as I treaded water. “I have a question.”
“Okay.” I chuckled. “What is it?”
“Blaire said it’s rude to ask people about their business.” She glanced toward the bank where they all were, then back to me. Water droplets clung to her eyelashes, and I swear she was the cutest damn kid to ever exist.
“Then you should tell Blaire to take her own advice. She’s a busybody.”
“What’s a busybody?”
“Not important. You can ask me anything. What’s your question?”
“Are you in love with Maggie?”
“What?” I sputtered, my laugh coming out strangled, and I considered drowning as a solid escape plan to get out of this conversation.
“You give her lovey-dovey eyes.” She batted her eyelashes dramatically while making kissy faces.
“Where did you— What do you know about lovey-dovey eyes?” My heart hammered against my ribs.
“My dad gives them to Blaire.” She shrugged.
“Okay. That’s…” I glanced toward the bank where I could see another car pulling in the driveway. “…fair.”
Ruby kept staring at me, her little body bobbing with the gentle waves, waiting for an answer I wasn’t prepared to give. My cheeks burned hot despite the cool lake water. Shit.
“I care about her a lot,” I finally admitted, which only made Ruby’s face scrunch in disappointment.
“Then why isn’t she your girlfriend?”
“Listen.” I choked out a laugh, running my hand over my jaw. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“All right, Miss Nosy. I see what Blaire meant now.” I lunged forward, scooping her up as she squealed, my fingers finding her ticklish spots. “You’re a busybody just like her.”
Ruby shrieked, kicking and splashing water everywhere as I hauled her up in my arms. She clung to my neck, her little laugh shaking through her whole body. I cut through the lake, heading back to the bank and ignoring how my chest still burned from what she’d just asked me.
“You better hold on tight,” I warned. “Busybodies get dunked.”
She squealed as she climbed fully on my back and wrapped her legs around my middle. “You’re like my dolphin!”
I barked out a laugh as I swam. “Hold on, little fish.”
She whooped and locked her arms tighter around my neck, pressing her face against my shoulder. “I love you, Uncle Hunter,” she said, the words muffled but so sure, so certain.
“I love you too.”
She was so damn little but fierce, just like her dad. Growing up, there’d never been anything I needed to worry about, not really. Not with Colt around. He was always there, always steady. He was the kind of big brother that could talk you out of a fight or teach you how to win one if needed.
And then he went and gave us Ruby.
As we got closer to the dock, I could see McCoy, Colt, and Blaire already in the water, and on the dock, Maggie sat with her legs dangling over, talking with Sutton and Brody.
The sun beat against us as I waded through the shallows, and Ruby clung to me like I was her own personal life raft. But my gaze never strayed far from the dock.
Maggie tipped her head back and laughed at something Sutton said, and I let Ruby climb onto the dock ahead of me. The wood creaked under her small feet as she scampered toward the others, leaving me chest deep in the water with my hands gripping the ladder.
I looked up and caught Maggie’s eye. Her head tilted as she watched me. There was a smile on her lips, but her eyes were soft and almost worried.
“You coming in?” I asked, not even bothering to hide the hope in my voice.
She grinned down at me, her hair spilling over her shoulders as she tipped her sunglasses lower, her eyes meeting mine with a challenge that made my throat go dry. “The water’s kind of cold.”
“Don’t be a chicken, Sunshine.” I smiled up at her and wrapped one of my hands around her calf. “You can’t come to the lake and not get in the lake.” I repeated the same words I’d said to her so many nights ago on this very same spot, and something shifted in her expression.
“Who says?” She flicked water at me with her other foot, and I didn’t bother blocking it. Instead, I grabbed both of her ankles in my hands and gave her a little tug.
“Don’t you dare, Calloway.” A laugh bubbled out of her, and her fingers gripped the edge of the dock.
I glanced over her shoulder at Brody before letting my gaze travel slowly back to her.
“What if I did?” I lowered my voice, just for her. “What would you do about it?”