Chapter 2
Chapter Two
M y heart went from the calm I’d been searching for all day to hammering in my chest. Holy fuck. I whirled, doing a quick scan of the backyard before searching the pool. A dark figure glided in the water toward me.
I was no longer alone.
My gaze followed the shadow as it drew closer. I should get out of the pool. I should get out of the pool now.
Twisting, I braced my arms on the edge to hoist myself out when cool fingers closed around my ankle. I squeaked right before water rushed over my head and I was dragged under, almost swallowing a mouthful of pool water.
Everything in me froze, thinking I was about to be murdered, and a flash of the Fallen Oaks Press headline for tomorrow glowed behind my eyes. Dead Girl Found Floating in Pool. No Witnesses.
The word dead kicked my instinct to live into overdrive. I fought, hands and legs flailing, to get away from my attacker. I was a fucking good swimmer. If I could break the hold he had on my ankle?—
I was free. I began to swim, using the wall behind me to shove off and increase my momentum. I got halfway across the pool when a pair of hands attached to my waist, and we broke the surface together, a tangle of dark hair and limbs.
Breathing heavily, I whirled on my attacker, my view of him obstructed by the long strands of hair on my face. “Are you trying to kill me?” I demanded harshly, shoving at the wet pieces of hair.
My eyes went to his lips first. I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because the prick wore a twisted smirk, the kind that sent warning bells through me. He had a glorious, full mouth that under a different circumstance I might have appreciated. “If I was trying to kill you, you wouldn’t be breathing right now,” he retorted.
Not comforting in the slightest. This guy was a psychopath. A gorgeous one, but even a lunatic could be handsome if you were into guys covered in ink, which I definitely was. He had many tattoos, but I didn’t have time to appreciate the art gracing his very defined and well-toned body. I blinked, trying to keep my wits about me. He could still kill me. I wasn’t out of danger yet. My brows rose as my eyes roamed over his face with a more thorough inspection. I was still afraid for my life, just slightly less so. “Is that your plan?” I asked.
“To murder you?” he mocked. “I don’t make a habit of killing pretty girls even if they are trespassing.” His voice edged a sharp line between sexy and dangerous so I couldn’t distinguish which side weighed heavier. Not that it mattered.
We were drifting to the edge of the pool, his fingers still lingering at my hips as if he thought I might try to escape again, which I should be doing. And yet, I wasn’t. Logical, I know. “You just thought it would be fun to scare the shit out of me instead?” I snapped, fear invoking a healthy dose of anger within me.
Wet, black hair was slicked back from his face making it hard to discern how long or short it was. “Maybe it was you who scared me,” he countered with an irritating lift of his brow.
I scoffed. “You have a funny way of showing it.”
His eyes lowered, moving down my neck, to where the water hit my chest just above my nipples. Holy shit. My nipples . I wasn’t wearing any clothes. Not even my bra or underwear.
Fucking hell .
Color jumped into my face as I groaned internally, cursing myself out for jumping into the pool naked.
I wanted to hit the heel of my palm against my forehead. Why, Arie? Just why?
Instinct made me want to cross my arms over my chest. My chin lifted. I refused to cower in front of a stranger. “What are you doing here? Are you here to rob the place?” I shot back. I glanced at his too-handsome-for-his-own-damn-good face with cheekbones carved by the gods. Since when did I compare guys to gods?
“Do I look like a robber?” he asked, appearing genuinely interested and amused.
Now that I was self-aware of my nakedness, he was too damn close. What if my nipples accidentally brushed against his… I glanced down for the first time, unsure what he was wearing. I would die of mortification if he was naked too. On second thought, I’d panic. Somehow being naked in a pool with a stranger automatically made my brain leap to rape. Hurting me had been my top concern before, but now…
My eyes dipped past his broad shoulders and golden chest. I let out an audible exhale of relief at the dark shorts floating around him. “Uh, kind of,” I admitted, lifting my gaze with narrowed eyes. “If you’re not breaking in, then what are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
My chin lifted in that lofty way the rich women in town were so fond of doing when they looked down at someone. I did my best to imitate them. “This is my house,” I lied.
He chuckled, gold-flecked eyes raking over my glistening body as the pad of his thumbs brushed along my hip bones under the water.
Do not shiver. Don’t you dare think about responding to this asshole’s stare , I scolded my body.
As usual, it didn’t listen, and a shiver rolled through me that had nothing to do with being wet.
“Funny, seeing as I’m pretty sure I don’t have a sister. Unless you’re my father’s illegitimate child, which would be a fucking shame. Not really surprising, but awkward considering I’ve seen you naked.” His lips twisted.
Oh, this one thinks he’s fucking clever .
I swallowed, bouncing up and down on my toes that just reached the floor of the pool. I strategically moved my body closer to the edge. “You’re a decent liar, I’ll give you that.”
“You still don’t believe me?” he replied with a darkness to it that sounded sinister.
“I’ve lived here my entire life.” That wasn’t a lie. I’d been born in Fallen Oaks. I hadn’t specified that I grew up in the house next door.
He pursed his lips. “Hmm. Maybe I should call the cops and let them sort this out.”
My eyes flashed. I’d had enough dealings with the police, and the idea of seeing any of the deputies, whom I knew by name, or Sheriff Carter churned my stomach. “Fine. You got me. I live next door. What’s your excuse?”
“Next door,” he echoed, his gaze narrowing and roaming over my face again with a different scrutiny.
It made my chin firm as I watched him figure out which house, and I hated the change in his expression. My spine stiffened as it finally hit the edge of the pool, and I shoved hard at his chest, sending him backward through the water long enough for me to hoist my body onto the concrete.
I dashed for the first article of clothing I spotted, not realizing it was his shirt until I had it pulled over my head. Screw it. He owed me a shirt after scaring me half to death. I still wasn’t convinced I was out of danger.
“You’re Adam Quinn’s daughter?” he whispered.
The question stopped me in my tracks. My feet rooted for a second before I turned around and faced him. He easily lifted himself out of the pool, waiting for me to confirm my identity, water dripping off his body.
“How do you know who my father is?” I demanded, my temper getting the best of me. It was quick to ignite these days. Stress had a lot to do with it.
His head angled to the side. “I don’t. Not really. I read about his accident in the paper a few years ago.”
Something about his excuse rubbed me the wrong way, but the truth of it was that everyone in Fallen Oaks heard what happened to my father and that I’d been driving that night .
A fact that four years later still haunted me—still riddled me with guilt. I might not have done anything wrong, not broken any laws, but the person who hit us had never been found. They had never been held accountable for the lives they changed that night. Never been punished. And I so wanted them to pay.
His eyes went over my shoulder to where my house sat slightly lower in elevation than where we were. Shame warmed my skin. I could imagine what he was thinking. Of course, she would break into the beautiful mansion next door if she lived in a house like that.
It made my blood boil. I shouldn’t be embarrassed about where I lived. No one should. To be judged by the amount of money I had or didn’t have gave me the ick.
“Arie, right?” he asked, beads of water trailing over his rippling abs.
I crossed my arms over my chest, his white T-shirt soaking up the water from my skin and offering little coverage wet. It clung to all the wrong places. The hem hit just below my bare ass. “I’m at an unfair advantage seeing as you know my name, but I know nothing about you besides you’re a decent swimmer.”
The prick shot me a sharp smile. “I’m good at a lot of things.”
Annoyed that my few moments of peace had been ruined, I let sarcasm drip from my tone. “I’ll take your word for it.” I started to search for where I’d left my clothes, eager to leave before he made good on his threat and decided to call the cops on me.
“My name’s Cole.”
My eyes flew back to his face. “You’re Cole Riley?” I practically choked on his name.
He spread his arms out like he was God’s gift to women. “In the flesh.”
I intentionally let my gaze drag over him, keeping my expression uninterested, bored even, as if I’d seen plenty of guys who looked a hell of a lot better than Cole Riley. I hadn’t. Not really. One, I rarely dated. And two…he was about as perfect a specimen of a male as you could get. “Huh, I thought you’d be…taller. And less of a douchebag.”
His wet bare feet slapped on the concrete as he stepped toward me, a glint of arrogance in his dark eyes. The gold in them seemed to have dimmed with the setting sun. “But you’ve heard of me. ”
I told my lips not to move. The last thing I wanted was to be amused by him, and yet my damn lips twitched. If memory served me right, there were three of them. Cole, Crew, and Brody. I couldn’t remember their ages, but Cole looked around the same age as me. They were all still in college, or they had been last year. “Why are you here?” I asked, getting a whiff of his scent again and wishing he didn’t smell so damn good. Hints of the pool chemicals mixed with the woodsy basil and sea salt.
I might have just found my Kryptonite scent, and nothing pleased me less.
“Because this is my house. I wasn’t lying.”
“You never show up before the Fourth of July.” My mouth moved before my brain had a chance to think about what I said.
A dark brow arched. “Keeping tabs on me, Quinn?”
I didn’t like the way he said my last name or my reaction to it. “A little difficult with my grueling schedule.”
Using both hands, he brushed the hair back off his face, giving me quite the display of biceps. They were both fully covered in ink. One with what looked like a tree with veiny branches wrapping around. The other had a mismatch of tattoos. I’d need a roadmap to tour all the art on his body, but the black feather on his left ribs caught my attention for too long. “Is that why I’ve never seen you around town before?” he asked.
I jerked my eyes off his body, narrowing them as if it was his fault I’d been distracted. “Why, because you remember every girl you meet?”
His gaze gleamed with male appreciation. “When they look like you.”
“I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure, but it hasn’t. Sorry about the pool. I had a long day, and I couldn’t resist, but it won’t happen again.” I wanted to draw clear, defined lines. We weren’t friendly neighbors. I wouldn’t be waving at him from my porch when I left for work or came home.
“The pool is yours to use whenever the mood strikes. With or without a suit,” he added, picking up a towel I hadn’t seen off the back of a lounge chair and using it to dry his hair some.
“Thanks for the offer, but it’s probably best I just leave.” Before things got more awkward. I took a step in retreat, intending to make my way back the way I’d arrived .
“Are you forgetting something?” His eyes raked over his shirt plastered to my body.
I glared at him, a choke of audacity stuck in my throat. “You don’t expect me to walk home naked.”
A single brow arched. “Did you come naked?”
I snorted. “You wouldn’t,” I dared, calling his bluff. No way he’d make me trek next door with nothing on.
“It’s my favorite shirt.” He bent down and scooped up my discarded pile of clothes.
The last thing I wanted to do was put back on my stained work uniform that smelled like I rolled in a cheeseburger, but I hadn’t thought to bring a change of clothes. Story of my life. I never thought shit through.
He snatched them away as I reached for them. “On second thought, I think I’ll keep them for insurance. Make sure I get my shirt back, and it gives me an excuse to see you again.”
Shit! I needed those clothes for work. I planned to wash them, and I had another shirt at home, but if I didn’t get it back, it would leave me down to just one, which wasn’t ideal. I didn’t want to spend money I didn’t have on another shirt with the diner’s logo on it. “What makes you think I want to see you again?”
He grinned, and it made me wish I hadn’t been so quick with my retort. No one should have a smile that potent. Absolutely. Fucking. No one. Especially a guy who looked like him. He was attractive when he scowled, but when he smiled—lethal and unlawful. “Because I think we can help each other for the summer.”
“I don’t want your help. I don’t even know you. And I have no interest in getting to know you ,” I punctuated to get my point across.
He slung the towel over his shoulder, flashing his teeth. “Liar.”
My fingers curled into fists. “That’s the second time you’ve called me a liar. Do so again, and you’ll end up back in the pool.”
“You push me, and I’m taking you with me.” Why did he look like he was enjoying this conversation too much?
Unfolding my arms, I straightened my spine. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you.”
“Because you enjoy it as much as I do. ”
My snort was loud and very unladylike. I didn’t give a shit.
He inspected my greasy, stained shirt, and I banked down the embarrassment wanting to creep into my cheeks. I had nothing to be ashamed of. Not even where I worked.
“Oaks Diner, huh?” His gaze lifted to meet my burning stare. “I know where I’ll be having breakfast for the summer.”
“As if you get up early enough to have breakfast.” I’d heard about the late-night parties the Riley boys had thrown throughout previous years. Then suddenly what he said registered. “The summer? You plan on sticking around the entire summer?”
“That’s the plan. Can I expect any other unexpected surprises?” I swore his expression turned hopeful.
I grinned, not a friendly gesture but a spiteful one. “The hot tub looks nice.”
He chuckled. “I’m looking forward to it. See you later, Quinn.”
As if.
My middle finger shot up when I reached the gate.