Chapter 8 #3
Because now I’m fully aware of every inch where our bare skin is touching.
Meadow’s delicate fingers curl against my leg, her thumb dangerously close to where my body physically aches for her.
Her chest rises and falls, rubbing against mine as I intimately study the water droplets clinging to the curve of her throat.
“Brooks,” she pushes, voice strained with effort and irritation. “I swear to God, if you don’t give me the damn phone, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” I murmur, looking down at her.
Meadow freezes. Her breath catches as I watch the exact second she hears it—the way my tone shifts from playful to unmistakably sensual.
Her face tips up until we’re only a breath apart.
The pool noise fades.
The laughter from the hot tub dulls to a white noise.
All I can see and hear is her : her dark, wet lashes, the way tiny puffs of air blow from her parted lips. Her seductive eyes dart back and forth between mine, begging me to make the next move.
My throat bobs when I feel her fingernails dig deeper into my thigh.
My arm slowly lowers as I gently discard her phone on the ledge beside me. She doesn’t seem to notice because our locked eyes never break. Her hazy stare drops from my eyes to my mouth, and that small, involuntary movement flips a switch in me.
She wants this.
She fucking wants this.
She’s not running from it.
The awareness between us ignites like a wildfire. If I lean down another inch, I could kiss her. Finally taste her. Finally answer the question that’s been simmering in the back of my mind since the first day she walked into our office with her timid smile and curious eyes.
What would happen if I crossed the line? Would she hate me? Never speak to me again?
My free hand moves on its own accord, reaching down to push a lock of hair away from her cheek. Her heart hammers against my chest, matching the rhythm of mine.
“Meadow,” I rasp, her name rough on my tongue.
“Yeah?” she breathes.
“Tell me the truth,” I rasp. “Is he really just some guy you went on a date with?”
She swallows thickly, her grip on me tightening.
“Why do you care?” she whispers.
Because the idea of anyone else touching you makes me homicidal.
“Because,” I say instead, voice filled with gravel, “I’m trying to decide if I should call him back and tell him you’re occupied at the moment,” I pause before continuing. “That you won’t be calling him back. Ever .”
Her pupils grow wide as a hot puff of air blows from her mouth, caressing my lips with the hint of a kiss. I press my forehead to hers, needing to touch her. Needing to do something other than smother her lips with mine.
I swear to God, I hear her let out a soft moan.
The temptation to close the little bit of distance between us is unbearable.
Her lashes flutter. Her body presses into mine, giving me the permission I need. Just kiss her, Owen.
She’s right here.
Less than an inch away.
A high-pitched scream pierces through the night.
“CANNONBALL!”
We both jerk our heads toward the sound just in time to see one of the kids launch off the nearby rock ledge, straight toward our section of the pool.
“Oh, shit—” I manage, jumping down into the pool and grabbing Meadow by the shoulders, spinning her just as the tidal wave crashes into us.
The water slams into us with full force, drenching us both even though I took the brunt of it. The kid surfaces with a triumphant screech, completely oblivious to the fact that he just cost me my one shot.
“Mom! Did you see that?” he shouts toward the other end of the pool.
“Yeah, bud!” a feminine voice calls back. “Awesome job!”
Meadow is still blinking water out of her eyes, her dark hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. I reach down and slide the hair out of her face while trying to hold back a smile at the ridiculousness of this situation.
“Are you okay?” I ask, fighting the urge to laugh and curse into the black sky at the same time.
She lets out a wet, breathless chuckle.
“Yeah,” she coughs, water dripping from her chin. “That just… came out of nowhere.”
“Damn kids,” I say through a grin. “Can you believe we were that annoying at one point in our lives?”
“At one point in our lives?” she scoffs. “You’re still that annoying, Owen. Can I have my phone now?”
Reality hits me just as hard as that obnoxious cannonball did. I clear my throat and release her shoulders, grabbing the phone from the ledge and handing it to her.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Here you go.”
She studies me for a second, as if she’s trying to understand what the hell just happened between us. Then she stills, drawing in a slow breath as she pulls herself back together.
“Hey,” she finally mutters, nodding toward the far end of the pool. “Want to swim over there? Maybe we won’t get taken out again.”
My mouth lifts in a smile.
“Yeah,” I chuckle lightly. “I’ll grab our things and meet you on the other side.”
She nods and quietly checks her phone before setting it carefully on the ledge, and then pushes off, gliding through the water with an easy grace that forbids me to look away. I watch her swim away until she reaches the other end and pulls herself up, water streaming down her skin.
Good God.
My cock reacts, jerking behind the waistband of my trunks.
As I reach for our things, I silently pray that the kid didn’t stop anything between us.
If I’m lucky, that was nothing but a speed bump. The universe testing my patience one last time before finally giving us what we both desperately need.