Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Aray of sunshine falling across her face woke Lilly up.
She was lying on a stranger’s couch – alone – and it took her a few seconds to get her bearings and remember how she’d ended up there.
Austin’s face was the first thing she recalled. The look in his eyes after she’d admitted that it had been a bit of love and lust at first sight for her back then. The tingling sensation that had spread throughout her body, like an alarm she’d desperately tried to ignore.
She exhaled deeply, rubbed her face, and glanced at the clock above the television. It was 5:30. She’d slept far too little and felt exhausted, yet at the same time, her body was buzzing with energy because of every glance, every touch, every word they’d exchanged that night.
She’d hoped that if they were honest with each other and talked about that night again, some of the tension between them would dissipate.
But no, her uterus felt the tension much more intensely than before.
She should probably sneak back to Delfina, but she needed a few more moments to herself. Just half an hour before she could face Austin again and then, with Delfina, she could pretend that everything was fine.
She needed to clear her mind because it was filled with that one stupid hockey player, and the only way she could usually do that was by swimming.
But hey, what was the point of the guy having a pool?
The fact that she didn’t have a swimsuit with her didn’t bother her at all. She was wearing underwear and a t-shirt that could definitely get wet — and she needed peace of mind more than her next breath.
So, she opened the patio door, stole into the garden, and dove headfirst into the water.
It was refreshing, but not too cold – which was almost a shame because the cold would have washed away the lingering heat from the previous night.
Each time she finished a lap, each time she submerged her head, she felt a part of her worries slip away until her muscles ached and her mind cleared.
She flipped onto her back, exhausted but happy, taking deep breaths and floating weightlessly in the water.
The sound of the water pump whirring was a welcome sound, relaxing her right down to her fingertips.
Last night was a good thing. She realized she still found Austin attractive; objectively speaking, he was hot – and he hadn’t been wearing a shirt.
She really couldn’t help her body’s reaction to muscles.
He had that perfect V underneath, which accentuated his narrow hips…
and something else entirely. That didn’t mean it had to complicate things.
They had talked to each other without shouting. She refused to see that as anything but progress.
She closed her eyes and lay motionless in the water. She enjoyed the way the chlorinated water lapped against her hips, the feeling of floating reminding her that life was good. That there were easy moments, no matter how difficult everything seemed. That…
Water splashed and a wave suddenly washed over her face before two large, strong hands yanked her up by the shoulders.
Startled, she flailed her arms and legs, swallowing water and coughing as she tried to right herself. But someone else did it for her. Two large arms, presumably belonging to the large hands. One was around her waist, the other around her shoulders, while a blurry face appeared directly above hers.
“Shit, Lilly, are you okay? Breathe!”
“What?” she gasped, still coughing and writhing in his arms. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her t-shirt had ridden up in the water, so the stranger’s body parts were touching some extremely exposed and intimate areas of her body, causing goosebumps that had nothing to do with the water temperature. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” Austin snapped, his voice a mixture of anger and fear, as he continued holding her tighter than tight. “Are you okay? I called out to you!”
She blinked and Austin’s face became sharper.
Not as sharp as his body, but close. “My ears were underwater, I didn’t hear a thing!
Why are you carrying me? The pool isn’t even five feet deep here!
” She knew that because Austin was standing and almost his entire muscular chest lacked the decency to be covered with water.
“Fuck.” Still breathing heavily as if he’d just been running, he squeezed his eyes shut before abruptly letting go of her.
Gasping, she sank into the water. When she resurfaced a second later, sputtering, Austin was pressing his fists to his forehead as drops of water from his dark hair trickled down his jaw, neck, and bare shoulders.
“Are you okay?” he demanded again, his gaze scanning her face and body uncertainly and frantically, as if he expected to find at least two gunshot and stab wounds.
“Of course, I’m fine!” she replied, shocked. Now that the chlorine wasn’t stinging her eyes so much, she realized that real fear was contorting his expression. “Oh, shit, Austin. Did you think something was wrong with me?” she asked, alarmed.
“You looked dead!” he snapped. “I glanced out the window and thought you were unconscious or worse in my pool!”
“I…I’m so sorry, I… Did you just save me?”
“I thought so. God, I just lost ten years of my life sprinting downstairs! Fuck, Lilly, what are you doing…” He was breathing faster and more shallowly. If she were honest, he looked a little like he was on the verge of a panic attack.
“Hey. Hey, hey,” she said gently, tentatively reaching out and placing her hands firmly around his neck. She pressed her thumbs against his jaw, forcing him to look at her. “Austin, I’m fine. I’m not hurt or unconscious. I was just swimming and floating around for a bit.”
She felt him clench his teeth and could have sworn she heard his heart pounding in his chest.
“I can see that! But why are you in the pool at this hour?”
“I’m a morning person! I get up early. I didn’t think I would bother anyone. Why are you already up?”
“I’m a morning person. I get up early!” he echoed angrily. “Besides, who goes swimming in nothing but a t-shirt?”
“Someone who doesn’t have a swimsuit but really needed to clear their head?” she offered. “But I’m a good swimmer. Del inherited that from me. I go swimming almost every morning, weather permitting.”
“How was I supposed to know that?” he snapped, but she felt his cheek and jaw muscles relax under her touch. “I don’t remember you being particularly athletic!”
She rolled her eyes. “Just because I can’t roller skate doesn’t mean I can’t swim!”
“But it also doesn't mean you can just jump into the pool alone and unsupervised in the morning! What if you hurt yourself?”
“I’ve been swimming alone in the ocean almost every morning for ten years. I think I can handle a pool.”
“It’s irresponsible. I nearly had a damn heart attack!”
“Because you can’t tell the living from the dead. You really should work on that.”
“You weren’t moving!”
“Because I was thinking,” she retorted with a snort, slowly letting her hands fall.
To her surprise, Austin grabbed them abruptly and pressed them against his chest, as if he needed further reassurance that she was alive.
She felt his heart pounding and his muscles tensing and relaxing under her touch.
“About what?” She noticed his pupils were huge. His breathing was still shallow as he continued to scan her face.
“About last night! I think we made progress. I mean, you’ve at least stopped hating me a little, haven’t you?”
Austin stared at her, uncomprehending. “What the hell are you talking about? Shit, can you tell me again that you’re okay?”
“All’s well,” she said firmly. “What I meant was: You don’t hate me anymore, do you?”
Austin stared at her. She blinked and dug her fingernails into her palm.
“No longer hating you isn’t my damn problem,” he exclaimed incredulously.
“No?” she asked, surprised. “What is…”
He kissed her.
Austin wrapped his arms around her, lifted her out of the water, pressed her to him, and kissed the air out of her lungs.
It wasn’t a gentle kiss or a cautious kiss, but a desperate, frustrated kiss that Lilly felt all the way down to her toes. Austin kissed her as if he still believed she was unconscious in his pool. As if her movements, her warmth, her arms around his neck were proof that she was okay.
It was ironic, considering she was feeling dizzy, and the pressure of his lips against hers made it considerably more likely that she would faint after all.
It was as if her thoughts had fled her mind like rats from a sinking ship. As if she was floating on the water again, no, higher, with only Austin’s hands holding her down.
Until he jerked his head back. “Don’t ever play dead again!” he snapped at her.
Perplexed and with her heart pounding, she opened her mouth. “I didn’t… I didn’t…”
“I don’t care what you did, it was wrong.
I couldn’t think straight and…you’re definitely to blame for this!
” he said angrily, and then he kissed her again.
This time, her hands cupped his face before his lips met hers.
This time, she wrapped her legs around his waist. This time, she didn’t feel dizzy, just turned on.
Austin’s tongue slid between her lips. He tasted of toothpaste and him.
Desire shot through Lilly’s body like a thousand lightning bolts.
He barely gave her time to breathe as he lifted her chin to deepen the kiss and she suddenly felt the edge of the pool against her hip as he pressed her against it.
But air was overrated anyway, and oxygen unnecessary as long as she could explore Austin’s neck, shoulders, and muscular back with her hands. As long as he pressed her against the edge and she could feel it wasn’t only his muscles that were hard.