Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
She put her head against his chest, taking a deep breath. “Eight years ago, or so? I’ve been hoping to see them again ever since. I know winter months are the best for it.”
Mitch could hear her heartbeat amid the serene stillness surrounding them. The clear water in the lake reflected the sunrays.
“You never know, we might see them,” Mitch said into her glossy hair. “But for now, I think we should get into the lake before eating the contents of that basket.”
Jackie stiffened in his arms. “You go ahead. I’ll stay up here and watch.”
He lifted her chin and angled her face so that their eyes locked. “Please come with me?”
She inhaled and held her breath for a moment. When she let it out, the sparkle in her eyes was dimmed, like someone had switched off the light in her soul. “You know I can’t.”
“You won’t, there’s a difference.”
She groaned, untangling her limbs from his. “Mitch …”
“You don’t have to be scared. I’ll be right there with you, the whole time.”
Jackie tore her eyes from him, hugging her arms to her chest. “We tried before, and I couldn’t even go deeper than my ankles.”
“But today is a new day, and you can try again. I won’t let go of you, like the eagles you talked about.”
Her head snapped up, amusement crinkling her eyes. “Really, you had to go there?”
Mitch grinned. “You’re the one who brought it up.”
She inhaled deeply, eyeing the bank suspiciously.
He yanked his T-shirt off, kicked his boots away and undid his dusty jeans. “Come on. It’ll be nice and cool once we’re in.”
Jackie’s gaze was hot against the planes of his muscles as he stepped out of his trousers, took his socks off and pulled his boxers down. She giggled. “So, this is your plan, to bribe me with your body.”
“Is it working?”
Her bottom lip went white beneath the pressure of her teeth. “Skinny-dipping in the lake definitely trumps just swimming in the lake.”
He flashed her a disarming smile and reached her side in one long stride. “It’ll be fun.” Then he lowered his head, his lips brushing the skin over her collarbone. “Water’s one place we haven’t had sex in yet.”
Jackie tilted her head, her breath hot on his chin. “That’s your master plan, is it? Promise me sex so I conquer my fear of water.”
“Maybe,” he whispered against her neck.
Her hands wrapped around his waist, her fingernails pressing into his back. “You’re a menace.”
Their lips found each other, connecting in a slow, inviting kiss.
Mitch rolled her tank top up. She lifted her arms in the air and the top landed on the blanket.
With one practiced movement, he unhooked her bra, and she shrugged it off.
Her boots, shorts and underwear came off next.
Despite the temperature in the mid-nineties, the pads of his fingers traced goosebumps covering her arms.
Time stretched thin between their kisses as they grew more urgent. Hungrier.
Jackie curled her hand in his palm, her long lashes fluttering as she looked into his eyes. “Don’t let me go.”
He drew in a shaky breath, lifting their clasped hands to his mouth and placing a kiss over her knuckles. “Never.”
Hand in hand, step by step, they drifted toward the calm water.
Mitch stole glances at Jackie’s profile, willing to disperse the worry lines from her face.
She was right, they had tried before to get her into water, with no success. Her fear ran deeper than he had initially thought. It was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
He didn’t feel equipped to help her, and had even suggested that maybe she should talk to someone, after she completely froze the first time he’d encouraged her to walk into the very same lake.
The water wasn’t even that deep—it barely covered his shoulders when he stood—but Jackie got to about five inches from the bank and wouldn’t go any further.
Over time, they kept trying, achieving the greatest success when she walked in up to her ankles, but then she turned on her heel and ran back to the tree where they had tied Diamond and Ricochet.
When Mitch went after her, she clung to Ricochet’s neck, shaking.
Pushing the memories away, he squeezed her hand. That was before. He had a good feeling about today.
“You’re ready?” he asked.
Jackie drew in a sharp inhale and nodded once. “Ready.”
They waded into the lake, hands held so tightly that it was like someone had poured superglue over them.
Mitch walked backward, facing Jackie the entire time.
A kaleidoscope of emotions etched into her features with every step she took. Her eyes were closed firmly, and she was drawing heavy breaths.
A pleasant coolness spread through his body as the water reached higher and higher up his legs. He waited until he was submerged up to his shoulders to pull her to him, beaming from ear to ear. “You did it.”
Jackie trembled against him. Cracking her eyes open, she looked around. Her face lit up like the sun itself and Mitch’s heart soared.
“I did it!” she squeaked. Light laughter reverberated through her chest, and he felt every ripple of her joy.
He tightened his hold on her hips, the pounding of his heart in tune with her quickened pulse. “I knew you could do it.”
She leveled her gaze with his, her legs wrapping around his lower back.
Cocking her head to the side, she smiled so widely, it could eclipse all the beauty around them.
Because no matter how serene their setting—with the cloudless blue sky, lush green of the trees and moss, lustrous water washing over smooth rocks, and no sound of civilization in their immediate vicinity—nothing could compare to how magnificent Jackie looked when she smiled.
Achingly breathtaking.
Mitch thought this would pass, the effect she had on him.
But it had been years now, and there was no sign of it wearing off.
He should probably resign himself to the fact that he was so completely in love with her that his heart could only expand with the feeling.
It would likely never forget the way it beat, just for her.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” he asked hoarsely.
Jackie’s tongue darted between her lips, her gaze sliding to his. “Not sure. Even if you did, I’m greedy so tell me as often as you want.”
His eyes tracked the movement, flicking to her lips for a beat, before looking right back into her soul. “I love you, so, so very much.”
“That’s lucky, because I love you,” she whispered against his cheek, finding his lips, his tongue and kissing him into a sweet oblivion.
It was always “I love you” and never “I love you, too” between them. Jackie once told him that, in her eyes, “too” meant it wasn’t someone’s choice and was simply supporting a feeling already existing. She felt very passionate about it, apparently something her own parents passed on to her.
None of it mattered right now.