Chapter 26 #3
“What kind of experiment?” He takes my drink, sniffs it, and sets it aside.
“The successful kind.” I drape my arms over his shoulders and link my fingers behind his neck.
“Does that mean I’m a good test subject?”
“The perfect one, actually.”
“Oh yeah?” His hands smooth over the outside of my thighs. “Well, if you need to test other theories, I’m always a willing guinea pig.” When he reaches my knees, he hooks his hands behind them and urges me to wrap my legs around his waist.
“We’re not alone, BJ. There’s a backyard full of your friends.”
“Mm… Only a small handful count as friends. Maybe I should shout cops and make everyone leave.” He brushes his nose against mine and pulls me into the pool with him. He cups my ass and lowers me enough that I can feel him hard between my thighs.
I unhook my legs and find the bottom of the pool. “Looks like you have to stay in here for a while.” I step back, but he winds his arm around my waist, keeping me close.
“Whoa, whoa. You got my attention, now you’re gonna leave me here?” He pulls me back into him. “That’s what you wanted, right? My attention?”
We’ve been in a bubble, surrounded by his friends and family, cocooned in the comfort of the people he’s closest to. This is the other side of his world, the one filled with parties and flirty girls. I suddenly feel out of my depth and out of his league.
I swallow hard and stare at his chest.
One of his hands slides up my back, under my hair to the nape of my neck, and along the edge of my jaw until his finger rests under my chin. He urges me to look at him. His eyes search mine, and I feel embarrassingly transparent.
He follows the curve of my lip with his thumb. “We marking our territory?”
I bite back a grin. “Seems like maybe, yeah.”
“Gotta admit, I didn’t love seeing those jocks chatting you up.”
“Good.” At least I’m not alone in this.
The right side of his mouth tips skyward. “You’re sexy when you’re territorial.”
“So are you.”
He dips down and captures my lips. I’m not usually one for PDA, but I’m not above giving those girls the clear message that BJ is off-limits. We get lost in a kiss, at least until someone cannonballs into the pool beside us.
Quinn pops up, a wry grin on his face. “You got bedrooms for that. Take it upstairs or down the street.” He winks at me and swims across the pool, pulling himself out of the water next to where Lovey, Lacey, and Rose have snagged two loungers.
“I need a few minutes to calm down before I get out of the pool.”
I grin. “I’m aware. I can feel you poking me in the stomach.”
I try to step back, but he snags me again, both hands on my waist, and lifts me. I brace my hands on his shoulders, my hair falling in a veil around us. “What’re you doing?”
“Keeping myself entertained until I can get out of this pool and convince you it’s time for bed.” He sets me back down. “When I say jump—”
“—I’m not saying how high.”
He grins. “Never in a million years would I expect that to come out of your mouth. Indulge me. I wanna lift you.”
“Lift me? Like, above your head?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh, I weigh a lot more than Adele.”
“I think she weighs more than you think. She’s compact, but she’s all muscle.”
“And like five inches shorter than me. I’m also bottom heavy. The weight distribution is probably a lot different.”
“Please?”
“You’re going to annoy me until I say yes, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. But don’t be surprised when you drop me on your head.”
“And if I don’t? What do I get?”
“The knowledge that you’re right and I’m wrong. Give me the lowdown on how to do this.”
“Brace your hands on my shoulders. And when I say jump, you jump. When you feel like you have your balance, you can let go of my shoulders. I promise I won’t let go of you. And when you’re up there, imagine you’re an arrow.”
“Okay. I’m an arrow. Got it.”
The first time he counts to three, I don’t jump. But the second time he lifts me out of the water. It can’t be easy. I’m not light.
“I got you. You can let go.”
His words, while maybe unintentional, ignite heat low in my belly. It’s what he says when I’m close to an orgasm and trying to stay in control. I release his left shoulder and he adjusts his grip. And again when I lift my right hand. Then I’m floating in the air, balanced in his palms.
I realize again the trust and connection he must have with Adele. How they rely on each other. How hard they work as a team. How intimate that relationship is. How BJ has worked to make sure they have clear boundaries. I wonder if it’s difficult for her to have me in the way.
The partygoers hoot and cheer. Someone calls, “Ten out of ten,” and someone else yells, “Do a swan dive!”
I glance down at BJ, his muscles corded, but still making it look effortless.
“I’m going in,” I tell him, then tip forward.
He tries to correct us, but I’m already heading for the water. He bends his arms slightly, then pushes up, making me airborne for a second before I’m underwater. When I pop up, he’s already there, tugging me to where Quinn and the girls are while everyone in the pool claps.
He doesn’t leave my side for the rest of the night.