Chapter Four #3
I parked on level ground near the bank and swept the flashlight over the stone ledge and waterline. The natural steps were dry. The water stood chest-deep near the bank and deepened toward the center.
Shay climbed out and looked at the spring.
“This is beautiful.”
“It’s cold.”
“You’re trying to discourage me.”
“I’m giving you accurate information.”
I checked my phone. “Six minutes.”
We sat on the open tailgate with towels under us. Shay drank water while I watched moonlight move over the spring.
At midnight, I held up my phone.
“Does twelve exactly count as after midnight?”
“Wait one minute.”
“You’re strict.”
“You wrote the list.”
At twelve oh-one, I set down the phone.
“There,” I said.
Shay stood and reached for the hem of her shirt.
I’d seen her naked in the bungalow with sunlight across her skin and dust on the floor. The spring was different. Moonlight followed the curves of her breasts and waist as she removed her shirt, bra, jeans, and underwear and folded them on the dry end of the tailgate.
Her boots remained beside the truck.
She turned toward me without covering herself.
“You’re staring.”
“Yes.”
“Do you need more time?”
“No.”
I stripped and left my clothes beside hers.
Shay’s attention moved down my body and stayed on my cock.
“You’re already hard.”
“You’ve been naked for thirty seconds.”
“I appreciate efficiency.”
She walked toward the water. I followed with the flashlight and set it on the ledge where the beam lit the stone steps without shining across the spring.
Shay tested the first step with one foot.
“That’s cold.”
“I mentioned it.”
“You didn’t say it was fed directly by snow from another state.”
“There isn’t much snow in Texas in June.”
“Then something supernatural is happening.”
She descended another step, sucked in a breath, and continued until the water reached her waist.
I entered beside her. The cold tightened every muscle in my body and did nothing useful for the erection she’d noticed.
Shay watched me come deeper.
“You were right,” she said.
“About the temperature?”
“You’re still a large man.”
I caught her at the waist and pulled her close.
Her arms circled my neck as she laughed.
I barely felt her weight in the water. Her breasts pressed to my chest, and her legs floated around my hips. Our mouths met while water moved over our skin.
Shay’s laughter softened into a breath against my lips.
I carried her farther from the steps until the bottom dropped another foot. She released me and swam toward the center, dark hair loosening from her braid.
I followed.
She rolled onto her back and floated under the stars. Moonlight touched the pale rise of her breasts above the water until the current covered them again.
“I should’ve done this years ago,” she said.
“Here?”
“Somewhere. Anywhere.”
“You were waiting for a cowboy?”
“I was apparently waiting for one badly aimed text.”
I moved closer and slid one arm under her back.
Shay turned in the water and pressed against me. Her nipples were tight from the cold. She ran both palms over my chest and shoulders.
“This is reckless,” she said.
“It’s private property with towels and water waiting.”
“Stop making it responsible.”
“You turned off your phone.”
“That helps.”
She kissed me.
We drifted together as the kiss deepened. Her fingers moved into my hair. I held her waist, then followed the curve of her back to her ass and drew her close.
My cock pressed between us.
Shay made a soft sound and moved her hips once.
“That isn’t helping,” I said.
“It wasn’t intended to.”
I kissed beneath her ear and along her throat. She tilted her head, giving me room.
Her legs circled my waist again.
“We could stay out here,” she whispered.
“We could.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“I want you in my bed.”
Her eyes met mine.
“That was direct,” she said.
“You like direct.”
“I do.”
I kissed her again and loosened my hold, or I was going to change my mind about waiting for the bed.
Shay kept an arm looped over my shoulders. “Are we done swimming?”
“You’re shivering.”
“I’m aroused.”
“You’re both.”
“That seems unfair.”
“We’ll fix one of them.”
“Which one?”
“The cold one first.”
We swam back to the ledge. I climbed out, dried enough to stop dripping, and held the towel open for her.
Shay stepped into it. I draped the cotton over her shoulders and rubbed warmth into her arms through the fabric.
“That’s better,” she said.
We dried completely, then dressed. Her clothes stayed dry on the tailgate, and she pulled them on while I packed the damp towels into the truck bed.
I checked the bank once with the flashlight, collected the water bottles, and drove us back through the pasture. At the chain gate, I unlocked it, drove through, and locked it behind us again.
At the ranch house, Shay carried her bag to the bathroom. I left a clean gray T-shirt on the counter and waited in the kitchen while she changed.
She returned wearing the shirt and underwear, her damp hair loose over her shoulders. The hem reached the tops of her thighs.
“That fits better on you,” I said.
“You’re taller than I am. It fits on me because you accidentally purchased a dress.”
“I’ll update my records.”
She walked closer. “What happens now?”
I looked down at her. “Come sleep in my bed.”
She glanced toward the hallway. “You don’t have a guest room?”
“I don’t.”
“That makes this easy.”
“I’d ask even if I did.”
“Do you want to stay?”
Shay rested both palms on my chest. “I want to.”
I led her down the hall.
My bedroom held a wide wooden bed, two nightstands, and little else. Shay set her phone on the dresser without turning it on. I switched off the overhead light and left the bedside lamp glowing.
She climbed under the sheet while I pulled on clean boxer briefs.
When I joined her, Shay rolled toward me. Her bare leg slid between mine under the cotton.
I leaned in, expecting the urgency from the spring.
Instead, she touched my cheek and kissed me softly.
“Good night, Titus.”
“Good night, Shay.”
She settled with her head on my shoulder.
I lay awake long enough to feel her breathing deepen. Then I closed my eyes with her body warm beside mine.
***
Morning light reached through the blinds, and the alarm hadn’t sounded.