We both paused, eyeing each other up. And oh fuck, was there a lot to look at. Thick muscles glistening with sweat, a bare chest, with a smattering of hair, that was rising and falling rapidly, damp brown strands falling into icy-blue eyes.
I would’ve loved to trace his skin inch by inch with my tongue. Colt cleared his throat, making me tear my gaze away from his body, up to his face, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Was he … embarrassed?Why?Why couldn’t he wrap his mind around the fact that different people liked different things and noteveryonewanted the typical all-American-looking dude with abs.
Fed up with the silence that hung between us, I stood andadjusted my bikini.
“You’re just in time. I wanted to cool off too. Definitely looks like you could use a dip.” There was no mistaking the way his gaze raked down my body, and I had to suppress a satisfied grin. My stomach tightened with anticipation as his eyes blazed with heat.Now, that’s what I’m talking about.
The wind blew through his brown locks as I deliberately sauntered toward the pool, my eyes glued to his. He shuffled from one foot to the other. Guess, I’d have to convince him.
Slinking past him, then glancing over my shoulder, I dipped a red-painted toe, matching my bikini, into the pool.
“You coming? Or are you scared?” Without waiting for an answer, I jumped into the pool and swam under the surface to the opposite end. Brushing my hair back as I surfaced, I peered at him through my lashes. Colt had slipped into the water but was rooted to the spot, muscles tense, and his gaze was fixed on me with laser-sharp focus.
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly. “So, not scared, after all,” I teased.
He raised an eyebrow, his face still unreadable. “What am I supposed to be scared of?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. After all, you’re the one who made himself scarce.” I shrugged, and Colt stared out toward the sea before letting out a deep breath and stretching his arms along the edge of the pool behind him.
His shoulders looked gigantic, his biceps thick slabs of muscle, and I was positively drooling. Mimicking his position, I rubbed my thighs together as inconspicuously as I could under the surface of the water to give myself at least a little relief.
“I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
He scrubbed a hand down his face, then looked up. “Come on, Hailey. You’re here on vacation. The last thing you need is some dude hovering in the background the whole time, fucking up your downtime.”
“Care to elaborate on that?” I challenged.
He didn’t respond. My stomach sank as I realized he still cared so much about what others thought and said about him. And even worse — he took it to heart and assumed everyone would automatically think that way.
“I would love it if you’d be up for hanging out with me a bit more. Our parents are gone all the time, and I’m more or less on my own. I won’t bite, I promise.”
Finally, he met my gaze again, his brows furrowed. Then his features smoothed, and he returned my smile with a tiny, crooked one of his own.
Elation coursed through me at this small victory. The connection I had felt when we first met was back, crackling between us like an invisible bond made of electricity.
I splashed water his way, and as he wiped it from his eyes, he growled, “Oh, now you’re fucked” before lunging at me.
Despite his solid build, he was fast as hell, and before I knew it, he had wrapped an arm around my waist, lifted me out of the water, and flung me backward.
I surfaced, spluttering and gasping for air, then jumped onto his back. Using my weight, I tried to pull him backward, but it was like trying to move a mountain. For a moment, I was distracted by how it felt to be pressed against the warm expanse of his back. Liquid heat pooled in my bikini bottoms, and I had to stop from rubbing against him like a cat in heat.
Despite all my efforts, he didn’t move an inch. Instead, heplucked me off his back almost effortlessly and threw me back into the cool water. As I resurfaced, I gasped, “Truce!” and when I finally caught my breath, I lifted myself out of the pool.
Dripping wet, I rose and looked down, for once towering over him. His eyes traveled from the tips of my toes to the top of my head, leaving a trail of blazing fire in their wake, and not for the first time, I desperately wished I could read his mind.
“Come out, or you’ll shrivel up,” I said.
He muttered something along the lines of “Nothing shriveled here,” but I chose not to respond.
I just finished drying off when he pulled himself out of the water in all his wet glory, and my insides clenched desperately at the sight.
“You know, it’s been really boring here. It’s nice having some company.” My intention was to let him know that I wanted him around, that I enjoyed him being here,with me.
Something orange peeked out from under the lounger, and an idea formed in my mind, albeit possibly a crazy one. I’d be an idiot if I let this chance go to waste.
As he ran a towel over his shaggy hair, I smiled and held out the bottle of sunscreen when he emerged. “Would you mind? I’ll do you afterward.”
