Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“I’d like that,” I admitted.
He surprised me by moving up beside me and reaching for my hand, pulling me along to the suite, where we separated to change into swimsuits.
We moved together without speaking, out of the suite and down the nearby stairs to the terrace level, where we could exit through the fitness room doors to the pool deck. I’d spent plenty of time today touring the house with Concetta, so I’d already learned this shortcut. Watching him take it reminded me of all the times he’d been here before.
I imagined him as a kid, sneaking into hiding spots in a game with his sister. As a teen, lifting weights to impress a girl. As a young adult, most likely bored to be with the older set instead of somewhere more exciting.
It was almost impossible to see Locke as someone other than who he was. A too-serious businessman hell-bent on ruling everyone and everything around him. Someone too rigid to enjoy himself and let go, even for a little while.
Fuck. That.
“Best cannonball wins!” I declared, dropping my towel, yanking off my shirt, and taking a flying leap into the air off the edge of the pool deck. I soared into the cool night air, feeling the chill against my skin and hoping like hell he hadn’t been lying about the pool being heated. When I reached the apex of the jump, I curled into a ball and flipped, wrapping my arms around my wide knees as quickly as I could before hitting the water with my shins and face.
Over-rotated.
When I came up for air to assess the damage my splash caused, I saw Locke standing at the edge of the pool with his mouth open in shock.
I let out a wet laugh, flicking my hair back and wiping my face. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what a cannonball is.”
“Of course I know what a cannonball is. I was a twelve-year-old boy once, same as you.”
“The ability doesn’t expire, you know. You’re in good shape.” I eyed him up and down lasciviously. “Show me what you got… Jimbo.”
He rolled his eyes, then studied me for a moment, looking around at the wet splotches that reached an embarrassingly small ring around the edges of the pool. My siblings wouldn’t have let me live it down if they’d been there to see such a paltry splash zone.
“I could beat that attempt with a clean swan dive,” he muttered.
I raised an eyebrow.
He sighed and put his things down carefully on a nearby chaise before backing up a few feet from the edge of the pool. Then he took a few long steps and launched lazily into a perfect dive, graceful to the point of seeming like it was slow motion.
Fuck, he was beautiful.
When he came up, he flicked his hair and met my eyes. Water droplets in his eyelashes caught the light from the house in a way that made me suck in a breath.
“You, ah… hardly splashed at all,” I said.
The edge of his lips curled up. “Because I’m not a barbarian.”
I moved closer to him, suddenly eager to break his ridiculous poise regardless of how angry it made him. Before I could tackle him and shove his head under the water the way I used to do with my siblings, he reached out a hand for mine. When I gave it to him, he pulled me the rest of the way toward him until I couldn’t help but put my legs around his waist as I landed gently against his front.
This part of the pool was the perfect depth. Even with my arms around his neck, the warm water came up almost to my shoulders.
“You’re too serious,” I accused. “Somewhere along the way, you forgot how to have fun.”
His hand moved to cup the back of my head, and he kissed me—right there in the pool where anyone could see us from the house.
It was the first time this supposedly straight man had initiated a kiss. It was firm and overpowering. Nothing elegant and graceful like his dive had been. His large hand held me to him in a possessive way that made me dizzy with sudden need.
I arched into him, pressing myself into his lower belly, and he responded by slipping a hand down the back of my suit to grab an ass cheek.
My tongue wanted to tie itself in knots around his, taste every inch of him. Carry in its little moving boxes and unpack for good.
I pulled back with a gasp. “Why are you like this?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t like the way I kiss?”
“No. Yes. Of course I like the way you kiss. Has anyone ever not liked the way you kiss? Jesus. But I mean…”
I hesitated, trying so hard to remember that this was not my place. He’d hired a sex doll, not a whiny bitch.