Page 34 of Saved from Deception

So I was more brusque than I should have been when she asked if I was okay. I just bit out a sharp, “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

And then I felt bad. It’s not Charlie’s fault that I’m not one hundred percent, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on her.

I apologized immediately. “Sorry, Charlie. But I’m okay. Really.”

I don’t know if she believed me, but she dropped it and just gave me a small smile in response, her voice soft as she said, “Okay, Ry. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

But after that, everything has been going great.

Except.

Now we’re anchored in some shallow water at the north end so we can go swimming. Which I clearly didn’t give enough thought to when I suggested this activity.

At first, when Charlie pulled off her dress to reveal her bathing suit underneath, I was only thinking about making sure she felt comfortable. As she quickly wrapped a towel around her waist and carefully avoided my eyes, I tried not to look at her. Not until after we’d laughed about who was the better swimmer and the water guns I snuck in the bottom of our tote.

Once she took off the towel and actually smiled at me, her discomfort fading, then I really looked at her.

And I’m realizing the critical part of swimming that I hadn’t thought about. I didn’t think about seeing Charlie in her bathing suit. About how the curves I’ve felt when I’ve held her would look when they’re uncovered. I didn’t think about the effect she would have on me.

Or him. And it’s not as easy hiding my attraction toward Charlie with only a layer of mesh to disguise it.

“I’ll go in first,” I tell her, “just to make sure it’s safe.”

And I’m actually looking forward to the shock of the cool water right now.

“Okay.” Charlie grins at me. “Show me your best dive.”

I do a pretty decent dive into the water, and as I come to the surface, Charlie is clapping from the boat and she calls out, “Seven, maybe seven and a half.”

“What? Only a seven?” I pretend to be insulted. “That was definitely a nine, at least.”

Charlie stands at the stern, looking down at me. She’s breathtaking as the sun hits her, hair shimmering, her skin a pale gold, silver eyes sparkling. Her lips curve into a little smirk. “I’ll show you a nine. Or actually”—she pauses, smiling wider—“a perfect ten.”

“Really?” I pitch my voice so it’s clear I’m teasing. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Okay, Ry.” Then she bounces on her toes a few times and leaps into the air. She does a perfect forward flip, entering the water feet-first with barely a splash, her toes pointed and everything.

Emerging from the water to pop up next to me, Charlie flashes me a cocky smile. “What do you think? Perfect ten?”

What I think is that I’m so damn glad to see her having fun. And that she looks incredibly sexy, her hair dark and slicked back from her face, that confident tilt to her rosy lips, the swell of her breasts just below the surface—

Damn. Stand down. It is not the time for this.

“Okay, it was a ten. Where did you learn to dive like that?”

Her smile slips a little. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time out in our pool. I wasn’t allowed to have friends over, though. Too noisy. My sister refused to learn how to swim, so it was a place I could escape from her. But it got boring just swimming around, so I watched videos and taught myself how to dive.”

Shit. Every time I hear about Charlie’s family, I get mad all over again. But I’m not going to let them ruin her day.

“Hey.” I move a piece of hair that’s stuck to her forehead without thinking. “It’s incredible that you taught yourself how to dive. Maybe you can teach me how to do that?”

We’re so close, less than a foot apart. Droplets of water are glistening on Charlie’s face and her exposed neck and shoulders. The desire that’s been simmering all day—okay, for weeks now—ignites.

I’ve never wanted a woman this badly before, and I’ve never even kissed her.

I could do it right now. I’m almost certain she wouldn’t stop me. Her eyes are nearly black, the pulse in her neck is jumping, her lips are damp and parted, and there’s this pull between us—

But all the reasons.

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