Page 24 of Slippery When Wet

“And even living in a small town, I don’t know all there is to know about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… I keep to myself. I’m not part of the community like Karol or?—"

“Hey.” My thumb stroked the apple of her cheek. “You don’t have to be anyone other than you.”

“But what if…” Her voice drifted off to nothing, and I frowned.

“What?”

“I know we met yesterday.” Had it only been yesterday? Jesus. Even my dreams blurred into my reality. I couldn’t remember a time without her taking up rent in my mind. From the moment I’d first seen her, I’d been obsessed with my curvy princess.

“But this isn’t me, Abel.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re not a hologram, Abby.”

“You know what I mean.” She sighed. “I don’t go kissing strangers in pools or sneak out of my house to watch a movie under the stars or go home and sleep with?—"

“We just slept together,” I cut her off. “We didn’t do anything.” Not yet. “As for the kissing strangers?—"

“Abel, I was terrified to go into the water. I’m not trying to be cute when I tell you I’ve always been a scaredy cat, and not just after my accident but before. It took me a month to walk in and…” She shut her eyes, and I tipped her head up further

“And what, baby girl? Talk to me,” I urged. I wanted to crawl into her mind and never leave.

Her dark eyes opened behind her dark frames. Fucking hell, she was gorgeous. Her shoulders slumped almost in defeat, and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what she was going to say.

“What if you get to know me, the real me, and… and think…” She swallowed hard. I could see, hell, I could feel the palpable fear she felt as she silently found the courage to voice her fears out loud. “And you think I’m boring.”

“Boring?” I repeated gently. Abby didn’t have a clue, not an inkling, to just how fascinating I found her. How she bewitched me from head to toe, balls and soul from the moment I’d laid eyes on her. “Abby, I need you to listen to me and really let this sink in, baby girl, because we’re not going to do a push and pull, and I know it's going to feel like I’m coming on strong because you think we just met yesterday?—"

“We did.”

“But you gotta feel this pull I feel. There is no way I feel this, and you don’t. It’s like two halves of a magnet unable to fight the attraction to the other. I’m not fighting it. I’m here. You need time, I get that. I respect it. But what I won’t have you do is talk about yourself that way.”

“Abel, I’m not exciting or wild.”

“No, baby, you’re your own kind of trouble. You don’t know it, you don’t see it, but fuck me, I do. That’s all that matters. We’re going to go in here,” I pointed at the huge house behind us. “I’m gonna clean the pool, show you around, and then we’re going to have a weenie roast on the private beach behind the property.”

“Private beach?”

“You wanna dip your toes in the waves, we can, but you don’t have to.”

“What about the lessons?”

“We can go as slow or as fast as you want. I’m not going anywhere,” I vowed.

And I wasn’t.

I’d fight and beat the devil himself if I had to. Abby was mine. My right now and my future, and fuck anyone who thought they could tear her from my arms.

“You’re so…”

“Pushy?” I guessed.

“I was going to say confident.” Her lips twitched, and I relaxed a little. “In case I haven’t said it yet, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, princess.” She smiled shyly, and I pulled her back into me because I couldn’t resist having her as close as possible.

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