Page 68 of Judging Duke

Moments later, I returned to see him talking to a guy so young he’d probably only just left school. He was looking at Simon as if he was his next snack.

Call me stupid, but a spike of jealousy hit me. What the fuck did he think he was doing? Simon was way out of his league.

“Hey, gorgeous. Ready for that swim now?”

Simon looked at me, perplexed.

“Er, yeah.”

The ‘boy’ smiled all innocently. Like he wasn’t trying to get inside Simon’s briefs and jumped into the sea.

“So, ready?” I asked, walking to the edge of the platform.

“Very,” he said before pushing me into the water.

The Mediterranean might be warm, but it’s fucking cold when you first go in there. I surfaced, coughing and spluttering, wiping the salty water from my eyes.

“What the fuck!” I shouted.

Simon stood on the boat, laughing. “That’ll teach you.”

He dived effortlessly into the crystal-clear blue sea with barely a ripple. I lost sight of him and spun around, trying to find him.

I squealed as a hand gripped my ankle before slowly edging up my leg towards my groin.

Simon appeared beside me, a mischievous smile on his face.

“What? You thought I was a shark?” He was so close I could see the droplets of water collected on his blond eyelashes.

I lifted a hand and brushed them away, running my fingers through his curly, wet hair.

I rested my other hand on his shoulder as we trod water, trying to stay afloat, our legs brushing together.

His arms encircled my waist, our bodies closer now.

I looked at him close up for what seemed like the first time. Piercing blue eyes met mine, and despite the coolness of the water, heat spread through me.

What were we doing? More to the point, what was I doing?

He’d made his feelings very clear last night, but here we were again, chest to chest, and I was about to make another fucking mistake.

I pressed my lips gently to his, closing my eyes, tasting the saltiness of the water.

He moaned quietly, and I took that as my cue.

I licked the seam of his mouth, and he opened up, allowing me in.

He tilted his head and drew me closer. Not an inch separated us.

So intent on our kiss, we forgot to keep afloat and sank under the water. We sprang apart and surfaced, laughing.

“Were you trying to drown me?” He shook his head, water spraying everywhere. I didn’t have that problem, my head shaved as usual.

“I was trying to seduce you.” I laughed, shoving my hand towards him, splashing him.

“Oh, it’s like that, is it?”

I swam away, hoping to escape him, but he was quicker and grabbed my leg.

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