Page 22 of Hold My Heart

Evelyn came up behind him, her hands on his shoulders. “Oh, go on, dear. You know you want to. We were almost done with dinner anyway.”

The elder Anderson took that as his cue and catapulted himself into the water without any further hesitation. Fully clothed and all.

“Aren’t you supposed to wait thirty minutes after eating before you get in the water?” Olympia clutched Renee tighter against her when the waves in the pool took on new heights.

“Not in this family, we don’t.”

With the exception of Aunt Karen, whom a glance behind them showed standing in the den clutching her eye patch and moaning, the rest of the party got in the pool one by one. No one bothered with towels. Or bathing suits. Diane didn’t even take off her sandals, flipping ass over head into the deep end.

Satisfied, Evelyn watched the frivolity from a poolside lounge chair and crossed her outstretched legs at the ankles. A picture of relaxation.

“I hope you don’t mind and don’t think me rude, but I’m going to get in on this action,” Harlan leaned in close to tell her. He placed a tiny kiss on Renee’s head before pausing to kick off his shoes. His eyes rose to meet Olympia’s. “If you change your mind...”

“I probably won’t, thank you.”

But she watched him. And her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth when he ripped his t-shirt over his head, pausing for a moment to laugh at something his brother said. Olympia couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Those muscles...

Hubba hubba.

The sight of his bare chest captured her attention surer than anything else until she felt like she was locked into a tractor beam. Her brain seemed to go into emergency shutdown mode. “Urmgh...” she gurgled.

Harlan paused at the edge of the pool, his head cocked to the side, beautifully muscled chest rising when he took a deep breath. “Are you sure?”

Nope, she wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

And there he went, reading her mind again. His grin turned positively carnal and he winked just before doing a backflip into the deep end.

There must be something wrong with her, she thought, eyes captivated and tongue swelling to fill her mouth when he broke through the water, droplets coursing down his collarbone and along the sweep of his pectoral muscles. She paused on the scattering of dark chest hair, the tip of the little brown nipple, before finally mustering the strength to look away.

It was wrong to feel any kind of desire for her manny. Wrong on a thousand different levels. He waved to her before being pushed under by an enthusiastic Beatrix.

And a few minutes later, she nearly passed out when Harlan stalked up the steps toward her, dripping wet, before grabbing a struggling Renee. “Trust me,” he whispered, seconds before taking the child with him into the shallow end.

“I don’t know if she can swim...” Olympia protested, then shut her mouth and watched.

She watched the two of them together, watched how Harlan kept his hands on Renee the entire time, taking her gliding through the water until she was squealing with delight. She kicked her feet when he held her on her belly, slicing across the shallow end to the amusement of his family. It was clear the little girl trusted Harlan completely.

Wow. It was too much. Olympia shuffled backward until she hit the brick wall of the house, hidden in the shadows, away from the giggles and screams of the impromptu pool party.

Her brain must have definitely gone into shutdown mode while she watched Harlan hand off Renee to Diane and Beatrix. It was the only logical explanation when she did nothing but stand there, eyes riveted to him as he climbed out of the pool a second time. When he took a step toward her, then another, put both hands around her waist and hoisted her up against him. Pulled her to him until she was pressed to his warm, wet body.

His breath practically steamed her lips just before he captured them with his own.

She knew she should move back, get far away from him, break his hold on her and tell him it wasn’t his place to touch her. But oh goodness, there was something so sinfully good about leaning against the hard body of a man. Having his arms around her in a protective shell.

She couldn’t move, not when he bit down on her lower lip, suckling it into his mouth. His fingers tightened on her shirt and he drew her closer still, capturing the air out of her lungs. Her lips parted with a groan when his hands slid their way down from her back to her behind.

The rest of the world faded away under his very skillful kisses. Olympia felt her herself drawn to him, urging him closer and wanting to wrap her legs around his waist. The wolf whistles from his brothers did not penetrate the haze. Harlan flicked his tongue across hers, tangling, dueling, and she wanted to eat him alive. She growled, drawing him closer, pushing for more despite the audience. Despiteeverything.

The multitude of reasons why this was a bad idea fell away, leaving only two good ones. His appeal. And her desire.

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