Page 114 of False God

“You did?”

“We’ll call it a tie.”

“Does that mean you really won?”

He swipes a hand across his forehead, clearing the water dripping from his hair. “Dunno. Honestly.”

A smile spreads slowly. “Your poor perfect record,” I tease.

He moves so fast that I don’t see it coming, arm wrapping around my waist and tugging me down. I barely have time to close off my airway and shut my eyes before I’m submerged, my hair floating around me.

It’s a few feet here, shallow enough to stand but deep enough to plunge if you want to. We wrestle underwater, Charlie fighting his way to the surface first. I bob up a few seconds later, gasping for air and reaching for his shoulders. He evades me, and I end up grabbing his forearm instead. I think he lets me drag him toward me because he’s got at least a hundred pounds and six inches on me.

We’re both laughing, the sound mixing with the splashing water and buzz of the cicadas.

The shift from playful to charged is gradual. Hands linger. Caress. We stop breaking eye contact.

And then he’s kissing me, his lips bruising as he hungrily demands entrance to my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, forgetting we’re both naked until the rough hairs of his happy trail tickle sensitive flesh, still tender from our last round of sex.

I only have one day left in Saint-Tropez. We’re flying straight back to New York while Chloe and Theo return to London separately.

I have no idea when I’ll see Charlie again after this trip, and that sends a spiral of panic spinning through me. A stab wound couldn’t keep me from fucking him, let alone a sore vagina.

He’s hoisting me out of the water, forearms flexing before my ass lands on the hard tiles decorating the perimeter of the pool.

“Lie back,” Charlie says huskily.

I do, the rough stone of the patio scraping my back. Charlie kisses a line upward, starting at my knee, teeth sinking gently into the soft flesh of my inner thigh before moving even higher.

This isn’t the wild, untamed sex we had earlier. It’s tender and intimate, his tongue licking and swirling and teasing until my insides liquefy. I slip back into the water, he climbs out to grab another condom from his pants, and then he fucks me against the slick wall.

Another first for me—sex in a pool.

Charlie carries me into the outdoor shower after I admit I’m not sure I can walk. Least he can do in exchange for that ego boost.

I smile dreamily the entire short trip, my system still swimming with endorphins.

There aren’t any walls to the shower, just a circular wire frame that’s covered by climbing greenery. It makes me feel like I’m standing in the middle of a rainforest.

“I like this,” I murmur, gesturing to all the plants.

“Yeah, I thought you might.” Charlie sets me down to turn on the water. It’s warmer than the pool was, the spray like a heavy mist falling around us.

“Maybe you shouldn’t sell this place.” The words come out easily, my tongue loosened by the dopamine hit and the way it feels like we’re the only two people in the world right now.

Charlie tenses next to me, and I wish I’d kept my mouth shut. He’s clearly sensitive about the topic of this place.

“It’s already done,” is all he says, turning the faucet to the right.

The water cools a little. Or maybe that’s just the effects of my orgasm continuing to fade.

We finish rinsing. Charlie grabs two towels from the guesthouse for us to dry off with.

I comb the tangles in my hair out the best I can with my fingers, then ask, “Will you braid my hair?”

He clears his throat before replying, “Sure.”

While he does, I ask a question I’ve wondered about for a while. It feels like we’re in a bubble right now, both drunk on sex, secret thoughts slipping out more easily in the late-night air.

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