Page 54 of Prey

Once I’d composed myself, I reached around to unhook my bra, and a rustle in the bushes indicated that he had moved positions. When I followed the sound, I caught a head drop down behind foliage and pretended I hadn’t noticed.

I let the bra straps slide down my bare arms and tossed them onto my growing pile of discarded clothes. My nipples were rigid from the cool air caressing them, but I was also being turned on watch by the masked man who pummeled me in bed twonights ago. We hadn’t spoken in person since then, but his gaze penetrated my spine as I rushed to class.

My panties were wet as his hungry eyes burned me up, so I was eager to discard them, teasingly, of course. My thumbs slipped under the elastic, and I slowly pushed them down my hips, pausing just above my pelvic bone, and I swore I heard Rourke groan.

Suppressing my smirk was becoming more difficult because I enjoyed this taunting exploit so much that I had to let my hair fall over my face to hide my expression before continuing.

At a snail’s pace, my thumbs pushed my panties further down my backside as the cool sprays from the waterfall peppered my skin. My breath hitched at how turned on I was.

This was not Riley Laws' style.

This was pure Annika.

Pushing my panties further down my thighs, exposing my pussy, lightly covered in hair. I didn’t care that I was unshaven because Rourke had already seen that part of me, and I didn’t hear him complain.

Dropping the panties to my knees, I wiggled my legs to let them fall to the ground. Then, I scooped them up with my toe, turned around, and flicked them onto my pile of clothes. Unfortunately, I missed my target, and they got caught on the spindly branch, but I’ll retrieve them later.

Completely naked and riveting in desire from the cool, damp air brushing against my skin, I dove into the water, completely submerged, ruining his pervert show. I swam down to the rocky bottom, taking my time before I rose to the surface again.

The heavenly sensation of the water enveloping my skin immediately calmed my nerves and caressed my soul; problems peeled away, leaving only the impending issue of the lurking man in the bushes.

When I surfaced, I took a large gulp of air, then dropped back into the water to lure him to the edge, hoping he’d come out of hiding and join me with or without a mask.

It’s so quiet and peaceful at the bottom of the pool; if I had gills, I would be down there longer, but being a mere human, I begin my rise to the top and spot the towering figure on the edge overlooking me.

Even with water in my eyes, I could tell the man didn’t have a mask on, so I rubbed my eyes with the base of my palm to get a clearer view of Rourke. Did he decide to show me his face?

“I'm not sure if this is appropriate behavior,” a smooth male voice crooned, and I gasped, shrinking to the back of the pool, closer to the waterfall.

That wasn’t Rourke’s voice. I mean…I don’t think it was his voice. I hadn’t heard his voice without being muffled by that annoying mask, but…

“Rourke?” I asked, embarrassed as the figure became more apparent and confusion stormed my body.

“Who’s Rourke?” he asked, annoyed as he seemed to know who I was.

I swallowed some water caught in my mouth and brushed my wet hair away from my eyes. A striking man stood before me, wearing a dark blue cap, grey hooded sweatshirt…cheekbones, those damn cheekbones.

“Um…” I began, unsure as to what I should do now. My clothes, towel, bag, and phone were all too far away, and there was no way I could get them without getting them and him seeing me naked.

“Ronan,” he filled me in. “Your boss.” He wiggled his finger at me. “I’m unsure if this is appropriate behavior for a kitchenhand at the elite gentleman’s club, Savile.”

“Well…it’s a good thing that your rich members don’t see me then as I work behind the scenes,” I argued nervously, worried that he might sack me.

“We’ve got a reputation to uphold,” he pressed, rubbing his jaw with the back of his fist, smirking, seemingly enjoying this interaction.

“How long have you been here?” I waded further back and folded my arms over my breasts. The water was so clear he probably could see right down to the pool floor and my legs and vagina as well. “Were you perving?”

“It’s a public place, and this is a public pool,” he stated. “Made by nature.”

“You didn’t answer my question so that I will take that as a ‘yes.’ My boss was perving at me,” I rationalized as I watched him step over the rocks to my clothes and bag.

“Can you see without your glasses?” he inquired, and I wondered if he was testing me.

“Not well,” I lied because I could see perfectly well without them, including that smug look on his face.

His big hand lifted my jeans and sweater off my bag to find my glasses underneath and picked them up. He then noticed my panties hanging off a twig and retrieved them, and I was so glad that the water cooled my cheeks because those panties were not exactly sexy. He screwed them up in his hand, then found the beach towel in my bag and dragged that out.

“When you’re ready,” he indicated, holding the towel out for me to be enveloped in.

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