Page 33 of The Doctor's Simple Life

Suddenly, we’re too close, and I’m feeling too brave all over again, prying deeper than I ever expected to. My shirt clings to my skin, and I’m sure it must have gotten more see-through than I would like. To Reece’s credit, I haven’t noticed him looking.

Would it really be so bad if he did?

“No,” he says softly. “No. I thought I would, but now that I’m here, I don’t think I do.”

The lake may as well be boiling for the rush of heat that flares through me. My heart pounds in my head, and I can’t help but let my eyes flicker down to his pink lips and firm chest.

Am I stupid to think, to hope, there might be a chance?

Is it so wrong to want it?

“Reece,” I say softly, leaning in until there’s just a breath between us.

I don’t know how to end the sentence. I don’t know what I want to say next.

“I’m too hot,” I say instead of anything I think I might mean, and in a fit of what must be madness, I strip my shirt off and throw it aside, letting it float in the water.

This time, his eyes do flutter down. I’m wearing a simple blue bra — nothing that nice, but it does show off my cleavage and I can’t blame him for looking. I think I want him to look.

I think I want him.

My heart is beating so loudly that he must be able to hear it. Surely, he can hear it. Surely, I can’t be the only one who feels this. I’ve never felt so raw, so open, so vulnerable. I’ve never felt a desire like this before.

I’ve never wanted to be wanted this badly in my life.

And then he does exactly what I want him to do.

He swims up to me and wraps his arm around my waist. He looks into my eyes, asking a question.

“Reece…” I say, barely more than a whisper. I nod, giving him the permission that he doesn’t need.

Then he kisses me, and fireworks explode inside my chest.

CHAPTER 17

REECE

After that, we don’t do a whole lot more swimming. Instead, we find out that making out when you’re trying to tread water is a lot harder than it looks. We stumble our way back towards the shore, where we sit in the shallows and let our lips get familiar.

I let my hands trail over her body, figuring out all her curves and corners, and she does the same to me, brushing over my freckles and impurities. Usually, I try to hide them, but with Sienna, they don’t seem to matter.

All I can think about are her lips on mine, her legs wrapped around my waist.

It’s kind of embarrassing, but she must feel me getting hard under her. I can’t help it. Her body is so warm and so close, and I want her so much it’s making me dizzy.

Eventually, she pulls back and suggests that it’s time to go home.

I never want to leave this spot, this moment, but reluctantly, I agree.

We wade out of the lake and pull our still-damp clothes back on. My shirt is drier from being in the sun, and I offer it to her because hers is still soaking. She rejects it, swallowing her discomfort.

It doesn’t make me a good person, but I can’t pretend I’m not happy to see the way the damp fabric clings to her skin.

As we start heading back down the trail, suddenly, the idea of walking five miles hits me again. I don’t think I’ll ever be a person who enjoys walking when a competition isn’t involved. But at least I can barely feel my feet and the forty thousand blisters on them.

I’m walking on clouds now. I’m in heaven.

It hadn’t been outside the realm of possibility that I would sleep with someone here, but the way Sienna makes me feel… this is more than just a casual fling.

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