Page 27 of Escape to the Sun

Ash was afraid that would be her objection. “Don’t think of it like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you are.” He moved to unbutton his shorts and she looked away. “You’re thinking of it like it’s a sexual thing and I promise you it’s not.” That got her attention. Heather’s head turned and she eyed him, so he couldn’t help but add, “Unless, of course, you want it to be.”

He loved the way her skin looked in the light of the moon, but in that moment, he wished he could see the blush that he was absolutely positive was all over her face.

“Ash, I—”

“Honestly. I do want to show you something amazing. And the best way to see it is for yourself, in the water. You can wear your underwear if you want, but I think you’re going to be disappointed if you aren’t bare in the water.”

He had her interest piqued. He had to forcibly stop himself from thinking of all the other things he may have peaked with his words. It was no secret that he wanted her. But he’d behave himself for her sake because he knew just how much she was going to love what he was about to show her.

“And if it makes you feel better,” he added. “I won’t even look while you get in. But I want you to get in first.”

“Why?”

She didn’t say no again. That was progress.

“You have to trust me,” Ash said. “Can you do that?”

To his surprise, Heather stood and walked toward him. She stared at him for a moment before she finally said, “Turn around.”

He did and with a huge smile on his face, he waited until he heard the splash of her dive.

* * *

She could not believeshe was doing it, but something about the way he asked her to take her clothes off and get in the ocean actually made it seem like a totally reasonable request. But the craziest part was that she was going along with it.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Heather stripped the T-shirt off her head and shimmied out of her pants. She stood for a moment in her underwear before she shed them as well. With one last glance at Ash, who’d kept his back turned as promised, she pointed her arms over her head and dove gracefully into the ocean.

The water was warm and instantly she was happy she’d made the decision to remove her underwear. There was nothing quite like feeling the water on your bare skin. She let herself glide under the surface as long as she could before she surfaced. With her eyes still closed, she kicked gently to keep herself afloat and slicked her hair back off her face before she turned around and opened her eyes.

Ash was watching her, but that’s not what captured her attention.

In the water she’d just swam through, there was a bright-blue streak that led right to her. It looked like the sea was lit up with neon lights under the surface. She dropped her hands into the water and instantly saw the splash of bright blue.

“What…how…”

“Isn’t it magical?”

Heather looked up to Ash. In the moonlight, she could see the smile on his face. She had no words for what she was experiencing. Instead, she nodded and kicked onto her back, watching the water around her light up.

A moment later, there was a splash, a streak of blue, and Ash appeared in front of her. He ran his hands through his hair, smoothing it back from his face. Heather swallowed hard, her attention momentarily diverted from the beauty of the water, focused instead on the beauty in front of her.

“It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?”

“You—I mean, yes. It is.”

Ash laughed. She splashed him; the water lit up with neon refocused her attention. “What is it?” She watched her hands as they traced back and forth under the surface. “It’s so incredible.”

“It’s bioluminescent phytoplankton.”

“What? Really?”

“It’s totally safe,” Ash said. “I promise. It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”

She relaxed and nodded. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

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