Page 24 of His Hawaiian Heart
“Yeah, wow,” I parroted.
She traced her lip with her fingertip and dabbed at the spot where I’d nipped her. When she pulled her finger away, I took it in mine and licked the blood free.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” she said softly. “I liked it. In fact, I find a bit of pain only increases the pleasure.”
God help me. It was as if I was being tested, and I’d never been more afraid of failing anything in my whole life.
Samantha smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m okay with going slow, but just wanted to let you know that I’m also good with perhaps picking up the pace just a little bit. Is that okay?”
Before I could even come close to thinking of how to respond to that, she’d slid out of my arms and had jumped to a rock beside us and then clambered to another and another until her feet were planted firmly on the ground. “Feel free to sit there as long as you want, but could you please hand me the backpack?”
“Don’t think I’m not keeping score,” I said as I dismounted in the normal way.
“Oh, I’m counting on it.”
If I’d thought she’d choose a spot away from the edge, I was wrong. In fact, I was the one who reached out and hooked her around the waist and hauled her back against me. “Didn’t your parents ever caution you to look before you leap?”
She stared up at me and nodded. “Yes, but they also told me not to go off with strangers.”
“Do you actually consider me still a stranger?”
“Well, no, but?—”
“No buts about it. I’m serious. Standing too close to the edge can mess with your balance.”
“Even if I fell over, I can swim.”
The Dom inside me tightened his grip and spoke with a sternness I’d not yet used. “Being able to swim won’t do you a damn bit of good if you crack your head open on a rock on the way down. Or break every bone in your body because you have no clue how deep the water really is. It won’t matter if you’re an Olympic gold-medalist if you break your neck and are paralyzed.”
Her eyes had widened, but the humor had fled them and in its place was horror. Not exactly what I wanted her to get from the lesson, but dammit, I wasn’t just speaking to hear myself talk. As a kid, I’d lost a good friend who’d leapt off a rock only to break his neck when he hit the bottom of the pool that was far shallower than it looked. He hadn’t been paralyzed. He’d died in my arms before the paramedics could reach us.
“If you’d like to go swimming one day, I’ll be happy to take you to a place where it’s safe to do so.”
“But I don’t want to swim in a pool or even the ocean. I want to discover what it feels like to swim in a waterfall.”
My dick twitched at the thought of showing her how to dive beneath the falls and come up on the other side. I wanted nothing more than to hold her on my lap as she rode my cock until she came, knowing I was the only witness because the veil of water concealed us while its volume drowned out her cries of pleasure.
I played with a wayward curl that had escaped her ponytail, trying not to visualize how those curls would look against her bare breasts. The image of the hard bud of a nipple peeking through all that gorgeous hair had my cock pressing uncomfortably against my zipper. And fuck me if the little minx didn’t know exactly what reaction she was causing.
Her palm slid up my arm and then against my chest. “What if we hike down? We can dip our toes in and get wet.”
Baby, I don’t need water to get you all wet.
Thankfully, my brain kicked in before I actually uttered that aloud. The memory of her informing me she was sans panties hadn’t been forgotten or set aside. I’d be glad to show her just how wet I could make her, but there would be no swimming and no fucking. Not here and not today. Today was all about proving I could be more than a snake, more than a Dom. I could be a man who enjoyed just being with her—even if it fucking killed me. That didn’t mean I couldn’t wait to see exactly how good at math my little scientist was. If her tally kept increasing at this rate, it would bode well if she was a math savant.
“I know a lot of places with waterfalls, Sam. I’ll take you tomorrow and you can play mermaid to your heart’s desire. But for now, let’s eat.”
Chapter Eleven
Samantha
Who knew that there were some things I craved even more than one of Cookie’s cookies? The feel of Sam’s arm around me, the gruff tone of his voice, the look in his eyes that went from sternness to lust had more than my insides churning. It was taking all I had to rein myself in and not just jump his bones. There was the possibility I was on the verge of becoming addicted to this man but wasn’t worried. After all, my specialty was research and I was very, very thorough when it came to my studies. Until our next study session, I’d settle for the next best thing.
White chocolate and macadamia nuts.
Those were the flavors of today’s cookie. Even Cookie’s choice of ingredients added another perfect touch to a day that was perhaps the most perfect one I’d ever enjoyed. They were delicious but watching Sam watch me was even more so. A thought popped into my head and I gave a soft laugh.
