Page 41 of The Bombshell and the Bodyguard
His expression was serious—strained almost. He gave a terse shake of his head. “Nah. I’m fine here.”
“Suit yourself.”
Wading a few steps more, I reached water deep enough for swimming and dived under. I swam toward the waterfall, loving the feel of the fresh, cool water on my tired limbs.
“Watch out under the falls. The water pressure’s pretty strong, and there might be sharp rocks jutting out or something,” Wilder called.
I pretended I couldn’t hear him over the rushing water. “What?” I waved to him. “You should come in. It feels fantastic.”
Though he made no move toward the pool, Wilder abandoned his seat on the rock and stood, frowning in my direction. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Be careful.”
Smiling at him, I raised an arm high over my head, my thumb up in the universal sign for, “You got it.”
Then I swam until I was directly beneath the falls. The cold water splashing down on me was invigorating.
In all of my travels, swimming under a tropical waterfall was something I’d never done. It wasn’t on my bucket list, but it should have been.
It was an experience to be sure, but just like swimming in the beautiful bay, it wasn’t all that much fun to do alone.
Feeling around and locating a large rock under the water, I climbed onto it and stood under the natural shower. I darted a glance in Wilder’s direction.
His body was tensed, his fists clenched, and he leaned in my direction, poised and ready to jump in and save me if necessary.
Mr. Professional. Always on the job.
And then I had an idea.
Purposely wobbling a bit on the rock, I let out a little shriek and “fell” into the water beneath the falls. Then I stayed under, counting slowly... and waiting.
My patience was rewarded when I resurfaced to find Wilder in the lagoon, swimming hard and already almost to my position. Wow, he was a powerful swimmer.
He reached me and grabbed my arm, treading water and holding me up. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
His face and voice were angry. “Why did you stay under so long? I thought you hit your head on a rock when you fell.”
“I’m fine. I was just doing a little exploring beneath the surface.”
“Exploring?” He huffed an irritated breath. “You scared the hell out of me.”
I gave him a big smile. “What’s the matter? Afraid you were going to get in trouble with your boss? Oh wait—I’myour boss. Or at least I’m the one paying for all this top-notch personal protection.”
Wilder simply glared at me.
I kept smiling. “And as your boss, I decided that you should swim with me.”
There was a long pause. “You were faking.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement, and a decidedly surly one.
“I only did what I had to do to get you to come in and cool off andstopbeing such a grumpy stick in the mud.” I slapped the water in a playful splash that hit Wilder right in his beautiful, disgruntled face.
He swiped a hand over it to clear his eyes and slick his hair back off his forehead. “We’re going back to shore. Now. It’s going to rain soon, and I want to get home before the storm hits.”
“You’re making that up. I’m not ready to get out yet.” I turned and swam away with a laugh.
A strong, warm arm slid around my waist, stopping my forward momentum.
