Page 57 of The Bombshell and the Bodyguard
He grabbed a couple of the beach towels from a stack on the bench by the door. “We won’t need clothes for this.”
The night air was so warm, we actuallydidn’tneed them, but still it felt strange to walk down the path to the beach with no clothes on at all.
It also felt kind of amazing.
The breeze on my bare skin was comforting and stirring at the same time. I had a sense of freedom like I’d rarely felt in my life.
And the feel of Wilder’s big hand wrapped around mine was almost too good to be real. It was like I was having a dream while fully awake.
When I glanced over at him, the sight of his big, muscular body gilded by moonlight really was the stuff of dreams.
I’m naked on the beach with Wilder Lowe.A little giggle escaped my mouth.
“What’s so funny?” He grinned.
“Nothing. I’m just happy.”
We reached the water and stood with our toes in the surf.
“I’ve never been swimming in the ocean naked. Or at night,” I told him.
“I’ve swum in oceans at night before.” Wilder chuckled. “Never naked though. Usually I had on a wetsuit and about sixty pounds of gear.”
I squeezed his hand. “You never talk about your time as a SEAL.”
Wilder looked out over the dark, rolling water. “There were a lot of good times. A lot of good guys and strong bonds—you know a bunch of the guys from my team work for me now at Viridian, right? But it all ended so badly. It’s amazing how the actions of one bad apple can spoil it all for the good ones. I don’t really like to talk about it.”
I nodded in understanding. Though I was wildly curious about the incident that had ended his military career, I wouldn’t press. He’d tell me when he was ready. But I did have to know about one thing.
“Is that why you don’t like to swim?”
Now Wilder laughed out loud. “I love to swim. I just didn’t want to swim withyou.”
My head jerked back in surprise. “Why not?” Grasping for possible explanations, I said, “Shrinkage?”
Wilder’s laugh turned into a roar. He literally bent over laughing, unable to speak for a minute. When he was upright again, he swiped at his eyes, letting out a few more bubbles of laughter and a long breath.
He tugged at my hand, urging me to walk into the water with him.
“Shrinkage wasn’t my concern. Actually I was worried about theoppositescenario.”
At my quizzical look he went on. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but since we’ve been here, I’ve been sporting more hard-ons than a fifteen-year-old at a stripper convention. Just looking at you is enough to do it for me, but it’s also your voice, the way you smell…”
We reached water deep enough to swim in, and my feet lifted off the sand. Wilder kept me afloat, tugging me deeper. I think I could have floated without his help—or without treading water.
The things he was saying about me… and the knowledge that I turned him on made me feel like I could rise up out of the ocean and fly across the starlit sky.
Tensing my bicep, I pulled myself against his hard, wet body until our limbs tangled and our chests rose and fell in sync.
“So… you thought if your swim trunks got wet, I’d see.”
He nodded. “Or feel it. I mean, if we were swimming close like this or horsing around in the water or something. I was afraid you might drift into me accidentally or touch me innocently, and suddenly the one-eyed creature from the blue lagoon would appear.”
I laughed. “I think you’re mixing up your movies there.”
Wilder laughed, too. “Whatever. You know what I’m saying. I didn’t want to offend you. Or start anything.”
Caressing his heavily muscled neck and shoulder, I pressed my lips to his cheekbone, tasting salt.
