Page 38 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
Aidan approaches, water drizzling down his body. “What?”
“Lady Snow here doesn’t know how to swim.”
“Oh, we can’t have that. Not when you’re the best instructor there is.”
Ezra brings a hand to his chest like he’s touched by Aidan’s words. “I knew you’d get it.”
Without further warning, the boys pull me to stand.
They each wrap an arm around my midriff, tugging me toward the edge of the rocks, and I forget how to breathe. I try to wriggle out of their hold, and Ezra releases me, but Aidan tightens his grip and cages me against his rock-hard chest.
I zap his arm with a burst of ice. “Let me go! Gods!”
He releases me, and I shove him hard. “You jerk! Let me at least get this off.” I slip off my shorts first and step out of them before removing the shawl.
The boys’ smiles fade, their eyes drinking in the shape of my body. A thrill shoots up my spine at their reaction while I bunch the red fabric at Elio’s feet, leaving me in my one-piece black swimsuit.
Ezra snaps out of it first and slaps Aidan’s shoulder. “Aidan. Let the lady undress, first. Jeez!” he chastises his friend with a big goofy smile.
I narrow my eyes and build a gigantic snowball in my hand. “Let’s see how you like your balls on ice, boys.”
“I like my balls as they are, thank you.” Ezra runs and jumps in a cannonball back into the pond, landing right in the center. Iris shrieks in surprise, sprayed by the splash of his rather dauntless performance.
Aidan’s amber eyes dance dangerously.
“I’m not jumping in with you,” I clip.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
He motions with both hands for me to take my best shot. “Give me all the ice you’ve got.”
I build the mother of all snowballs in my hands, ready to break it over his head.
Quick as a cat, he snatches one of my arms and pulls me into his embrace once more. My body goes slack as his fire melts my ice, the snowball crumbling at our feet.
Aidan nestles his face in the crook of my neck. “I just got back from an unplanned trip to the new world and got your note this morning. I’ve missed you, Songbird. Hope you’re ready for a swim.”
My treacherous body arches into him as if to say,with you, always.I crane my neck around and examine the constellation of freckles licking the shape of his Adam’s apple, the raw charisma rolling off him turning my insides to mush.
“I almost drowned in this pond, as you well know,” I snap, trying to keep a straight head.
He grins like I didn’t just bite his head off for nothing. “You better hold on tight to me, then.”
Chapter 12
Ivy
SONGBIRD
Aidan turns his back to the pond and falls backward over the ledge, pulling me along with him. A yelp escapes me, and we break the surface a moment later with a loudsplash. Holding my breath, I instinctively twist in his arms to grab hold of his neck. Even though the dangerous traps and deadly blooms have either been deactivated or lulled back to sleep, I almost died here.
We emerge, and I sink my nails deep in his scalp to let him know how mad I am, but he doesn’t appear bothered in the least. If anything, he’s more than a little smug. Long, nimble fingers map the slope of my waist as Aidan holds me afloat.
“First lesson: move your arms and legs so you don’t drown,” he jokes.
“You’re relishing this, but I’m terrified.”
