Page 61 of Hot in Witch City
"Not at all. I think you're incredibly brave. Don't worry about anyone else. Just keep your eyes on me."
I held his hand. He grasped it as if it was a lifeboat and he was drowning although he was standing on the pool bottom.
He sucked in a sharp breath and shuddered. Since he was a wolf shifter, and they tended to run hot, I ventured it had nothing to do with the cold.
"You did it, Sebastian," I declared, beaming at him. "You took the hardest step." I bent forward and kissed him on the lips.
Sparkles of excitement replaced the terror in his eyes. His lips twitched into a semi-smile.
“Now what do we do?” he asked, his hand still clasping mine in a tight grip.
“You don’t have to do anything other than get comfortable in the water.”
I bobbed up and down a few inches, submerging more of my body.
His gaze lowered to my breasts and moaned. “Gianna, you are a master of distraction.”
I laughed. “That wasn’t my intention. But keep your eyes on the girls if that’s what it takes.”
"You could sign me up for a whole season of lessons if this is the way it would go." He slowly raised his gaze to meet mine and moved up and down barely an inch.
“Perfect,” I praised. “That’s all you’ve got to do. Just get comfortable.”
Sebastian raised and lowered himself a few more inches up, getting his torso wet, but making odd squelches.
“I’m so proud of you, Sebastian,” I said.
We continued to bob up and down in the water, holding hands.
“Doesn’t this feel good?” I asked.
“It’s notunbearable.” Then he quirked a smile. “It’s even sweeter knowing there’s a reward at the end.”
For us both. I agreed, “Absolutely.”
Sebastian endedup spending the night at my place. The next morning, he cooked banana walnut pancakes and sausage while I brewed up the coffee.
While we carried our plates and mugs to the kitchen table, he said, “I still can’t believe you got me into the pool yesterday.”
“Was it worth it?”
“If you mean by coming back here with you, then hell yeah.” He raised his chin and grinned. “It will take me some time to work up the nerve to go back, but with a reward like that, it may be sooner than later.”
I laughed and sat down. “With the way you took care of me, I think I was the one rewarded.”
“Oh, Gianna, satisfying you is one of my greatest pleasures.”
I took a bite of the pancakes and moaned. “You do in so many ways.” After I swallowed, I said, “How did I luck out with a guy who’s as talented in the kitchen as he is in bed?”
A proud smile flickered on his face. I wondered why I’d said that. Technically, I didn’thavehim. We were just screwing around for a short time. And then when we were ready to move on, hopefully we could remain friends—because I didn’t want to lose him as a friend.
I sighed. And I didn’t think I wanted to lose him as a lover, either.
“You never told me about what happened with your mother,” he said. How did it go?”
My muscles tightened. What I’d discovered was so incredible, I still didn’t know how to shape them into words.
I sipped coffee as I debated how to answer. “It was—um—mind-blowing.”
