Page 67 of Nicky and the Night Owls, Part One

“Polo!” I cried out, and tried to use the bottom of the pool to propel myself away from his grasp. I wasn’t quick enough. He snatched an ankle, dragging me in, an arm around my waist to hold me close in order to nip at my shoulder.

“Caught you, Nicky.” His voice was a rough, growly whisper in my ear.

My heart stuttered.

He held me aloft until I could get control of myself so I didn’t inhale water from gasping. Heat buzzed between us, but a beach ball to Tony's head broke the moment.

“Hurry up so I don’t catch you immediately.” I closed my eyes and took up my role as seeker. “Marco!”

The chorus of “Polos” made me grin, and I swished through water, searching them out. They were all a bunch of slippery seals. It felt like I was stuck just trying to find their vague locations forever until my fingertips hit skin and hooked in the string of a bikini. I opened my eyes to see Hana frozen in the deep end with my hand curled through the strap of her top, the fabric pulled aside to reveal one perfect breast.

Oh. Fuck.

Her gorgeous amber eyes examined me. “Good catch.”

“Thanks.” I swallowed hard and I disentangled myself, doing my best to not grope her in the process. “You’re it.”

Hana adjusted her top. “We’ve been in here for three hours. We should probably take a break.”

“Cheater!” Billie yelled.

“It's not cheating if we end the game,” replied Hana. “I know you won’t let me forget it for the next time we play. I need a snack.”

Hana hopped out of the pool, and I struggled to not stare at her. Her legs were long and muscled, body toned, and arms absolutely ripped, all exposing the fact that she could probably snap me in half if she wanted to.

I bit down a squeak.

That should not have been a sexy thought, and yet my body thrummed at the idea all the same.

Billie wolf-whistled. Hana ignored the sound and wrapped a beach towel around herself, disappearing into the main house.

Jasper swam over next to me and gently hip-checked me under the water. “What's going on in that head? Your cheeks are red as a beet.”

This time I wasn’t successful in muffling my squeak.

“You don’t have to feel bad for ogling her,” Jasper laughed and pushed back his curls. “We do it all the time, we were just behind you so you couldn’t see it. She's something to look at, isn’t she?”

I nodded silently, still willing my cheeks to return to their normal colour. “I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

Billie and Tony joined us. With other people, I probably would’ve felt crowded. I had already slept with two of them, and that thought prompted me, reminding me that I was pretty interested in making that happen with Jasper, too.

At least in the pool my scent would be muted, so they couldn’t immediately tell. Just to be sure, I ducked under the water, popping up between them with a grin. “Are we getting snacks or not? Or,” I stretched out my toes and tapped Tony on the butt, “you’re it.”

Billie and Jasper leapt away from him, and the three of us frantically swam with Tony hot on our tails.

It was a quick game, whoever was ‘it’ catching their quarry in moments, passing along the burden to the next person. Back and forth, over and over, until Billie jumped at me, their fingers swiping down my back and undoing the ties of my top.

“Foul!” I cried and clapped my hands over my chest with a laugh.

Billie nestled up to me and tucked their hands under mine. “I’ll help protect your modesty.”

They did the exact opposite when they rolled my nipples between their thumb and finger, tucking their face to the curve of my throat. I pressed a hand over my mouth to muffle the sound I made, but the pool had fallen silent, and, by the sharp intake of breath, it was pretty clear that Jasper and Tony knew exactly what was happening over here.

A reasonable woman would have probably hastily tied her top back into place and left to recover some dignity, but I wasn’t feeling particularly dignified when Billie tweaked me again.

The slow swish of water had my nerves on edge. Tony and Jasper appeared in my peripheral vision.

“Billie,” Tony said, his voice filled with admonishment. “You were supposed to let her rest for today.”

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