Page 80 of The Bad Wedding Date

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I stepped out into the diluted, almost romantic atmosphere of the pool at night, which was lit by the underwater lighting that turned the water the dreamiest of blues. A small hot tub sat to the right of the large swimming pool, and I eyed it carefully before I found Fraser at the shallow end of the water, his arms resting on the edge with his back turned to me.

A strong back covered in so many tattoos.

I wanted to swim up to him and trace them all with my finger before my tongue followed. Instead, I swallowed down my fantasies and hit the metal ladder that guided me down into the water. As soon as it wrapped around me, a smile came to life, and I sank beneath the surface until it covered every single part of me, the water cooling my heated thoughts of the man at the other end, waiting. It didn’t take me long to hit my stroke and head over to where Fraser rested. I swam underwater, opening my eyes against the chlorine until I rose back to the top to take a breath of air and saddle up next to him, copying his pose.

My long ponytail fell against my back, weighed down, just the way I liked it, and I kicked my legs out in the water before I turned to face him with a bright smile.

The muscles in his jaw twitched, and while I looked the happiest that he’d probably seen me since our initial meeting at the bus stop, Fraser looked intense. Focused, yet confused.

“I’m not allowed to ask any more questions,” I said, reminding him of what he’d said beforehand. “So, I’m not going to ask you why you look so serious right now. I’m not going to ask how you pulled this off or how you seem to have access to any hotel you need that day. I’m not even going to ask you if you enjoy the water as much as I do. What I am going to do is say thank you for this.”

His eyes fell to my mouth, and the intensity of his gaze had me swallowing before I smiled back at him.

“Thank you for giving me the very thing I needed tonight,” I said. “If I knew what you wanted, I’d go out of my way to do the same in return.”

Those steely grey eyes rose to meet mine. “What if it’s something you didn’t want to give?”

“I wouldn’t give it.”

His nostrils flared, his eyes dropping to my mouth, once again.

It was the look of lust a man gave a woman he thought was unattainable, and for one fleeting second, I let the power of that wash over my lonely body and bathe me in a comforting feeling of confidence.

That was what the water did for me.

Rejuvenated. Revitalised. Reinvigorated.

I kept my eyes on his before I leaned over and kissed his damp shoulder, letting my lips linger there before I offered him a small wink and pushed off the wall into a backstroke.

“God, I love this place.” I sighed up at the ceiling, feeling freer than I’d felt in a very long time.

26

Fraser

Watching her swim was a form of torture I couldn’t endure. The small kiss to my shoulder had left a permanent mark of warmth I didn’t want to lose the moment I sank my body back into the water.

Not that I would be swimming as elegantly as Charlotte. A big guy like me was made to sink, not swim, so I leaned back against the edge, my arms spread back on the cool tiles as the waves of water she created washed over my stomach. One minute she would be swimming the front crawl, the next she was on her back, each movement of her long limbs graceful, mesmerising. Her strokes were hypnotic, but when she pushed herself off the edge on the other side of the pool and flew into the butterfly stroke, I struggled not to let my jaw drop at the sight of her curvaceous arse dipping in and out of the surface.

For someone who’d always hated the water, I sure did find this woman swimming in it stimulating.

Fifteen minutes later, she finally surfaced right in front of me, her eyes pinging open and the droplets of water falling from her long, dark lashes before her bright, beaming smile came to life.

She brushed her hair back, letting out a small moan of pleasure. “I could stay here forever. How long do we have left?”

“As long as you want.”

“All night?”

I nodded, watching her face light up.

She spun around in a circle, her fingertips creating ringlets around her until she came to a stop and stepped closer, causing me to drag a breath in through my nostrils.

“Why aren’t you swimming?”

“I like the view from here.”

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