Page 62 of Highball and Chain

Enzo

After the drama in Sicily,an international flight, and bringing a woman to my childhood home, I needed to kick back and relax by the pool. Luckily for me, I had the perfect partner in crime. Even luckier for me, said partner was wet, half-naked, and working her way through a bottle of wine.

I dove in, swam a couple of laps, and stopped close enough to help myself to Shanna’s wine.

“Hey! Get your own.” Giggling, she took it out of my hand.

“How much have you had? Your cheeks are red.”

She pursed her lips. “It was full when I started.”

I shook the bottle. Not much left. “Someone’s going to have a wicked hangover in the morning.”

“I needed something to take my mind off things and enjoy my evening. Besides, I don’t have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Ah, so you’ve cleared your calendar for me?”

“Yes, and you should be honored. I don’t take an entire day off for just anyone…even if I’m unemployed.” She glanced at the dark house. “Is Hildie coming back tonight?”

“She’s staying with her sister in Metairie.” I would have preferred to continue the conversation we’d started in the car when she was sober, but I needed to make sure we were solid. “About what we discussed earlier—”

Shanna reached behind her and untied her bikini top.

The blood left my brain for points further south. “What are you doing?”

She set the scraps of material and strings on the deck. “Being one with nature.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Muttering under my breath, I said a silent prayer the security cameras weren’t recording the pool area. “I like nature.”

Shanna sank up to her chin in the water and stared at me with her cat-like amber eyes. She dipped below the surface. Without the pool light, I couldn’t tell what she’d done or where she’d gone. A relaxing evening swim had turned into something quite different.

I dove under and found her a few feet away. Running my hand up her leg, I brushed my fingers across her bikini bottoms. Damn.

“Having fun?” She eased away from me and offered a coy smile.

“I had to know if you were skinny dipping.”

“I’m not.”

“What happened to becoming one with nature? You don’t strike me as shy.” I advanced on her.

She side-stepped me. “What about you? You’re wearing a suit.”

I ducked under water, removed my swim trunks, and tossed them on the deck.

Although it was too dark to see much of anything, Shanna’s gaze immediately fell to my lower-half. “I need more vino.”

“Mind sharing?” I moved closer, staying just out of reach.

“It’s almost empty.”

“I’ll get more.” I swam to the side and hoisted my bare ass out of the water.

Her gasp made me smile.

Leaving a trail of water in my wake, I entered the kitchen. The tile floor might as well have been covered in oil, but I didn’t let the threat of broken tail bones, or chipped teeth, slow me down.

My God, this woman has me acting like a fifteen-year-old who’s never seen a set of tits.

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