Page 76 of Pumped

I bend down to speak quietly into Ivy’s ear, but I can still feel the weight of Owen’s gaze trained on me. It’s laser-focused, unwavering, and goosebumps break out across my arms.

“You know what, Ives? I don’t think Uncle O is going to come swim with us unless we make him.”

Ivy blinks, her long, blond lashes all clumped together with water droplets. “How do we make him?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe by getting him wet.”

Her eyes grow huge. “Like splash him?”

I wince a little. Owen wouldnotappreciate getting splashed. But perhaps something a bit cuter?

“That could work. Or?—”

“What are you guys talking about?” Owen’s voice cuts in, but I don’t stop.

“Or you can go give him a big, wet hug! What do you think?”

Ivy giggles in delight, hands coming up to hide her face from Owen. “Yeah, I can do that!”

Owen sits up straighter and sets his tablet aside, suspicion and mistrust written all across his face. “Everest.” He spreads the warning on nice and thick.

We ignore him. Instead, I help Ivy out of the pool.

Owen immediately figures out what the deal is and jumps to his feet. Backing away, he holds out his hands to stave her off, but our Ivy is a force of nature. “Ivy! No! Don’t!”

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Ivy launches herself at Owen, wrapping her little, wet body around him. “Come swim with us, Uncle O!”

Ivy’s short, so she only manages to soak Owen’s shorts, but the expression on his face is still priceless. Shock and disbelief combined with the promise of murder aimed directly at me.I hate you, he mouths silently over Ivy’s head.

I burst out laughing and throw myself backward in the water. Oh god, this is great. I love annoying Owen almost as much as I love loving him. It’s what makes us work so well. We piss each other off, then we make it up to each other with some fucking hot sex. I never would’ve thought that a relationship could be like this—I never realized a relationship could be so serious and yet so fun.

“Come swim! Come swim!” Ivy takes Owen’s hand and tries to drag him toward the water.

Owen plants his feet, but his shoulders slump in resignation. “Okay, okay, I’ll come swimming with you, but I need to go change first. I can’t jump in the water wearing regular clothes.”

Ivy drops his hand and heaves a sigh. “Fine, but hurry up!”

Owen shoots me a look that says I’ll be in trouble later and I suddenly can’t wait to see what kind of punishment Owen will dream up for me.

Ivy does a cannonball into the water and I chase her around the pool for a few minutes until Owen comes out again.

“Uncle O!” she yells and I turn to glance toward the house.

Time slows. The world around me vanishes, leaving only Owen striding toward me in slow motion.

He’s still wearing his aviators, with a big towel tossed over one shoulder. His swim trunks aren’t the baggy surfer shorts I wear. They’re fitted, hugging thick thighs and rounded ass cheeks. They sit low enough to reveal his hip bones and a dark trail of hair cuts down the center of his flat stomach to disappear beneath the waistband. His chest is covered in the same dark hair—hair that I’ve raked my fingers through, that I’ve licked and swirled with my tongue.

He looks like a supermodel stepping off the pages of a magazine. He looks like a movie star with the sun making his skin glow. He looks… like the man of my dreams.

Owen tosses his towel onto the lounge chair, followed by his sunglasses before approaching the pool. He crouches, then sits, his muscles bunching and bulging as he moves. When his feet hit the water, he hisses at the temperature, lifting himself up by his hands and drawing his legs toward his chest.

For a nerd who apparently doesn’t work out, Owen’s got an incredible body. And seeing it in the brightness of daylight, not hidden behind carefully tailored clothes or buried under the covers… god, I want to lick every single inch of him.

“Come in, Uncle O!” Ivy calls to him, waving him in.

Owen scrunches up his face. “It’s cold.”

I slip under the water and swim in his direction. His feet are still hovering in mid-air when I reach up and grab his ankle. I yank, he comes tumbling into the pool.

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