Page 12 of The Game
Her worries relieved, she met his grin with a smile of her own and lifted her face to his. Their lips met, and the thrill of it made her shiver. He tasted of exhilaration and adventure, of strength and bravery, and as she pressed closer, Dean held her tighter.
Life was meant to be lived, and right now, she was living in the moment—and all she wanted was Dean.
Chapter 6
The jet ski handled like a dream.
Dean had managed to convince a mate, who he’d met at the boat ramp early, to lend it to him for the day, and now he was carving through the water to get a feel for it. He’d had his recreational watercraft licence for years—his uncle often let him take out his fishing boat—but it had been a while since he’d ridden a jet ski. Thankfully, being a Monday, hardly anyone else would be out on the water, so he and Alyssa would have a lot of room to play.
A few days had passed since his harrowing skydiving experience, but it seemed nothing more now than a distant memory. In the seconds after he’d landed, it was as if his head had still been up in the plane, his body weak and on the verge of collapsing. But Alyssa’s kiss had grounded him, had pulled him back to the present, and the world had steadied under his feet from the moment their lips had touched.
It had been a shock to his system. He’d been holding back, hesitant to act on his attraction, as he hadn’t quite put a label on how he felt about her. They were friends, yet he’d felt the overwhelming need to possess her, too. The lines had been blurred, which confused the hell out of him, but from the moment she’d promised to kiss him, he’d known he had to have her.
And since then, they’d hardly spent any time apart. When they’d left the landing zone, they’d been high on adrenaline and had ended up at his place, where they’d put their energy to good use. They’d explored every inch of each other, tasting, licking, stroking. And, my god, it had felt good to be inside her. They’d spent the rest of the day in bed, talking and laughing when they weren’t … doing other things, and when she’d left to go home later that evening, he’d felt odd. Lost, almost.
He hadn’t examined those feelings too closely and, even now, was determined not to think about those blurred lines. They still had two more weeks together before she set off to chase her dream, and he was intent on having her as often as he could before she left.
He cut through the water now and saw her, right where he’d asked her to meet him. She was little more than a speck on the shore, but he’d know the shape of her anywhere. As he came in closer, he lowered the throttle and coasted in.
Alyssa waded into the shallows. ‘It’s a lot bigger than I expected it would be.’
Dean snorted as he rose from the machine, took off his life jacket and jumped into the water beside her. ‘That’s what they all say.’
She rolled her eyes and whacked his shoulder. ‘Grow up, DoubleD, and give women everywhere a break.’
‘Oh, c’mon,’ he said, throwing his hands out wide, loving that they could so easily slip into this kind of banter. ‘Any guy who didn’t make that joke wouldn’t be half as much fun as I am, and then where would you be?’
As the jet ski bobbed on the water, Alyssa sidled up to it, giving it a closer inspection, and nodded, conceding. ‘True. I’m happy to put up with your juvenile innuendo because I’m determined to be shown a good time.’ She turned and gave him a cursory glance. ‘You’re good for that, at least.’
She said it as if she were throwing him a bone, but he refused to take the bait. Instead, he leered at her and delivered his next line with as much sleaze as he could muster. ‘Yeah, I am.’
‘Oh my god!’ She burst out laughing, giving up the charade. ‘You could do this all day, couldn’t you?’
‘Why, yes, Martin, I could. I’m renowned ’round these parts for my stamina.’
She threw her hands up in surrender. ‘Okay, I’m shutting up now.’
But the amusement in her eyes kept him going. Her laugh was like a drug.
‘I’m serious.’ He took a predatory step towards her, letting his eyes roam over her body. ‘If all you wanted was to be shown a good time, Alyssa, you should have just said so.’
She retreated as he advanced. Her eyes—now glinting with more than amusement—followed his every move. But it wasn’t until she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth that he knew just how much she was enjoying his pursuit.
When she surprised herself by accidentally bumping into the jet ski, he launched forward, caught her around the middle and swung her up into his arms. Her squeals and laughter rang through the air until he silenced her with a kiss. Then, tasting summer and happiness, he deepened it.
Running her hands over his shoulders, his neck, she pulled him closer, pressed her body against him, and her eagerness lit a fire inside him. Needing to touch her, he set her on her feet and slid his hands over her curves, her skin, the fabric of her bikini. But he wasn’t satisfied; he couldn’t get close enough. Ready to lay her down in the sand, he hauled her into his arms once more, growled when she stole her lips away.
‘The jet ski,’ she panted on a breath.
Drunk on delirium, Dean barely processed the meaning of her words, but he turned anyway, following the direction of her gaze, and caught sight of the jet ski drifting into deeper water.
Cursing, he sprang into action, dropping Alyssa to her feet before bounding away to retrieve the vessel. As he pulled it back to a manageable depth, Alyssa doubled over with laughter.
‘You should’ve seen how fast you jumped through the water. You looked like a cartoon character!’ Shaking with mirth, she wiped tears from her eyes.
Dean’s mouth twitched, but he feigned annoyance. ‘Are you done?’
Alyssa pressed her lips together, trying to control her laughter, but it still managed to bubble up from within her. She held up a hand. ‘Okay, okay, I’m done.’ She schlepped through the water towards him. ‘You know, if you’d been thinking with your head instead of another part of your anatomy, that wouldn’t have happened.’
