Page 43 of Playing Pretend

She storms back toward the pool stairs, palming her cell before she reaches for the hem of her dress. She hikes the material over her head as she moves, dumping it on a nearby lounger.

Fuck. Me.

A two-piece has been hiding beneath that sundress. Black. Phenomenally sexy. Exceptionally revealing.

The triangles covering her tits have a spaghetti thin border that trails along her cleavage, accentuating those fucking gorgeous breasts. And the bottom half? Fuck my goddamn life, it’s nothing but a slip of material down the center held by three more tiny straps that cling around her hips.

I clutch at the towels draped over my neck, fighting the need to readjust my dick, second-guessing the smarts of getting in the pool alongside her.

The threat of my cock tenting my trunks gets me moving. Not even the unhealthy amount of alcohol in my system can dissuade that fucker’s enthusiasm.

I follow her path, dump the towels on top of her dress, then march myself into the water. “Slow down.” I attempt to catch up as she holds her cell above her head, wading into deeper territory.

There aren’t many people out here. A few kids bomb the deep end. One guy floats on his back ten yards away. Three women laugh and gossip near the stairs. A few more soak up the sun on the loungers, but apart from them and the people at the bar, the audience to Julian’s bullshit was minimal.

“Quit running from me.” I lunge, grabbing her hips beneath the water.

“Please stop telling me what to do,” she snaps over her shoulder. “I feel like enough of a child already.”

“You’re not a child.” I encourage her to turn toward me, meeting those sad eyes with a wince. “And I can’t help being protective. I hate seeing you this way.”

“Then let me go do my own thing so you don’t have to see it.” She walks backward, not rejecting my hold as she leads us toward a more isolated part of the pool.

“I’d prefer to help you forget.”

She gives a scorn-filled laugh. “Good luck with that.”

“You don’t think I’m capable?”

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t say it as a challenge, Rome.”

“Too bad. That response has already been provoked.”

She sighs, finally coming to rest against the far wall, the water lapping at her breasts and drenching the tips of her loose hair as she places her phone on the ledge behind her.

“Why would you let him get to you?” I keep my gaze locked in platonic territory even though my head screams at me to savor all the delights she has on display.

“I thought you were meant to be distracting me. So much for a challenge.”

“I’ll distract you when I’m good and ready. But first I want answers. Why would you allow him to convince you of something that’s not true?”

“I wish a fake kiss gave you the experience to make an informed opinion, but it doesn’t. In fact, you’ve contributed to cementing his statement by incessantly teasing me over my inability to handle sexual conversations. So not only am I cold in the bedroom, but I’m completely uncomfortable.”

“Discomfort is a given when your partner is a fucking chump. And regarding my teasing?” I lean closer, getting in her face. “I’m sorry if anything I’ve said has contributed to what you’ve been going through with him. I never would’ve—”

“I know.” She tilts her face away, staring across the length of the water. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“You’re not cold, Pip.”

“I appreciate the placation. But please stop. There’s nothing you can say that will fix this.”

“Then give me a chance to prove it without words.” I release her waist, raise my hands above the water to comb her wet hair behind her back.

Her chin hitches with the brush of my fingertips against her naked skin. In rejection or discomfort I’m not sure. The devil on my shoulder tells me to ignore it. The alcohol does, too.

“It’s not just our kiss this morning that has me convinced he’s wrong.” I inch my feet closer, bringing us toe to toe. Thigh to thigh. “You have a frequency. A vibration. I feel the heat of it all the time.”

“I’m not trying to be rude.” She keeps her gaze on the far side of the pool. “But couldn’t that be your syphilis flaring up?”

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