Page 20 of Owen

He’s a mere millimeter away from my lips, and his hot breath ghosts my skin. Every part of me wants him to kiss me. It’s been so long since I’ve been intimate with anyone.

This is the first night I’ve been out since I had Poppy, and it’s not exactly what I had planned, but I like how Owen makes me feel. I can’t explain why I feel drawn to him like a magnet. I can’t seem to pull myself away. Almost as if I’ve met or known him before. It’s a strange sensation in my chest that I can’t make sense of.

“Wanna do something reckless?” His hot-with-desire pupils dilate.

“Like what?” I ask.

The pad of his thumb dusts my lips. His touch is the spark needed to light the embers, allowing it to spread through my body like an out-of-control forest fire.

“This.” He loops his arms firmly around my waist, throwing me into the air at speed as he stands.

Alarmed, I shriek.

“Hold on.” Owen squeezes his arms around my waist, reassuring me that I’m safe with him.

I do as he says and lace my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips.

Without hesitation, he’s running in the pool’s direction, carrying me as if I’m as light as a helium balloon.

“Hold your breath,” he cries.

Oh shit.

5

JADE

“Noooo—” My voice dies in the air as we hit the warmer than expected water. Bubbles gargle in my ears, fizzing between the layers of our clothing on impact.

To gather my bearings, I ping open my eyes and I’m welcomed by Owen’s white smile, glowing in the underwater lights. He looks effortlessly gorgeous submerged in the water. He’s a beautiful sight. One I want to photograph mentally and save to my favorites for later.

He tilts his head up, instructing me to move upward, then he lets go of me, allowing us to reach the surface separately.

I gasp for breath like a dying fish, pushing my dripping wet hair off my face.

As soon as his head pops up, I flick water his way, splashing his face. “You’re an idiot,” I splutter, wiping my eyes.

His face falls. “So everyone keeps telling me.”

We move to the shallower end of the pool. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. A little warning would have been good, that’s all. And I’m wearing a new dress.” I push my uncooperative dress between my legs to stop it from floating to the surface.

“I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new one, and you could always take it off.” His voice is playful before he lowers himself into the water slightly, his mouth disappearing. My stomach ties in knots as the heat of his gaze burns my water-cooled skin.

“Is this what you call reckless?” I tease.

“Nope. This is.” He stands tall, smirks, and begins unbuttoning his shirt. “But a better way to describe it would be ‘throwing caution to the wind’.”

My mouth is instantly drier than the Sahara realizing that he wants us to skinny dip. “I’m not getting naked.”

He shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

I avert my gaze when he removes his shorts, and I hear him chuckle when I swim away from him.

A large splash from behind me prompts me to glance back over my shoulder, but all I can see is a puddle of clothes by the poolside alongside his sopping wet, expensive-looking designer white sneakers.

I stop swimming and search the area, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Where the hell did he go?

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