Page 26 of Vinny

He hesitated. “Are you sure?” Getting her agreement, he pulled out a thin rope from his pack and tied it around her slender waist. He left his hands on her for a moment, relishing the feel of her underneath his fingertips.

Moving into the river, they stepped carefully. The current swirled around their legs, terrifying her, but she refused to be a burden. The water was cold and she found her legs freezing as the depth was up to her hips. Suddenly slipping, she floundered before going underthe water. Strong arms quickly lifted her out and tried to still her flailing arms. Screaming, she clawed out, trying to grasp, not realizing that he was holding her above the water.

“Babe, stop,” he ordered. “I’ve got you.”

The panic continued as he half-carried, half-dragged her to the other side as she tried to climb her way up his body. Once out of the water he set her down on the ground watching in frustration as she gasped for air. Their clothes were soaked as well as the backpacks.

Kneeling down, he growled, “You wanna tell me what the hell that was back there?”

Peering up at him through a layer of wet hair, she said, “Oh Vinny, please don’t be mad. I was scared.”

“Scared of what, babe? The water barely came to your hips. The only danger of drowning was you having a fit and trying to climb up on top of me.”

Huge tears fell, mingling with the water droplets still falling from her hair. “I…I’m…scared…of…I don’t know how to…”

Rubbing his hand over his hair and to the back of his neck, he sighed. “Are you telling me you don’t know how to swim? And you’re afraid of the water?”

A small nod was her only response.

“Don’t you think that maybe you could have told me that before we got in?”

Another small nod.

Reaching over he slid his arms under hers and stood, lifting her with him. Holding her close, he pushed her sopping wet hair from her face. “Don’t cry. I’ve got you.”

Her next nod was against his chest and he felt thatone go straight to his heart. Lifting her chin with his fingers, he held her gaze. “But babe? As soon as we get out of this mess, I’m teaching you how to swim.”

A small smile curved her lips as she pulled back out of his arms. Looking down at their soaking clothes, she exclaimed, “Oh, no. The backpacks got wet. All your stuff is in there.”

“It’s all good,” he said calmly. Kneeling at the packs, he unzipped them showing her that everything was sealed in plastic bags. Looking up at her he winked, saying, “Always keep your gear safe.”

His gaze drug down her wet form, her light sweater molded to her perfect breasts. Chilled, her nipples had hardened to points, tantalizing through her bra. Desire flooded him and all he could think about was latching his mouth over those nipples, first while she was still dressed and then as he peeled her wet clothes off.

Willing his dick to behave once again, he closed his eyes and counted to ten. Feeling a small hand on his arm, he looked down at her concerned face.

“Are you okay? Are you still mad at me?”she asked, unshed tears hanging on her lashes.

“No, I’m not mad. But we’ve got to get out of these wet clothes,” he replied.And my case of blue balls may kill me,he thought, not remembering the last time he was hard and could not pound into a willing woman.

A blush rose from the top of her breasts. “Oh,” she said softly. Turning, she dug through the plastic bag to see what clothes he had managed to pack. Pulling out a dry pair of panties, yoga pants, and a t-shirt she stood, looking around nervously.

“Where do we change?”

Chuckling, he looked at her clutching her dry clothes in front of her like a shield. “Babe, there’s no dressing room here so it looks like we’ve gotta do what we need to right here,” he said yanking his tight t-shirt over his head.

Oh my God.She just stared at his naked muscular chest.I always thought those pictures in magazines were photo-shopped. Jesus, Lord have mercy.His arms were huge with a Celtic tattoo around his bicep. His broad shoulders and chest tapered to washboard abs with a smattering of chest hair. That led a trail to his…

“See something you like?” he rumbled, knowing that if she kept staring at him like that, he would not be able to hide the bulge in his jeans.

Her face flamed even redder as she whirled around, presenting her back to him. Her hand shook as she pulled her wet shirt over her head and reached for her dry t-shirt.

Vinny’s voice came from right behind her. “Babe, you’ve got to ditch the bra.”

Clutching her t-shirt to her chest, she said, “But I don’t have another one to put on.”

She heard a sigh before he continued, “Believe me, I know that. And swear to God, no one wants you covered up more than me. But a wet bra is going to chafe and you’ve got to let it dry before you put it back on.”

“Oh,” she murmured. She reached behind her and unclasped her bra, letting it slide to the ground as she put on her clean t-shirt. Glancing behind her to makesure he was turned away, she jerked off her wet jeans and panties, replacing them with dry ones.

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