Page 30 of Stuck with the Hot Boss
‘Do you like swimming in the sea?’ he asked.
‘I don’t even like takingbaths,’ said Evie. ‘Being in water is icky.’
The pedalo rocked gently. There were plenty of rowboats and other pedallers out on the lake, but for some reason, they were all elsewhere. Apart from distant people on the shore, Leo and Evie were practically alone.
Leo said, ‘Can I kiss you again? I’m asking because I didn’t the last two times, and that’s not good manners.’
‘Of course,’ said Evie. ‘And thank you for asking. Just don’t rock this thing. I havenowish to become acquainted with the mud creatures.’
Their seats were separated by the large plastic curve that housed the paddle wheel. Leaning into each other required a challenging upper body twist. But when their mouths touched, any discomfort was obliterated by a rush of lust that caused both of them to gaze at each other in wonder, and resume kissing with such intensity that there was danger of a lake fire to rival Cuyahoga in Cleveland. Evie had no perception of anything outside her, only Leo’s spicy salty taste and smell, the heat trails of his hands on her skin, and his tongue exploring her mouth. From somewhere there came a sound of bees humming. Oh wait – that was her. Making a sound like horny bees. The humbegan to vibrate through her, and set every nerve ending pulsing harder and faster, until–
She grabbed Leo’s hand, and breathed, ‘Quick!’
To her eternal gratitude, he didn’t hesitate, slipping his hand up her shorts leg and pushing aside her knickers. One touch of his finger was all it took. Evie’s gasps caused a couple of nearby geese to honk and flap away. She floated back down to earth like a goose-down feather, to find Leo gently stroking her sweat-damp curls off her face and smiling at her.
‘I was going to make a joke about “oar-gasm”,’ he said. ‘But we’re in a pedalo.’
‘I’ve changed my mind about these things.’ Evie cupped his face, and he kissed the palm of her hand. ‘They’re a fun time after all.’
‘Shall we pedal back?’ said Leo. ‘And then – go to my place?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Evie. ‘How fast can this thing go?’
Leo pushed his feet on the pedals, paused and frowned.
‘What?’ said Evie, her mellow glow fading.
He pushed again at the pedals. ‘I think the mechanism is stuck. I can’t make it move.’
‘What?’
‘We might have to wade to shore,’ he told her.
‘Wade to shore,’ said Evie. ‘Through the water. On top of the mud creatures.’
‘The water will only come up to–’ Leo assessed her height. ‘Maybe your armpits?’
Evie spotted a tiny twitch of his mouth.
‘Oh, youshit,’ she said. ‘You’remessingwith me!’
She began to mock beat him. ‘You absolute and uttershite.’
‘Careful!’ Leo fending her off, laughing. ‘Don’t rock the pedalo!’
Evie stopped and settled for glaring. ‘That wasdespicable. You owe me twice now!’
‘Haven’t I paid back at leastonedebt?’ he enquired, with a smile. ‘I mean if it was enough to frighten the geese, it must have been pretty good.’
‘You get points off for evil-minded joke-pulling,’ Evie informed him. ‘And an extra deduction just now for arrogance.’
‘I’ll buy you an ice cream,’ Leo said, as he set the pedalo in motion.
‘Okay,’ said Evie. ‘But you only get points back if it has a Flake.’
Chapter Sixteen
‘Oh my.’
