Page 24 of Immortal By Morning
“Yes. I see that has caught your attention,” Roberts said dryly, and then added, “Just do not try it in the pool. If you both pass out there, she will drown and all will be lost.”
“Pool?” Crispin asked with confusion. He knew there was one here, but had no idea why Roberts was bringing it up as if he might drag Abril there to romance her. Chlorine and cold water did not seem a seductive scenario to him.
“The pool may not be where you would prefer to begin your seduction, but since that is where Abril is, I fear you have little choice,” he said and pointed to the large screen of images from the security cameras that hung next to the television and said, “She apparently felt like taking a dip when she and Lilith got back from their walk.”
Crispin peered at the monitor, quickly zeroing in on the section showing the interior of the pool room. Abril, in a rather attractive, sleek black one-piece swimsuit, was tossing a towel onto a wicker couch as she passed it on the way to the pool.
“Perhaps it is better if you do not find the pool conducive to seduction,” Roberts said thoughtfully. “Maybe the cold water will clear your heads and the two of you will actually be able to hold a conversation.”
Crispin was silent as he watched Abril walk down the steps into the pool. His gaze followed every curve of her body as it slowly disappeared into the cover of the water. When she then dove under, submerging her whole body, Crispin stood abruptly, only to immediately freeze as he realized—“I do not have a swimsuit.”
“You could try au naturel,” Roberts suggested.
Crispin’s eyes widened. He felt himself harden even further at the suggestion and then he hurried from the kitchen. As he passed through the entry, he toed off one shoe and then the other. Leaving them there, he continued on past the indoor garden, removing his jacket and tie as he went. Both were lain over the end of the couch as he reached it. His shirt with all its buttons took a little longer to remove, but he did manage the task before reaching the end of the living room and the sliding doors that waited there. He tossed the shirt over the closest chair, and then opened the door and stepped out into the warm, sultry pool room.
That’s when Crispin realized he still had his socks on. Bracing one hand against the wall, he quickly removed them, folded them over, and set them just inside the door.
Straightening, Crispin closed the door, and reached for his belt as he turned back to the pool room. It was L shaped, jutting out from where he stood with a table and chairs and then a hot tub straight ahead, before turning left and stretching out that way where the pool was.
Crispin unbuckled and removed his belt, then set it over one of the chairs at the table. His hands went to the snap of his pants then, but he suddenly stopped. Going au naturel as Roberts had suggested just seemed one step too far. He worried Abril would think it was presumptuous of him.
He debated the issue briefly, and decided not to take any chances. He left his pants on, walked past the table and chairs, and around the corner. Crispin now stood beside a wicker couch that he could imagine putting to good use. But for now, Abril was in the pool aheadof him. She hadn’t noticed his presence yet. She was presently swimming away from him toward the opposite end of the pool. Crispin watched her for a minute, admiring her stroke, and then walked to the lip of the pool and dove in.
The water was surprisingly warm and silky as he moved through it. When Crispin surfaced, he found that Abril had stopped swimming and turned to face him in the water. He also saw the fear on her face just before recognition erased it and she relaxed in the water.
“Hi,” she said weakly.
“Hi,” he responded solemnly, and then added, “You should never swim alone. If you ran into difficulty there would be no one here to help you. You should always have a swim buddy.”
“Lilith is here,” she pointed out.
He glanced around, surprised to see the dog lying beside the pool watching them with interest.
“And she’s actually been trained to pull people out of the water if they get into trouble.”
Crispin didn’t hide his surprise as he glanced back to her. “Really?”
She smiled faintly, but nodded. “Gina lives alone. She wanted to swim in her pool without having to worry about there being someone with her. So, she took Lilith to a dog trainer and had him teach Lilith what to do in case somebody was drowning. How best to hold on to them to get them to the pool steps, and then how to pull them up the steps until their head was out of the water, and so on.”
Crispin shook his head with wonder as he eased a step closer to her in the water. “A dog as lifeguard. Amazing.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But dogs are smart animals, they use them in war to track people, detect explosives, and patrol, as well as for search and rescue. Then there are guide dogs, diabetic alert dogs, mobility assistance dogs, seizure response and alert dogs, medical service dogs...” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “Dogs are amazing animals. It’s no surprise they can act as lifeguards too.”
Crispin just stared at her. He was listening to her, but wasn’t really taking in what she was saying other than that she was giving a rousing speech about the awesomeness of dogs. Mostly, he was just watching her lips move and thinking he would like to kiss her.
Abril let her voice trail off as she became aware of the way he was staring at her. She managed to meet his intense gaze briefly, but then had to break the connection, and let her eyes drop to the water between them. She then blinked in surprise.
“Are you wearing your dress pants?” she asked with disbelief.
Crispin glanced down at himself, and then shrugged casually. “I do not have any swim trunks here.”
“Oh. Right.” Her gaze returned to his face again. It was only then that she realized he had moved a little closer. Ignoring that, she said, “What kind of material are they? They aren’t wool or something I hope, or the chlorinated water might ruin them.” And then her eyes widened. “You can’t sit in wet pants all night.”
“It will be fine,” he assured her.
“No,” she said at once, and decided, “We’ll have to put them in the dryer when we’re done swimming.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed, seeming suddenly amused.
