Page 85 of Love Beyond the Illusion
“Burrr,” she says through chattering teeth when our bodies disconnect.
“I’ll get out first and grab your towel.” Placing both hands on the ground, I lift myself from the water. The wind picked up in the short time we were there, and now that it’s late afternoon, the temperature will quickly drop.
I grab the top towel from the stack on one of the bistro tables next to the pool, give myself a quick wipe down, and then grab one for her. “Come here.” I stand by the stairs.
With Piper’s arms stacked across her body, she walks to the open towel and into my waiting warmth. “Thank you,” her voice quakes with shivers.
The cool breeze whips at my bare back as my towel drops. “Let’s get inside.”
Piper nods, following close behind while we sprint the short distance back into our villa. I slam the sliding glass door, then turn to see Piper standing completely naked in the middle of the living room with her towel gone. We make eye contact, and she breaks into an explosive and unrestrained laugh. “I’m so fucking cold, but I’m so fucking alive and I love it.”
“Freezing to death?” I tease.
“It wasn’t my idea to swim today, was it?”
“I guess not. Oh shit, we left the champagne outside.”
Piper shakes her head. “That’s all you. I’m getting into the shower to warm up.”
“I’ll go get it.” I throw on one of my sweaters that was strewn across the back of the couch. I wrap the towel around my waist, run outside, and grab the bottle.
When I get back inside, I hear the faint sound of the shower running. She has the door open.An invitation?I think. I can be ready for round two, but I’m also hungry, and I’m sure she is too. I peek my head around the side of the door, warm steam hitting my face.
Piper’s blurry silhouette behind the misty shower door is tempting. I clear my throat, knowing that if I give in and join her, then I will barely have enough energy to get the job done.
We need sustenance. “What do you want for dinner?” I ask, elevating my voice over the rushing water.
Piper whips her hair around, then cracks the shower door, poking her head out. “Are you coming in?”
The stream pouring from inside creates an apron around her entirely delicious body. “How hot do you have that water?”
“Not hot enough.” She runs her fingers through her long, wet hair.Tempting.
I ball one of my fists, painfully biting it. “God, I want to climb in there with you so fucking bad, but we need to eat—well,Idefinitely need to eat.”
“Your choice,” she says, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t care what we have. Is there anything here we can cook?”
I nod, squeezing my eyes closed to get the image of her glistening, smooth curves from my mind. But it doesn’t help because she’s now permanently painted on the back of my eyelids. “I think we have the ingredients to make spaghetti. How does that sound?”
“Perfect.” She bats her eyes at me before closing the shower door. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Piper
Ileanagainstthetiled wall in the shower while the blazing water hits me. I feel light as a feather. Jack and I have grown close over the last month. Being forced to live together the last few weeks has accelerated that. Leaving was hard enough last time. I can only imagine how exponentially worse it will be now.How can I say goodbye to him?
I leave in two days, and despite knowing I’m going home, it doesn’t feel like my actualhomeanymore. I don’t necessarily feel like Dupara is either, but I’m starting to figure out that when people say that home isn’t really a place, it’s a person, I now understand what they’re referring to.
But that airy feeling of lust quickly dissipates when I remember that this is all for show. Love beyond the illusion of what we’ve created has become more real than I could have imagined.
The hot water cascades down my body as my eyes follow in the direction the droplets fall. I bend down, grab the shampoo, and lather my hair. Jack and I haven’t discussed what will happen next, and neither has mentioned another trip. I wonder if he’s assuming that everything is falling into place with Bradley Wines—he won’t need me anymore. Confusion rages in my heart like a hurricane. My anxiety is growing now that the hours trickle down to when I’ll have to walk away from Jack and everything that’s developing between us.
With the buyout, it makes sense that he wouldn’t need me anymore. I know that, but neither one of us has said it. The thought makes my stomach turn.
A delicious and savory smell floats over the top of the glass shower and right into my nose.He’s cooking.My stomach grumbles with hunger, so I vigorously rinse out the rest of the shampoo from my hair.
I walk out of the shower with a wide grin and the anticipation of doing something normal and mundane with him. I throw on a pair of matching plaid pajamas and head out.
