Page 44 of Riding the Line
‘Hey, that’s great. I’m proud of you, Cherry.’ My hands itch to touch her, even just a gentle squeeze of the shoulder, something to show her how much I care. But our bare, wet skin meeting is probably not ideal right now.
‘Thanks, I’m excited. And for you to move forward with the other bar, too,’ she adds with a wink. ‘Thanks for helping me with the list, I … I don’t know if I would’ve asked Fliss otherwise. But doing all of this,’ she gestures out to the pool ahead, ‘has made me feel better. More confident. You help me feel more alive, Duke.’
‘I …’ I pause to swallow back all the words that want to spill out.You’ve made me feel more alive since the moment you walked through the door of my bar over two years ago. I live for the holidays, when my life is graced by your dazzling joy again. Because when you’re not around, I’m like an old, crackling neon sign, struggling to keep alight, but you give me life, and I’ve never shone as bright as when I’m around you.‘I’m glad.’
Cherry huffs out a little laugh.
‘You know …’ she starts but then worries her lip. She tucks a wet lock of her hair behind her ear. Something almost molten burns in her eyes. ‘We could get three ticks tonight.’
I turn. ‘Sorry?’
Cherry pushes off from the wall, wading through thewater until she’s opposite me. Her dark hair spreads out around her like a blanket of midnight. The air becomes chillier.Heavier. ‘You said earlier that this ticked two things off the list. But we could tick off a third.’
I try to remember what else I’d seen written on the list.
But Cherry elaborates before I can get there, ‘Skinny-dipping.’
Gaze intertwined with mine, sparkling under the pool’s reflection, Cherry starts fiddling with her bikini top beneath the water.
Alarms blare in my head.
This is too dangerous.
Wyatt would kill you if he knew about this.
But I can’t move. I can’t speak.
Even though my bottom lip drops, nothing comes out.
Not even when Cherry drags the straps of her bikini over her arms unbearably slowly, making sure to keep everything below her shoulders under the water. The top floats up to the surface with a soft pop, hanging between us, daring me to glance down through the dark water at her bare chest. But I keep my focus on her unrelenting stare, one that seems to have darkened even more.
‘Cherry …’ I grind out through my tight jaw, wishing my blood wasn’t rushing down south as quickly as it is right now. My hands clench into fists by my side, heart clamouring against my chest.
It only takes a few seconds before her bikini bottoms join the top too. A daring curve of her mouth spreads out before her teeth tug on her bottom lip, exactly where I want to be biting right now.
I am in so much trouble.
‘Your turn,’ she purrs, a slight breathlessness to her voice.
‘Cherry,’ is all I can say again.
It’s the same word thrumming in my veins.
Cherry, Cherry, Cherry.
All my body wants right now.
‘I thought you wanted to help me. Don’t you want to make me feel better?Thiswould make me feel better.’
The little menace. I angle my jaw, narrowing my gaze at her. ‘You are not as innocent as you pretend to be.’
She shrugs, the movement bringing the tops of her tightened breasts out of the water, the wet curves glistening under the moonlight.
Pure torturewould be a better caption for her now.
Fine. If she wants to play this game, then let’s do it. Still holding Cherry’s stare, I tug down my trunks and throw them onto the poolside with a wet slap. She starts at the sound.
I exhale shakily. ‘Does this make you feel better?’
