Page 151 of Tiger's Quest
He grinned mischievously. “You missed a spot.”
“Where?”
“Right here.”
He dabbed a giant blob of sunscreen on my nose and laughed.
I punched him and smiled. “You troublemaker!” I reached up to try and blend it in better.
“Here,” he said. “Let me.”
I let my hands drop down to my sides while his fingers lightly brushed the lotion over my nose and cheeks. The touch was friendly at first, but then his mood changed. He closed the distance between us. His golden eyes studied my face. I sucked in a deep breath and ran.
I took a few steps and cannonballed into the deep end of the pool, effectively splashing him and everything else nearby.
He laughed and dove in after me. I shrieked and swam underwater to the other side of the net. When I popped my head above water, I couldn’t see him. A hand grabbed my ankle and tugged me under. After I surfaced again, coughing and pushing the hair out of my eyes, Kishan sprung up next to me, flipped his hair back with a toss of his head, and laughed as I tried to shove him.
He didn’t budge, of course, so I splashed water at him instead, which turned into a water fight. It soon became painfully obvious that I was losing. His arms never seemed to tire, and when wave after wave of water drowned out my pathetic splashing, I called a time out.
He happily stopped the bombardment and, using his arms, pushed himself up and out of the pool to grab the volleyball. We started playing, and I was delighted to see that I’d finally found a game where I seemed to have an advantage.
After I spiked the ball for the third time, winning another point, Kishan asked, “Where did you learn to play? You’re pretty good!”
“I’ve never played in the water before, but I was decent at standard volleyball in high school. I almost joined the team, but that was the year my parents died. I wasn’t as interested in playing the next year, but it’s still my favorite game. I did okay at basketball too, but I was never tall enough to be competitive. Did you guys play sports?”
“We didn’t really have time for sports. We had competitions in archery, wrestling, and some games like Parcheesi, but no team sports.”
“Still, you can see I’m barely winning against you, even though you’re in the deep end and have never played before.”
Kishan grabbed the ball out of the air and fell into the water. When he surfaced, he was right across from me on the other side of the net. He lifted it and swam under. My feet were barely touching the bottom of the pool, leaving only my face above water. Our heads were at about the same level. He was still a good three feet away, and I narrowed my eyes wondering what he was up to. He watched me for a moment and smiled mischievously. I prepared for another water fight by raising my arms to splashing position.
Kishan was next to me in an instant. He snaked his arms around my waist, yanked me close, grinned roguishly, and said, “What can I say? I’m very competitive.” Then he kissed me.
I froze. Our lips were wet from the water. The chlorine taste was strong, and he didn’t move at first, so I could have been kissing the cool tile on the side of the pool for all I knew. But, then, he squeezed my waist, slid his hands up to caress my bare back, and tilted his head.
All of a sudden, the clean, wet, bleached out, non-kiss turned into a very real kiss from a very potent man who was very muchnotRen. Kishan’s lips warmed and moved against mine in a pleasant way. Pleasant enough that I forgot that I didn’twantto kiss him and felt myself responding. My hands stopped pushing against him, and I gripped his strong upper arms. His skin was smooth and warm from the sun.
He responded with enthusiasm, wrapping one arm around my waist to crush me against his chest, while his other hand slid up my bare back to cup the back of my head. For the briefest of moments, I let myself delight in his embrace. But then, I remembered, and instead of making me happy or blissful, as kisses should, it made me sad.
I broke off the kiss and drew slightly away. Kishan kept his arm around my waist and placed a finger under my chin, tilting my face so I’d look at him. He studied my expression quietly. My eyes filled with tears. One rolled down my cheek and dropped to his hand.
He smiled tenuously. “Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.”
He reluctantly let me go as I swam away to sit on a step of the pool.
“I never claimed to be an expert kisser, if that’s what you mean.”
“I’m not talking about the kiss.”
“Then what are you referring to?”
He didn’t say anything.
I spread my fingers and placed my hand on the surface of the water, letting it tickle my palm. Without looking at him, I asked quietly, “Have I ever given you a reason to hope for more?”
He sighed and swept his hair back ruefully. “No, but—”
“But what?”
