Page 39 of Forever Wild
Our legs bump under the water and I go still, afraid I’m going tobump his bad knee. He doesn’t seem nearly as concerned about his own well-being as he continues holding me hostage. He’s basically all that’s keeping me from drowning since I’m no longer treading water.
“You’re going to regret that, old man.”
“Old man?” He barks out a laugh.
“I’m taking it easy on you.”
“Please don’t,” he says. The playfulness in his expression morphs and before my eyes he turns back into the serious, stoic guy I’m used to. His dark blue eyes swirl with some undecipherable emotion. His grip loosens and because I’m not kicking my legs, I start to sink.
He grabs a hold of me again, this time his hands go to my rib cage just under the band of my suit top. His long fingers slide around me and his palms flatten. My self-preservation has kicked back in and our legs tangle again as I tread water.
The top of my thigh wedges between his legs and rubs against his crotch. It happens so fast. A slight brush against his dick. Hisharddick. I think? I’m not usually confused by this kind of thing, but the contact is there and then gone so quickly that I’m not certain. Maybe he’s just really big.
My face flames hot, but curiosity gets the better of me. Mom always said it was the reason I got into so much trouble. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, but it was the reason she barely passed high school, or something like that.
His hands still hold me up and I reach forward to grab on to his shoulders. My breasts brush against his chest and I fit into the spot between his legs, once again making contact with his crotch.
I inhale sharply when I confirm my suspicion. His dick is hard.
He reads it on my face, my surprise, but he doesn’t back away or play like he’s embarrassed. So I do the only thing I can think of. I dunkhim under the water.
The next day, I show up at Jack’s at the same time. He works out on the patio and I lie by the pool. He has a laptop set up on an outdoor coffee table and every once in a while, he scowls at the screen.
I can’t seem to find the usual Zen of the sunshine today so I get up and walk over to him. He’s lying on a mat on his side, a band around his thighs. He lifts the top leg and then lowers. When I plop down in a chair next to his laptop, he glances over as if just seeing me.
Only after he finishes the exercise does he ask, “Need something?”
“No. Just bored.”
A notification sounds on his laptop. He glares at it.
“Yikes. What’d it do to you?”
“Nothing,” he grumbles. “My email is out of control.”
It dings again and I’m a little worried he’s going to toss it into the pool.
“It can’t be that bad.”
“Bad enough that James is threatening to come back early if I don’t start replying to some.”
“Doesn’t someone do that for you?”
“James responds to the things he can, but I’ve always handled my own schedule. I don’t want someone signing me up for events or making those calls for me.”
I fight a smile. Of course he doesn’t want to relinquish control. He is always the boss of everything. I like that about him, even if it is one of the reasons we butt heads so often. Jack has built an amazing career and he’s hands-on with every detail. Not only that but while juggling a career and businesses on the side, he still manages to be someonehis teammates, friends, and family can depend on to always be there. It’s impressive.
“What?” he asks, obviously reading something on my expression despite me trying to hide my amusement.
“Nothing.” I peek at the screen as another notification comes in. His email is up and my eyes widen when I see there are over nine hundred unread emails. Okay, so it can be that bad.
“Are you serious?”
He nods. “Unfortunately.”
I take the laptop and set it on the top of my legs. I realize only after the fact that this could be a huge invasion of privacy, but I’m already scanning the subject lines. Requests for interviews, invitations to parties, clubs, and one even has the word “Ball” in it. He’s being invited to a freaking masquerade ball, and the most exciting thing on my summer calendar is a night out at our favorite club with some friends from school. How different our lives are.
“How long have you been avoiding your inbox?” I glance up at him over the top of the screen.
