Page 81 of Moonstruck at Midnight
William ran his fingers through his hair to pull back the loose strands stuck to his forehead.
Breathe.
I sunk my head into the water, hoping the lack of oxygen would help me forget about his charming face, perfect hair, rock-hard chest.Stop.
“Guille.” I heard him call me through the water.
“Guille, come on.” He pulled me out, and I slowly emerged, looking away. “Okay, something’s wrong. The last time I saw you smoking, you were having a terrible day, and you mentioned you never smoked. Is this related to the fact that you’d rather drown your phone instead of answering it?”
“Mhm.” I pushed my head back into the water to rinse my hair out of my face and walked to the pool’s steps. It was time to get out, and I was getting cold. These Swedish freaks probably thought the water temperature was perfectly warm for their Viking standards.
“I just want to know if you’re okay.” He insisted as I placed my foot on the first step.
I sighed deeply, slowly, without looking back at him, and muttered, “I was having the shittiest day until you arrived.”
Did I just say that out loud?Yup.NowI’mrattled.
I heard William settling his beer in silence. I caught him off guard. He wasn’t expectingthatas an answer. At least I’d entertain myself waiting while he browsed through his mind for a witty comeback.
But William had gone mute, so I took another step up the stairs. I was ready to walk out of the pool and call the guys to come and get me. I needed to leave.
William grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the water. He placed his hands around my waist and pressed the hard line of his body against mine. He licked his lips and kissed me. He had me pinned against the pool’s wall in a heartbeat.
I tried pushing his chest away from me—more than a few seconds later than I should have—but he didn’t move much, as expected. William groaned and launched at me again, grabbing my legs and wrapping them firmly around his waist. I cupped his cheeks with my hands as he released my hair from my hair tie and ran his fingers through my wet hair in a frenzy.
My mind was split in two—an ongoing battle. A part of me wanted to give myself into the moment and stay there forever. The other guilt-ridden part wanted to push him away as far as possible. Don’t underestimate guilt—it’s a powerful feeling.
I pulled my face back slightly and slapped him. He snorted and replied with a bright expression, “You know I love it when you do that, Guille.” He leaned in once again to kiss me. This time it was a softer, slower kiss—one I could not find the strength to pull away from.
His tongue brushed against mine, and I completely melted in his arms. My fingers ran through his wet, silk-smooth hair. He was utterly enjoying it. And so was I. But somehow, I managed to unlock my lips from his because I’mthatstupid.
We kept our foreheads pressed against each other—both panting. I understood now why no one had ever pulled away from him—from a kiss.
I didn’t care if he’d kissed a million girls before because if that had taught him how to kiss like that, then praise be.
But I was drunk and hurt. And that was the last thing I should’ve been doing. I couldn’t even think straight, but I wanted to keep going.
“I’m sorry.” I placed my hand on William’s chest instead, and he sighed with frustration.
“Don’t be. Do you know for how long I’ve wanted this?” he whispered back, stroking my cheek with his thumb.
“This was wrong. I’ve had too much to drink, and I shouldn’t have—” I fell silent mid-sentence, unable to express my guilt.
I had broken up with Thomas a minute ago. But what I said to William was true; as soon as he arrived, he brightened my day. He always did. The last few times I’ve been down, he somehow managed to be there for me. He always showed up.
“I’m sorry,” I said again. I unlocked myself from him and walked up the steps—he didn’t pull me back inside this time.
I hugged my upper arms as I walked to the table where Lily had left a couple of towels for us. Thankfully, she and Joel weren’t there anymore. It would’ve been embarrassing if they saw us kissing. But I needed a change of clothes.
I dried myself as much as I could before attempting to go inside, looking for Lily.
“Did he hurt you?” William asked from behind me. I turned around, and there he was, dripping wet in his boxer briefs. His skin glistened with the reflection of the lights coming in from the house, highlighting every single line of his perfect body.
“No,” I replied, too fast to sound convincing. I looked away and threw a towel at him. He needed to cover himself up for my own sake.
“You keep looking away,” he said to my back. “But you don’t have to.” I looked over my shoulder and he had wrapped the towel around his waist. I slowly turned around to face him—his gaze so intently directed at me. The sight of his body so close to mine overpowered my senses.
“Are you still together?” he asked, running a hand through his hair and down his neck.
