Next to her, Austin shrugged. “Go in your bra and panties. That’s pretty much a bathing suit, anyway.”
Just like that, her body reacted as if someone had cranked her internal arousal meter up to high. A man as sexy as this one wasn’t allowed to say the word panties. Because now she kept hearing variations of that sentence, specifically something along the lines of “I want to rip your panties off with my teeth, Marigold.”
Control yourself.
Mari tried to ignore her tingling nipples and aching core, a constant affliction over the past three days. She was attracted to Austin like nobody’s business, but they’d kept to their agreement thus far—friends only. And not even friends who flirted. Austin had indeed been a perfect gentleman, not once making a sexual remark or looking at her with lust in his eyes. If he hadn’t told her he was attracted to her, she never would have known it. The man was damn good at suppressing his attraction.
She, on the other hand, was having a tough time keeping her hormones in check. Every time he flashed her a crooked grin, she melted in a puddle of desire, and it was getting harder and harder to keep her hands off the man.
“Look, we have the place all to ourselves,” Austin commented.
Mari spotted a small pond up ahead. It was situated splat in the middle of a grassy clearing, with several enormous oak trees standing on one side of the water, offering a shady place to relax.
As Austin pulled off the road and parked the SUV, Mari glanced over at him. “Give me a minute. I want to at least change into a sports bra or something. The bra I’m wearing is white and paper-thin.”
For the first time in three days, Austin’s gaze actually dipped to her chest. Appreciation briefly darkened his green eyes before disappearing completely.
“Take your time,” he said gruffly. “I’ll meet you out there.”
After he hopped out of the car, Mari climbed into the backseat and unzipped her duffel bag. She rummaged around until she found a bright green sports bra, then checked the window to make sure nobody was around. All she saw was Austin’s back as he strode across the grass in faded jeans and a white tee that clung to his sweaty torso.
She quickly wiggled out of her bra without removing her tank top, replaced it with the sturdier sports garment, and was about to reach for the door handle when her breath caught in her lungs.
Several yards away, Austin had taken off his shirt.
Oh sweet Lord.
This was the first time she’d seen him shirtless, and she was so transfixed by his broad, golden chest that she forgot how to breathe. Every last muscle of his chest was sleek and defined, and not in a gross bodybuilder way but in a lean, sexy way. Roped biceps, tight six-pack, hard pecs—and holy shit, he was taking his pants off now.
Mari sucked in a breath, her mouth promptly flooding with saliva as Austin dropped his jeans to reveal a pair of long, muscular legs and a tight backside hugged by a pair of blue boxer-briefs. He was too far away for her to make out particular details, and she suddenly wished she had a zoom lens so she could check out the size of his—
Just friends!
God, she really needed to quit drooling over the guy. Friends shouldn’t be interested in the size of their friends’ packages, for Pete’s sake.
Silently chastising herself for acting so pervy, she grabbed a thin red towel from her duffel, then hopped out of the car and headed for the pond.
She reached the grassy, rock-strewn bank just in time to see Austin’s dark head disappear under the murky, greenish-blue water. Mari wasted no time in stripping out of her shorts and T-shirt, and then she was wading into the pond in her green bra and completely mismatched pink panties.
The water was warm, but at least it was cooler than the sweltering air. Three feet in, it started to get deeper, and she submerged herself completely. She swam underwater for a yard or two, then popped her head out.
And squealed in surprise when she got splashed in the face.
“Hey!” she sputtered, spitting water. “That is not gentlemanly behavior!”
He was treading water two feet away, his dark hair plastered to his head and his handsome face boasting a devilish grin. “Don’t care.” And then he splashed her again and took off swimming.
She chased after him, but he was way too fast of a swimmer and she couldn’t catch up to him so eventually she gave up and floated on her back instead. Overhead, the sun’s rays beat down on her, instantly drying the droplets clinging to her face. She was suddenly grateful that Austin had decided to take this detour. The swim had succeeded in cooling her down and snapping her out of her lethargic state.
She and Austin swam separately for a while, but soon he made his way back to her and they ended up floating together, their gazes tilted up at the sky.
“This is fun,” he said in a husky voice.
Mari smiled. “It totally is. I’m glad we stopped.”