He moved a little closer to me. “Well, I understand you’re kind of a nervous swimmer,” he said. “And luckily, I used to be a swim instructor.”
I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. And I know all about how to help nervous swimmers.”
“How’s that?”
“You have to ease them into it,” he said. “Let them get used to the idea before they go in.”
“How?” I looked down. The ocean was right there, right off the dock. There were no pool steps to walk down, no sandy beach to help ease you into the water.
“Well, first we have to get you properly dressed.” He reached out, his finger grazing my collar bone, then moving down to trace the top of my tank top.
“I don’t have a bathing suit,” I said. But I already knew what he meant.
“I know.” The side of his mouth pulled up into that mischievous grin, and then his hands slid down my arms until they got to the bottom of my shirt. “Arm’s up,” he instructed.
I was under his spell. I knew I shouldn’t be doing it, but I was powerless to stop.
I raised my arms, saying a silent prayer of thanks that I was wearing a lacey black bra.
He pulled my tank top over my head and tossed it onto the dock next to his t-shirt.
Every cell of my body wanted to kiss him, and for a moment, I was sure he was going to kiss me. But then he turned away. “Next question.”
I’d completely forgotten we were playing that game. “Okay. “ I cocked my head, determined to make this one count. “How did you really break your stitches open?”
“I told you, I was sparring.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I want the real story.”
He sighed. “I got into a fight.”
“At the gym?”
He shook his head. “Outside the gym.”
“Why?”
He hesitated, like he didn’t know if he should tell me the truth. “Over something stupid.”
“Like?” I prodded. I could tell it was hard for him, but I wanted to know. If he was going to be taking my clothes off, then I had a right to push him a little bit.
“Like a jerk said some stuff that pissed me off. So I had to take his ass down.”
“Are you supposed to be doing that?” I asked. “Fighting outside the gym?”
“No.”
I reached up and gingerly touched underneath the line of his stitches. “Does it hurt?”
“Nah.”
But I knew it was a lie.
He turned to me. “Now your turn. Stand up.”
“How is getting me out of the water getting me ready for getting in the water?”
“Stand up,” he repeated.
I did.
He stood up too, then reached down and unbuttoned his shorts, kicking them off into a pile of khaki. He was wearing navy blue boxers, and his legs were strong and muscular.
He reached out and grabbed the waistband of my jeans. “You can’t go swimming in these,” he breathed into my neck.
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to protest, but I was afraid that if I did, he would listen.
He unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, then pulled them down my legs, kneeling on the dock. “Lift your foot,” he told me. “Now the other one.” He pulled them off until I was standing there in just my bra and panties.
I shivered.
I wasn’t cold.
In fact, I had never been so hot in my life.
“Don’t worry,” Justin said, moving close. “You’ll warm up.” He put his arms around me, until the bare skin of his chest was against mine. I felt like maybe I was going to explode.
“I’m not cold,” I whispered.
“Good.”
My head was against his shoulder, and so I couldn’t see his face.
“One more question,” he said. “And then we jump in.”
I thought about it. “Why did you come to my room tonight?” I asked. I held my breath. I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to say.
“Because I wanted to see you.”
“Why?”
“That’s two questions.”
“Please.”
“Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
I nodded, my head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me tighter.
“Ready?” he asked.
“No.”
“I’ll be right there with you.”
“It’ll be cold.”
“I’ll keep you warm.”
He pulled his body away from mine, and held onto my hand. “One… two…
three.”
We jumped. The water was shockingly cold, and when I resurfaced a second later, I was gasping.
“See?” Justin grinned, splashing me. “I told you it would be refreshing.”
He swam over to me and pulled me close to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Better?” he asked.
I nodded. It would have been the perfect time for him to kiss me, and for one amazing moment, I thought he was going to. But instead, he pushed me away and then swam a few strokes. “Come and get me,” he teased.
We splashed and played in the water for a while, chasing each other, ducking each other, our bodies twirling and moving in unison.
Eventually, my teeth were chattering so hard, that we had to get out.
We hoisted ourselves back onto the dock.
“We don’t have any towels,” I said.
“Be right back.”
He headed in the general direction of the hotel, and when he came back, he was holding two fluffy white towels. I looked at him incredulously.
“What?” he said defensively. “They said we could borrow them.”