I bite my lip at the swimsuit. I’m running out of excuses. “Where am I supposed to change?”
He glances around and then shrugs off his cut. “See that tree over there? I’ll stand guard, hold this up and cover you.” Then he winks. “Promise I won’t look.”
My heart hammers. “No.”
“C’mon, baby girl. Don’t make me beg. You shy of me or something? You can’t be. I’m your big brother.”
That again. Did he not say he loved me like I loved him? Is that what he meant? Brotherly love?I laugh at myself for getting my hopes up.
“Please?” He steps closer, his voice dropping to that husky tone that turns smart girls dumb, and then he flashes his golden grin. “For me?”
How am I supposed to say no to that?
“Okay,” I breathe.
He holds up his cut like a curtain. My hands shake as I peel off my clothes. I glance at him over my shoulder. He’s not looking as he promised. At least, I never catch him looking. He’s pressing his lips on a smile as he stares heavenward. I slip into the bikini. It’s tighter than I expected, showing more skin than I’ve ever shown in my life.
“You done?” he asks.
“Y-yeah.”
He drops the cut, and I hide as much of my body as I can with my arms. “I’m cold, Shane. Can you give me the cut, please?”
“No way.” Gently, he moves my arms away. “Let me see ya, baby.” His eyes go wide. For a second, he just stares, his gaze traveling over every inch of me. Heat floods my cheeks.
“Fuck, Reagan.” His voice is rough. “You’re...perfect.”
I wrap my arms around myself again. “It’s too much. Look—”
“Don’t.” He catches my wrists, pulling my arms away again. “Don’t hide. You’re beautiful.”
My breath catches. “No, I’m not.”
“You are to me. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” He pulls out his phone. “Let me take a picture.”
“Shane, no!”
“Just one. For me. For my eyes only, to look at it when I miss you.” He’s already backing up, holding up the phone.
“You miss me?”
“All the time, baby girl.”
A smile takes over my flushing face. I pose awkwardly, not sure what to do with my hands. He takes several shots, grinning the whole time.
“Perfect,” he murmurs, looking at the screen. “Fucking perfect.”
Then he strips off his shirt, and I have to remind myself to breathe. I’ve seen him shirtless before, but never like this. Never this close. He takes off his jeans, too, without warning. My jaw drops, and I hide my gaze in the waves.
He laughs under his breath as he tucks away our things. Is he laughing at my shyness, at my innocence, at my scars? He lives with experienced women who must satisfy his needs more than I ever can. I don’t know anything about pleasing a man. I haven’t even seen a real dick before.
“Ready?” He holds out his hand.
“No.”
Suddenly, he lifts me and throws me over his shoulder caveman-style and runs. He giggles through my squeals, and then we hit the freezing water. I shriek the moment it touches my skin. Shane laughs, pulling me deeper. “You trust me?”
It’s the first time I ever feel like I can trust someone so blindly. I nod like an idiot.