The others were on the beach, but not snorkeling with us. Trinity wanted to investigate this, and I got the impression she hadn’t told them what this case was about. As soon as I saw what was on that flash drive, I set up crawlers to search for Trinity’s name and for anything that might be related to the possible pollution.
It was something that had the potential to be dangerous, but so far there were no pings anywhere to tell me that she’d alerted the wrong people.
I lifted the camera I’d rented, along with the waterproof casing, and slung it over my shoulder before lifting Trinity to carry her toward the little boat that would take us and far too many other passengers. Ideally, we’d be alone on the boat. Where I could fuck her until she screamed loud enough to scare the fish.
“Maybe we’ll see an octopus,” she said. “Probably not. They’re pretty shy. But that would be cool.”
“I thought we were going to snoop.”
“We are,” she said, “but I am a complex individual and I can do more than one thing at a time.”
I chuckled and moved us to the back of the boat, keeping Rin on my lap.
“Are you ever going to tell me what you werecheckingearlier this morning?” Her eyes were narrowed, like she was trying to read my mind.
“You want me to tell you here?”
Other passengers were filling the boat. Not close enough to be a part of the conversation, but close enough to be careful.
“It’s not going to stop bugging me, so yes.”
I ran a finger down the line of her bathing suit bottom where it rose high over her hip. “I will tell you on one condition.”
“What?”
“You are not allowed to be embarrassed.”
Trinity’s eyes widened, and I saw her swallow, but she nodded once. “Okay.”
“I knew I was going to buy you a bathing suit.” I leaned forward and lowered my tone. “I also knew I didn’t want it to be the most modest.”
She gave me the same look she’d given me when I handed it to her. It was a blend of ‘are you fucking kidding me?’, ‘I can’t believe you’re making me do this’, and the expression that told me she was aroused by my choosing her clothes and what way I wanted to show her off.
“So,” I continued, “I needed to know how wide the bathing suit needed to be to cover your pubic hair, and whether I would need to trim and or shave you.”
Trinity’s mouth dropped open in shock. Her cheeks turned bright red, and her scent soured immediately. “Hey. Remember what I said?”
The glossy shine in her eyes wasn’t what I wanted to see. She swallowed again. “How am I supposed tonotbe embarrassed by that?”
“Because I’m not doing it to shame you.” I kept my voice low, turning her face back toward mine while she tried to pull away. “I’m not telling you that you need to shave. Ilikeit.”
“Then why would?—”
“Because I didn’t want you to be self-conscious if I chose something with a thinner cut. And I find the idea of shaving you really hot.”
The boat—which was shaped like a pirate ship—pulled away from the dock.
Rin hadn’t said anything yet, but her scent was softening. She still sat on my lap. I didn’t push, letting her work through everything in her head. My Omega needed time to fully process things. Her first reactions were often instinctual and visceral, and I loved that because it was honest and a part of who she was. But in the aftermath, it took her time.
“You really don’t mind?”
“I don’t. And I volunteer to help with any maintenance because of my previous point. Honestly, I’ve never fully understood the aversion to body hair some men have. As if we don’t have hair everywhere too.”
The breeze picked up as the boat moved faster, the sound of the surf and wind disguising our words from everyone else. The hosts of the outing were circling with merchandise, and I already saw the drinks they were prepping for the rideback.
“I… shouldn’t have assumed it was something bad,” she said. “Sorry.”
I kissed the side of her head. “I understand. No apology needed. Just know that I will never intentionally humiliate you.”