I definitely caught myself salivating at the sight of him. I didn’t watch porn, but the books I read provided enough imagery that I knew he was exactly what they described. And he was standing right in front of me. In living color.
“So,” I said, trying to sound casual and not at all affected by the water droplets running down his chest. “Did you find out who keyed your car?”
He shook his head, allowing the waves to carry him forward and treading water when it tried to take him further out to sea. “Nope. Not looking, either.”
“You’re not looking?” I repeated. “Colt, someone vandalized your car.”
“I know.” He moved closer to where I was standing, his feet finding purchase in the sand. “I’m not going to fix it, either.”
I blinked at him. “You’re going to just drive around with a keyed car?”
“It’ll remind me to stay focused,” he said simply. “Every time I see it, I’ll remember what’s at stake here. What I almost did to this place.”
“That’s very hardcore of you,” I said with a laugh.
He grinned. “I can be hardcore.”
“It’s probably some punk-ass kid trying to be cool anyway,” I added, splashing water at him lightly.
He shrugged, catching my wrist gently and pulling me slightly closer. “Whoever they are, I’ll shake their hand when this is all done.”
“You’re serious.”
“Completely.” His eyes held mine. I saw nothing but honesty there. “They were protecting their home. I can’t be mad about that. Even if their methods were questionable.”
I’d forgotten how much I loved the man. Yes, he was richer than God, or a close second, but he was good. He’d been good back in the day. Maybe he’d gotten a little sideways, but the man that had stolen my heart seven years ago was still in there.
“You’re going to make it really hard for me to keep my distance, you know that?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Good,” he said softly, his eyes locked on mine. “Because I don’t want you to keep your distance.”
A wave rolled in, lifting us both slightly, and I used the momentum to wrap my arms around his neck. I didn’t care who saw us. His strong arms wrapped around my waist, pressing his hard chest against me. Dammit. I was so gone for the man.
I didn’t want to move. Standing there in the water with his arms around me felt like the most natural thing in the world. Like we’d never been apart. I could almost pretend the last four years had been nothing but a bad dream I was finally waking up from.
I ducked under the water before he could see the full effect he had on me, swimming away from him in quick, powerful strokes. When I surfaced and turned back, he was already coming after me with that predatory look in his eyes that made my stomach flip.
“Oh no you don’t.” I laughed, trying to put more distance between us, but the water slowed me down.
He caught me around the waist, spinning me to face him. “Gotcha.”
“That’s cheating,” I protested, even as I wrapped my legs around his waist. “You’re taller. You can touch the bottom.”
“All’s fair,” he murmured, his mouth finding that spot just below my ear that made me shiver despite the heat of the day.
I tilted my head back, giving him better access, my fingers threading through his wet hair. “You’re terrible.”
“You keep saying that.” His lips moved along my jaw. “But you don’t seem to mind.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him. Water droplets clung to his eyelashes. His eyes were that impossible shade of green that haunted my dreams. I wanted to memorize every detail of this moment because I knew that’s all I would have left at the end of the summer.
Before I could overthink it, I kissed him. He made a sound of surprise that quickly turned into something else entirely. His grip tightened on me as he kissed me back with an intensity that made my toes curl.
A wave rolled in, larger than the others, and we both went under, still tangled together. We came up sputtering and laughing, salt water in our mouths and eyes.
“Okay, that was graceful,” I said, wiping water from my face.
He was grinning at me like I’d just given him the best present of his life. “Come here.”