Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“Kaden.” I looked down and pointed at the illustration of computer code peeking out from behind the kilt. “He works in cybersecurity.”
“He will always have work, in other words. That’s impressive.”
Yeah, Kaden was a good egg, when he wasn’t a dick. Same with Mav, really.
“No siblings for you?” I guessed. He hadn’t mentioned any, anyway.
He shook his head. “Just countless cousins on my mother’s side. Christmas is never a dull affair.”
I smiled. “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“Agreed.” He smiled a little, too, and went back to checking out my tats.
I threw a glance at the fire and wiped a hand over my forehead. Having a bit of light came at great cost, evidently. It was a little too hot in here for my liking. Italian summer nights weren’t chilly to begin with.
Adrien was also too hot for my liking. His body was almost golden in the glow of the fire. His thighs made me wanna sink my teeth into them. Good calf game too. He didn’t skip leg day. Unless he was one of those lucky fuckers with all the right genes. He didn’t actually strike me as one to clock many hours in a gym.
I slid my stare across his crotch and determined he was lucky in that department too. Damn. And his stomach and chest—just the right amount of padding hiding the strength underneath.
I scratched my ear and averted my gaze when I realized he was studying me from the corner of his eye. How obvious could I be? Christ.
“I’m gonna jump in before going to bed.” I nodded at the lake, then rose to my feet. “You stayin’ here, or…?”
He yawned and glanced out over the water. “Oh, I’m getting in too. You don’t know what it’s like to be restrained to a wall in…however many hundred degrees…and watch you swim around out there.”
I grinned sheepishly. Yeah, that couldn’t have been easy. Fuck.
“I feel really bad about that now,” I admitted.
“Don’t.” He gave me a firm look. “You did everything right, Crew.”
He wasn’t fucking helping when he said that. He was the victim here, and he was making me feel better.
We left the house together; he brought the blanket, and I brought the dishes and the soap.
My tiny-ass towel was plastered to a rock by the little beach, and it had hopefully dried now too.
I decided to clean the skillet and our utensils first, ’cause otherwise, it wouldn’t get done.
Meanwhile, Adrien removed his boxer briefs and walked right out into the water.
That ass…? Was fucking fine.
Whatever you do, don’t flirt with him, dude.
I scraped my teeth over my bottom lip and scrubbed the skillet clean at the water’s edge.
“The water’s perfect.”
Okay, all done. The skillet was clean-ish and ready for the last of the eggs tomorrow morning.
I kept my underwear on, for more than one reason. I wasn’t gonna be stupid. Also, unlike him, I could actually change. I would have to see if any of my clothes fit him tomorrow. I had one larger T-shirt that might be a decent fit, though my pants would probably be too tight on him.
Wait up. Now that I thought about it, I recalled seeing some of Ryan’s stuff upstairs. He should have clothes Adrien’s size.
When the water reached the tops of my thighs, I dove under and shivered. God, that felt so damn good.
The moonlight turned the sandy bottom almost white.
I sucked in a breath as I broke the surface again, and I ran a hand over my head, pushing my hair back.
“Jesus Christ,” I heard Adrien whisper.
“What?” I looked over at him and swam closer. “Did you step on a sharp rock? I almost sliced up my foot earlier, sort of where you’re standing now.” Other than that, the floor of the lake—at least here—was weirdly pristine. Some leaves and twigs, plenty of fish that were too small to consider eating, and fine sand. Perfect lake, if you asked me.
“No, I just…” He shook his head and moved a few feet closer to the beach. “I lost my filter for a second.”
Huh?
“Filter for what?” I swam to a stop in front of him and planted my feet in the sand.
He smiled a little ruefully. “Let it go, please.”
At the risk of being repetitive: huh?
I was missing something, and now I was curious. For chrissakes, I’d only guessed he’d stepped on a rock. Then he was talking about filters? Of course that intrigued me.
And hopeful.
“For future notice, if you want me to let something go, be dismissive, not vague. Or lie better.” I eyed his bandage and closed the distance between us. I touched the dressing carefully, then peered over his shoulder to look at the other one. No blood, that was a relief.
I didn’t wanna step back. I was evidently dumb enough to wanna cross the last lines—and smart enough to guess that this filter of his was about me. The air around us suddenly felt charged and heavy, and I looked down between us. The surface of the water teased his hips. His cock… I swallowed dryly. The moonlight provided just enough light to reveal his long and thick cock in the water.