Bad Boy’s Baby(60)

For three days, I had stewed in silence. In thirty minutes, he made me crack.

His laugh carried from the parlor.

That pecan pie was about to get shoved down his throat.

…Right after I tried a piece.





Chapter Ten - Zach





Shay fucking tormented me with that piece of string she called a bikini.

She wore a tiny, pink tease that hid everything good, perfect, and holy in this godforsaken world. I remembered what it concealed, but that memory needed a refresher.

Goddamn.

How was it legal for a woman that fucking beautiful to wear a bikini like that? Especially near a pool! Christ, everyone warned about not running near the water. How about no wet-dream inspired bikinis? A man didn’t need a head injury to drown. One glance at her curves strategically hidden under the pink scrap of material and he’d forget to breathe on land.

She did it to fuck with me.

And it worked.

I tried to exercise, but a hard-on didn’t streamline me under the water. Just the opposite. One look at the most beautiful woman on the planet, and the blood pooled too low. I bobbed like a fucking buoy instead of diving deep.

Again, she didn’t care. She flipped through her book, letting the sun warm her perfectly mocha, temptingly smooth, mouth-wateringly tasty body.

Christ. I needed to get these last laps done.

I was behind on my training, even with my recovery going well and my progress better than anyone expected. The pool was the only damn reason I stayed at the mansion. After a couple weeks training in the water, I’d pass peak condition and return to superhuman, where I belonged. Just in time for the medical waiver’s required physical.

But I couldn’t do a goddamned thing with Shay taunting me. She rolled onto her stomach in the sun—pushing that perfect ass into the air. She rested on the chaise, but I knew what she liked. She’d deny it, but I felt it. She wanted a kiss, spank, or aching thrust. I’d do it too, if I wasn’t so sure she’d drown me first.

I kicked off the wall and splashed her.

She ignored me. Like she had been doing for days.

Christ, I hated that.

No one ever ignored me. My smile always earned a favorable response from the ladies, and a punch to the temple focused an insurgent on my demands right quick.

I didn’t want Shay pissed at me. I thought we made strides. She wasn’t in my bed yet, but we had a breakthrough yesterday in the theater. She actually selected the movie I wanted to watch on Netflix.

Love was in the air.

Laps be damned. I could think of a much better form of exercise.

I swam up to the wall closest to her and crossed my arms over the warm cement.

“Shay.”

She didn’t bother turning. “I’m napping.”

“Why don’t you get in the water?”

“No.”

“It’s no fun sitting on the side.”

“It’s plenty fun.”

I doubted that. A little bikini like that was begging to get wet.

Along with other parts of her.

“Just dive in. You can sunbathe on a raft.”

“And you’ll tip me in?” Now she did peek at me, her eyebrow raising as she considered the lengths I’d go to touch her caramel skin. She had no idea how low I’d sink. “I’ll take my chances right here, thank you very much.”

She returned to her book. Like the conversation was done because the little princess decided it was over.

Nope.

I hauled myself out of the pool, shaking my head to clear the sudden muffle to my ears.

Waterlogged. Christ, I was out of practice.

I loomed over her chair—a ridiculously expensive, imported, island-style cushioned chaise. Completely impractical for pool-side shenanigans.

Shay was onto me. She kicked as I approached.

“Come on,” I teased. “You look like you’re done. Golden brown and delicious, just the way I like ‘em.”

“You did just not say that to me!”

I scooped her into my arms before she could untangle from her beach towel.

“Zach, don’t!” She flailed. “I swear to God—”

“Come on, Shay. The water’s fine…”

I edged closer to the pool. Her squirming did nothing to free her. She only ground the best parts of her into the most flattering parts of me. Shay smacked. I tightened my hold.

“Don’t! Zach! I will never forgive you!”

That was a given. She hadn’t forgiven me for fucking her brains out the night we met, and she wasn’t about to forget that I was named in her father’s will. I’d take my chances on earning her mercy before Judgement Day.

I jumped. She screamed.

We hit the water with an epic splash that would have gotten my ass laughed out of the SEALs. The heated pool was still cooler than the August air, and we submerged in a blitz of bubbles and churning water.

Shay flipped her fucking shit.

Her flailing elbow jutted into my stomach, and her leg nearly crushed a part of me already too swollen for effective swimming. She panicked with the grace of a flapping goose and shouted under the water.

I touched the bottom and kicked us to the surface. She sputtered, coughed, and twisted before wrapping her arms over my neck and shimmying up my body to get higher out of the pool.

“Holy shit, Shay. Can’t you swim?”

I ignored the flurry of profanity. I probably deserved it for nearly drowning the object of my affections.

“Easy, wait,” I said. “I gotcha.”

I wrapped my arms over her, pulling her closer and holding her firm, well above the water. She clutched me tighter, slamming her chest against mine.

I wasn’t about to complain. She could bitch all she wanted, at least she didn’t dare raise an arm to hit me.

“You are such an asshole!” She buried her head in my neck.

“I didn’t know you couldn’t swim.”

“What the hell possessed you to toss me in?”

“It looked fun.”

“Get me out of here.”

I grinned. “But we just got in.”

“Zach, come on.”

“I’ve got you. Nothing’s gonna happen. I’m trained in water rescue.”

“Who’s gonna save your ass though?”

“You’re not sinking. Enjoy it.”

Her nails tapped against my shoulder. “Nothing to enjoy.”

“You sure?”

I edged into water deep enough for me to stand. She hadn’t uncurled her legs from my waist. In a perfect world, she never would.

“Please take me to the stairs.”

“Take you on the stairs?” I glanced at the Mediterranean styled tile. A couple pool jets bubbled close to the ramp. “I’d never refuse a lady.”

“You are such a pervert.”

I was getting tired of being called that. “I said lady, not sister.”

“Zach!”

“You really don’t know how to swim?”

“No! Get me out of this deathtrap!”

I grinned. “You should learn. You never know when you’ll need that skill.”

“Like when an asshole drops me into a pool?”

“Exactly.”

I spun her around. She panicked like I tried to dunk her. My arms crossed over her tummy, and she arched, touching as much of my chest as she could fit against her back.

I liked it, but I wasn’t about to hold a woman hostage just to feel that perfect ass grind against my straining cock.

“Get used to the water,” I said. “I guarantee you’ll love it.”

I pushed her toward the wall. She couldn’t touch the bottom and freaked. I eased us through the ripples, holding tight so she didn’t kick an unfortunate area keeping us afloat. We reached the wall, and she grasped the edge like a cat shredding through curtains. I didn’t let her escape, only moved behind her and kept her still in the lapping water.

Pinned.

My arms stretched alongside hers, gripping the wall and trapping her between my bulk and the cement. She knew exactly what I was up to.

“This is a swimming lesson?” She asked.

I pressed against her. She didn’t buck me away. “Best I could do without floaties.”

“I’m going to drown, and I’m taking you with me.”

I laughed. “It’s all about getting comfortable in the water. Don’t worry. I won’t make you dive and tie military knots like they did for my training.”

I nudged closer. Her mocha skin glistened with droplets of water, and her delicate neck begged for a gentle kiss. But I was a gentleman. Shay was worth candle light. Roses. Champagne.

My gaze settled on the pool jet, positioned just right for a treat better than romance.

She deserved something more fun. Something that would reward her for not clawing my eyes out and tolerating the dunk into the pool.

I moved her along the wall, inch by inch. “If you give it a chance, you’ll love the water.”

“Doubt it.”

“Really? I always thought it was soothing.”

She snorted. “You like it so much? Why don’t you slip under the surface and take a deep breath?”

Oh, sure she wanted to kill me now. All part of the plan. In a few seconds, she’d be singing my praises. I chuckled and edged her a bit closer…

“Swimming is actually a very pleasurable experience.”

“So is kicking your lily ass—”

I nudged her in front of the jet. The bubbled force hit that perfect crest between her legs. Shay flinched so much she might have leapt out of the pool and taken half the water with her. I didn’t let her go. I held her against me. Hard. Her tummy pressed into the wall.