She followed his sweeping gesture, taking in the tree-lined banks, the sounds of birdcalls, and the ever-present whisper of water.
“You can wear your bra and panties, and it’s no different from a bikini.”
She took a deep breath as she stalled. The idea of being naked bothered her less than the thought of swimming in moving water. “Don’t people around here have boats?”
“Sure they do,” he said. “But there’s a waterfall just upstream from here that keeps away anyone but extreme kayakers. The next easy put-in for a boat is about half a mile down. I used to come here to drink beer with my buddies when we were under-age. That reminds me, I forgot something.”
Julia watched him disappear back into the bushes before she walked to the edge of the rock and looked down. Near the shore, she could see the outlines of water-rounded stones, so it must be fairly shallow there. At the rock’s farthest jut, the water was as opaque as milk glass and ran swiftly.
She had trusted Paul on the motorcycle and look how great it had been. He would be with her in the water. Naked. That made up her mind. She toed off her green boots and sat down to yank off her socks.
He reappeared, dangling a plaid blanket in one hand and two long-necked beer bottles in the other. He scrambled down the bank to wedge the beers in a shallow spot in the water. “Mother Nature’s refrigerator,” he said before climbing onto the rock and snapping the blanket open to cover a section just behind her. “We’ll let the sun warm it up for afterward. The swim wasn’t in my original plan, so I didn’t bring towels.” He dropped down beside her to tug off one of his heavy boots. “I see you’re getting into the spirit of the occasion.”
“I thought about the fact that you’d be naked too.”
“When you say things like that, I have to kiss you.” He sank one hand into her hair and turned her head toward him, slanting his mouth across hers and tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue.
She twisted to grab at the muscle curving over his bare shoulder. His skin was warm and smooth, and she wanted to feel it against more than just her palm. She whimpered against his lips.
He sat back, and she could see his chest expand and contract with his quickened breath. “Have you ever made love in the water?”
She shook her head.
“Then I’ll be your first time,” he said, pulling a condom out of his jeans pocket and laying it on the stone.
She glanced down at the foil wrapper. “Will that stay on underwater?”
“With you in nothing but a smile, there’s not a chance it will float off.” He stood and stripped off his jeans and briefs before reaching down to pull her up beside him. “Let me give you a hand.”
He snagged the hem of her T-shirt and dragged it up over her head as she held up her arms. When his eyes alighted on the lacy white bra she wore underneath, they burned even hotter than before. “Maybe we’ll leave that on. It will look mighty sexy when it’s wet and clinging.”
He tossed the T-shirt on the blanket. Then he locked his eyes on hers and set to work on the button at the waist of her jeans. He slid one index finger down between the denim and her skin, making the muscles of her abdomen contract and a pool of heat start to glow low in her belly. He held her gaze as he maneuvered the button out of its hole and slowly dragged the zipper downward, his fingertips grazing the lace of her panties, lower and lower until he was nearly at the vee of her thighs. Her lips parted on something between a gasp and a sigh as he pressed a finger right there before he slipped her jeans down to her ankles. He held out his hand to steady her as she stepped out of them and stood, mesmerized by the slow scan of his silver eyes over her body.
Her gaze drifted down to his erection. Clearly he liked what he saw. “This way,” he said, scooping up the condom and turning as he laced his fingers with hers.
“Paul.” She stopped. “I just, well, I’m not a strong swimmer.”
He laughed. “Sweetheart, what we’re going to do doesn’t involve much in the way of swimming. We’ll stay in the shelter of the rock where the current’s weak, and I’ll keep you afloat.” He lifted her hand to his lips, his eyes glinting over her knuckles. “It’s in my best interest to make sure you don’t drown.”
She started in the direction he’d been leading. Now that Paul knew she needed watching, he’d take care of her.
“Let me go first,” he said, as they reached a series of ledges on the edge of the rock.
“Go right ahead. I’m enjoying the rear view,” she said, lifting her eyes from where she’d been ogling the play of muscle in his tight buttocks as he walked.