Everywhere and Every Way(19)

"Glamour or drama?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Probably both. My car is over there."

He looked to the right, where her convertible was parked in the lot.  Then to the left. The second impulse of the evening overtook him and he  made the offer. "Wanna see something no one knows about? Follow me."

Her brow arched. "Is it good?"

"Real good."

She hesitated, but her curiosity saved him. She followed his lead as he  walked down the main dock and cut through the edge of woods. "Watch your  step." The path was overgrown now, but he followed it by memory,  letting his instincts guide him as they grew farther away from the main  crowd. Darkness closed in on them, and the moonlight guided his way.

"This has creepy written all over it," she piped up. He held back a  branch so she could step around a wild bush. "Why am I disturbed you  have something to show me back here where no one can hear you scream?"

He laughed but pushed on. "A little further. Trust me."

"Said every serial killer on the planet."

"Here." Satisfaction rushed through him. It was exactly as he  remembered, even though it had been years since he hiked the trail. The  harbor spilled into a separate private watering hole, an oasis broken  from crowds or boats, with only the thick, shady trees to witness a  person's secrets. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful." She smiled, her gaze sweeping over the short dock  leading into the water. "Reminds me of a few places down South. There  was an isolated marsh area down by the Ashley River. My girlfriends and I  used to sneak out after dinner and meet there when it got dark."

Cal leaned against a moss-covered oak and crossed his ankles. A wistful  expression flickered over Morgan's face, as if she were reliving the  memories of her childhood. "Yeah, my brothers and I would hang here when  we wanted some alone time," he continued. "Sometimes we'd just lie on  our backs and watch the stars after a swim. Sometimes we'd sneak in  liquor and try to get girls to make out with us."

Her laugh was infectious. "I bet you did," she drawled. "Bet you did lots of bad things."

"Bet you didn't."

She stiffened. Her annoyed gaze snapped to his. "Excuse me? You don't know what I did or didn't do."

"Again, I have a feeling it was a lot of didn't." He threw up his hands  in defense. "Don't mean to insult you, princess. It's just obvious you  didn't cut loose a lot."

She gave a sexy growl. "Obvious how?"

Cal raked a gaze over her figure. Took in her cute little lace T-shirt,  white shorts, and Keds-like sneakers. "Look at you. You drink seltzer.  Your sneakers are so white, it's obvious you haven't walked anywhere  interesting. You wear pearls and diamonds on a daily basis and high  heels to relax. You're a prim, proper, polite Southern woman."

She straightened up to all of five foot three inches and stuck her  aristocratic nose in the air. "You don't get to judge me. I've done  plenty of bad things growing up and had a good time doing them."

"Like what?" he challenged.

"Excuse me?"

His lip twitched at her endless politeness. "Tell me one bad thing you've ever done."

Morgan blew out a breath and turned. "I have nothing to prove to you. I'm going home."

"One thing. Name me one thing, and I won't say another word."

She stopped and shot him an aggravated glare. "This is ridiculous."

"See, you can't do it."

"Fine. When I was seventeen years old, I snuck out of my bedroom to meet  a boy I liked. He was having a party, and my parents said I couldn't go  because there was no parental supervision, but I went anyway. Oh, and I  got drunk."

She seemed so excited by her confession, Cal couldn't laugh. "Did you hook up?"

"No. I found him kissing slutty Megan Davis. I still hate her."

"What'd you drink?"

"Wine coolers."         

     



 

He gave a disgusted humph. "You lose points for that, princess. Lame."

"You're not my judge and jury, Charming. Those things pack a punch."

He barked out a laugh. Damn, he loved her spitfire way under all those  neutrals. The quiet closed around them. The mugginess of the night  pressed down in a hot, invisible presence. Suddenly he wanted more.  Wanted to push and see what else was beyond the surface. "Ever go  skinny-dipping in that river of yours?" he asked lazily.

"No."

"A shame, really. Can't say you really did anything crazy until you can claim a good skinny-dip."

Morgan bristled. "There was never a good opportunity."

"There is now."

She stared at him. Suspicion glinted in her steely blue eyes. "You want to go skinny-dipping now?"

"Yep. Up for it?"

"No, thank you."

"Why? Can't swim?"

She looked at him like he was a bug she ached to crush. Damn, this was  fun. "I can swim. I just don't enjoy making a public spectacle of  myself. Call it a hang-up of mine."

He pushed himself away from the tree and stretched. She tried hard, but  he felt her gaze touch on his chest and drop a tad lower. She hated  being attracted to him, but it was there, a constant buzz between them  like an annoying gnat. "No one can find us out here," he said. "You're  perfectly safe. And it's hot as hell. A night swim will cool us off." He  toed off his shoes, enjoying the crisp feel of the grass under his  feet.

"Well, bless your heart. Why on earth would I want to skinny-dip with you?"

"Why not?" Cal tugged off his T-shirt and threw it on the ground. "I dare you."

She sputtered like a cat getting a bucket of water dumped on it. "Dare  me? Do you think I'm five years old? A juvenile dare isn't going to get  me out of my clothes, so I- What are you doing?"

He flicked open the button on his shorts and lowered the zipper. "Getting naked. I'm skinny-dipping."

She gulped for air. Even in the dark, he caught the red flush to her cheeks. "This is outrageous. I'm leaving."

He dropped his shorts. Kicked them away from his ankles. And stood  before her in his black briefs. His massive erection told the truth of  how their banter affected him. A little gasp broke from her lips as she  caught sight of him, but instead of being embarrassed, her reaction only  made him grow harder. Cal took a few steps forward, studying her still  figure with challenge.

"Just as I thought. You're afraid of letting go and having some fun.  When was the last time you did something crazy, just for the hell of it?  Live a little, princess."

Cal figured he'd dive in for a swim and she'd sulk on the sidelines.  Maybe even try to find her way home with her stubborn nature. He didn't  expect the sudden burst of outrage from her petite figure.

"You think you're the wild bad boy of the town, Caleb Pierce?" She went  on her tiptoes and got right in his face. "Think you're gonna shock my  poor little Southern heart by standing here, half-naked, with an  erection? Think I won't take your dare, Charming?" Her slow smile  glittered and stopped his heart. "Think again."

The earth shook a bit beneath his feet, but it was no earthquake. No,  this was all breathless anticipation and pure lust as Morgan Raines  tossed her silvery hair like a wild filly and accepted his challenge.

She bent down and untied her shoelaces, neatly stacking her sneakers  beside her. With graceful motions, her fingers slid in a no-nonsense way  and unbuttoned her little white blouse. She shrugged the fabric off and  Cal was slammed with a vision of full, ripe breasts barely constrained  in a delicate lace camisole. As his dick grew so hard, it was pure  discomfort, his vision hazed when she casually unbuttoned her white  linen capri pants and wriggled them over her full hips.

Holy mother of God.

She was gorgeous.

His gaze tried to take in all that pure white flesh and the way the  cream camisole skimmed over her body as if it were a wrapped treat,  every lush curve emphasized. His fingers itched to reach out and touch  her. His mouth ached to press against her pink lips. His body craved to  know hers like a song he wanted to learn from beginning to end and never  stop singing.

But she gave him no chance. With a wink, she pivoted on her bare heel  and ran straight for the water. Then launched herself through the air in  a perfect jump, sinking below the surface.

Holy shit. The woman had just taken off her clothes in front of him and  dove into the water. His Southern magnolia was really a hothouse rose,  and he loved every fucking moment.         

     



 

Cal took off and did a cannonball, spraying water everywhere. Her  laughter was witchlike, echoing in the wind like a siren call. With  economical strokes, she swam around him, finally flipping onto her back  to float, her silvery hair spread around her, palms open to the sky like  a sacrifice to the moon gods. He watched her in the beautiful silence  that spilled over the lake, and something odd shifted within.