Once Upon A Half-Time 1(49)

Lachlan snorted, accidentally inhaled a mouthful of water, and unsuccessfully leapt again for me.

“Don’t underestimate my strength,” he said.

“It’s not about strength, Charming. This is all finesse.”

I cut under the water, circling wide before pinching his ass once more. He shouted and surged forward, cutting the distance between us with just the massive size of his body.

I squealed and kicked, splashing him to escape. It worked. I thrashed to the edge of the pool and hauled myself onto one of the giant boulders. The sun broke through the willow trees, and the light might have been the only reason Lachlan didn’t follow. He liked the natural spotlight on me.

“No fair,” he warned. “Fish out of water.”

I grinned, but my heart thudded hard in my chest. The sun grazed my skin, heating me, practically steaming off of me. Lachlan wasn’t even close, and already I burned for him.

Maybe we both liked the thrill of the chase?

I tight-rope walked over a fallen log bordering the pool. The thick trunk led through the drooping, blossoming branches of a willow tree. The cozy shelter hid me from Lachlan. Inside the branches, the light faded into a gentle blue haze. Something quiet and perfect. Totally romantic. I might have wished for my camera if I wasn’t so desperate to be seized by Lachlan.

I committed this secret hideaway to memory. The lapping river. The clean, pine scent of the woods. The hulking man swimming in the depths, waiting for the chance to grab me, take me under, roll in the ripples…

The waves splashed a little too rough against the rocks. Someone was trying to get out of the river. I knew he wouldn’t let me out of his sight for too long. I gauged the distance from my hidden lagoon to the deeper end of the pool and made my leap. I dove headfirst into the cool water.

But Lachlan was faster than I anticipated.

He wrapped me in his arms as I surfaced. I squealed, but he held me tight.

Close.

“Gotcha,” he whispered.

I shivered—a deep, promising tremor that clenched me deep. “Are you gonna kiss the girl?”

“I’ll do more than that.”

I parted my lips, and he overwhelmed me, quick and fierce. His tongue immediately flicked against mine. Nothing about this man had seemed possessive or demanding, not until I trapped myself in his arms and nearly surrendered to desire.

His body strained, and the corded strength of his muscles flexed under my hands. I shouldn’t have doubted him—it was adrenaline that surged through him when he seized me. Testosterone too. Something raw and animalistic that strengthened his grip and hardened his cock.

I melted into his arms. This game, the hunt, excited me too much.

But hadn’t I liked it? Hadn’t I been teasing and flirting and praying for this one moment when he’d capture me with no escape from his smile or touch or the fuzzy feelings that so dizzied my head?

He nipped, playful and hungry. He didn’t need to hold me. His charming grin ensnared me more than his arms.

What was I doing? Every minute I spent with him, every kiss I allowed, only encouraged him and his ridiculous plan. Making me fall in love with him in three dates? It was crazy. It was foolish.

And, if I wasn’t careful…it’d be working.

But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing?

The water rushed little deeper where we stood. My toes couldn’t graze the bottom, but Lachlan held me firm. I teased him with a flick of my tongue and pulled away from the kiss despite the ache for more of his touch, his words, his skilled lips. My daring smirk intrigued him. I slipped free of his arms, but I didn’t swim away.

I dipped below the surface and caressed the strong muscles of his legs. My fingertips nearly crashed him into the water.

If he liked that…

I reached for him, gripping a cock so thick and hard it was no wonder he was a slow swimmer. I wrapped my hand over the shaft and floated closer.

Even beneath the ripples, I heard his grateful profanity as I took his cock into my mouth. The water made it difficult, but nothing was would stop me from touching this man, teasing him with my tongue, drawing my lips along that hulking shaft.

What was it about him that made me do the craziest things?

The river’s touch was as gentle as mine. I teased him, using the warmth of my mouth and the chill of the water to harden him more. I surfaced after a minute and was rewarded by his deep-throated growl.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” His cock flexed hard in my hand.

“My secret.”

The real secret was that I didn’t know what I was doing, I only longed to hear his sultry groan every time the water struck him or a tug of his cock delighted him.

I’d never wanted to pleasure anyone else as much as I needed to please him. I longed to hear his gasp. To watch his body tremble. To feel how hard my touch made that amazingly thick cock.