Surviving Broken(34)
It was too late to go for a jog, but the warm pool looked tempting. Placing her empty mug on the counter, she ambled toward the open sliding glass door. JC let out a little giggle. “You’d definitely be skinny dipping.”
She’d made it a habit of not swimming alone, but the calm water lured her in. “Screw it. What’s the worst that could happen? I’d fall and get a concussion. I could use the sleep.”
Cautiously, she scurried across the large white travertine tiles bordering the long rectangular pool, slick from ocean fog. The cool air felt exhilarating against her warm damp skin. Goosebumps skittered across her skin, stimulating her nipples into tight buds. JC untied the silk belt of her robe and tossed it over the chaise beside the pool. Steam rising from the surface of the warm water gently swirled in the light breeze, misting her nude body.
Loose strands of her long mane brushed against her breast as she bent slightly, dipping her toe into the warm water. Sinking her other foot onto the second step, JC halted.
Ripples in the water lapped against the edge of the pool.
Preparing for a mild earthquake, she held her arms straight out to the side for balance.
Perched on the step, she noticed movement in the water. A shadowy figure swam toward her under water. The dark silhouette of a man did a front summersault under water, pushing off the edge of the pool three feet beside where she stood immobilized on the steps. Without surfacing for air, he glided toward the opposite side of the pool.
The man emerged from the veil of steam, rising out of the water with his back to her. The loud release of his held breath echoed in the quiet night.
Her heart raced erratically, pounding in her ears. Time decelerated into fragments of slow terrifying moments. Her voice abandoned her.
The intruder stood in waist deep water, running his hands through his collar length hair, discarding excess water. A tattoo covered the left side of his heavily muscled back, starting from his hip and climbing up to the top of his shoulder.
She stood petrified. Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump rang in her ears. Her feet rooted to the step refusing to move on command.
“Help,” she screamed, but the cries were nearly inaudible.
The man stood erect and cocked his head. Turning slowly, he caught full view of JC standing at the edge of the pool, naked. He stared at her in disbelief, as if she were a dream, until she cried out for help again. Shaking his head into reality. He raised his hands in the air, holding them in front of his chest. “Oh, hell. It’s okay, ma’am.”
Panic hindered her escape. Her throat constricted and she couldn’t breathe or swallow.
The man placed his palms on the edge of the pool, swiftly hopping out of the water buck-ass naked.
“Holy shit,” she muttered, catching view of the massive size of the intruder. Her brain kicked into consciousness. Unsteady hands automatically covered her private parts, hiding them from his gape.
Though she covered her nudity, the trespasser seemed too flustered to do the same. JC’s pulse rampaged thunderously through her veins. Her mouth hung open as she stared at the tall big-framed silhouette of the naked man. The moon peaked out from the darkness, exposing the bearded shadow on his face and the damp hair clinging to his fit muscular body.
Time slowed, turning seconds into minutes. Every powerful muscle became visible in the moonlight as he bent over reaching for clothes lying in a pile next to the pool. “Oh, hell. I’m so sorry, ma’am.”
And then he was gone.
Just like that.
He jogged naked, streaking down the side of the house, scaling the block wall next to the driveway.
JC sucked in the air she’d been holding. Her knees buckled and she dropped to her bottom, crumpling beside the pool with her feet still dangling in the water. Dazed and frightened, she sat breathless for minutes, struggling for air and courage. When her feet finally decide to function, she hustled inside and locked the door behind her.
She locked and re-locked the doors three times, pacing back and forth, peering out the windows into the shadows. JC considered calling the police, but didn’t want the unwanted media blitz that would arrive alongside the authorities. After an hour, she dragged herself back to bed. Waiting for exhaustion to kick in, JC replayed the confrontation. Why was he in my pool? He didn’t try to attack me. She swallowed hard. Merely thinking about him made her heart start pounding again.
“Did he seriously just call me ma’am? Great! I almost got robbed by the bag-boy from the grocery store,” she grumbled cynically. “That guy was definitely not a boy.”
Succumbing to fatigue, she slept until sunrise only to wake at the end of a completely inappropriate dream about the imposing trespasser. She jolted straight up in bed, glancing around her room, making certain it was just a dream. “Maybe I should see a shrink.”