The Hidden(29)

“Yeah, but–”

“Did you hear that?” Beth asked, looking in the direction of the water. “Sounds like someone’s calling my name. Coming!” she called out as she took off.

Awesome. Now Thomas and his “strong hands” would have to put sunscreen on me instead of Beth.

Damn her and her scheming ways…

I nodded towards the bottle in his hands. “If you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” I saw the little grin on his face before I turned my back to him.

I lifted my hair off my back and shoulders, waiting for him to start. I jumped when he finally touched me. “Oooh, that’s cold.” I shivered as goose bumps rose.

He chuckled. “Sorry.”

His hands were warm, though, and quickly heated the lotion. Damn, Beth was right. Thomas did have strong hands. They slid over my skin as he worked the lotion into me, rubbing my shoulders and back. I closed my eyes, lost in how good it felt, and thought it wasn’t that far off from what he’d felt like in my dream.

Oh, God, the dream…

A sudden deluge of images and feelings bombarded me, making me all hot and bothered. My heart rate increased as the muscles between my legs clenched.

As if Thomas had read my mind, his hands stilled on my shoulders, gripping me. I kept my eyes closed, knowing that opening them would ruin this little moment I probably shouldn’t be having, but wanted anyway.

Thomas stepped closer. I felt it, felt the heat emanating from his body as he stood so close to me. All my senses were heightened, like I was a live wire.

He released my shoulders and ran his fingertips down my arm, slowly, until he grazed my fingers. My heart pounded as his nose brushed my exposed neck, his other hand resting on my hip. His fingers laced through mine, squeezing me, as he clutched my side. I felt his breath on my neck before his lips met my skin, just under my ear.



Oh my god...



That was the kick in the pants I needed. I broke away and dropped my hair, grabbing my towel off the ground. I wrestled with an overwhelming urge to cover myself with it. “Thanks…for the sunscreen, I mean.” My voice waivered and I couldn’t look him in the eye for the life of me.

He cleared his throat. “No problem.”

I couldn’t get away fast enough and walked along the edge of the quarry, peering down to the water below as I tried to make my way to the shore. I still felt flames of embarrassment licking at me and realized Thomas was probably watching me.

Screw it, I’ll fucking swim to the shore.

I dropped my towel and leapt off the edge, diving in headfirst. I heard Thomas’s cries for me to stop too little, too late.





“Emily, no!” I dropped the bottle of sunscreen and took off after her, hesitating at the cliff to see where she landed.

A strip of jagged rocks sat along the bottom, under about six feet of shallow water before the bottom opened up to a depth of several hundred feet. There was a “No Diving” sign that had been knocked down a few weeks ago, but most locals knew not to dive off this particular cliff. Emily wouldn’t have known that, though, and I could kick myself for letting her get away from me.

Christ, what if she’s hurt?

My chest constricted as panic seized me. I had to get to her. Right the fuck now.

I saw a break in the water as bubbles floated to the surface, her limp body sinking down into the dark abyss.





Water splashed everywhere as I dove in. My head hit something hard and sharp, the pain immediate and intense. Gasping, I inhaled water as my eyes popped open. The lack of oxygen burned my chest as my body went slack. I sank deeper into the quarry, my eyelids growing heavy as I stared up at the bright watery surface.

I heard the warbled sound of water breaking before an arm grabbed my waist and pulled me up. We broke through the water’s surface in what seemed like only a second. I immediately coughed, spitting out water as I wheezed. My lungs felt like they were on fire as they breathed in the precious air they’d been denied.

My eyes squeezed shut as I gripped my slick arms around my savior’s neck, resting my head in the hollow of his throat. I knew without even looking that Thomas had been the one to save me.

He tightened his arms around me, his heart beating frantically against my chest. “You scared the shit out of me,” he breathed. Stroking my hair, he pressed his cheek to my head. “Don’t ever do that again, okay?”

I cracked my eyelids and nodded, trying to steady my breathing. My chest ached and my head throbbed. Our oddly intimate embrace wouldn’t register until later. Right now, I didn’t give a shit how tightly we clung to each other.

He carried me when we hit shallow water, and laid me down once on dry land. Squinting from the sun, I lifted my hand to shield my eyes when he leaned over me, blocking the light.