I’d been caught. Fine. If he wanted to act like an arrogant ass, I’d play too. Slowly moving through the water, I got up close to him. The water was hitting me around my breasts while it was only hip level for him. Reaching up, I touched the tattoo around his collarbone. He held completely still, allowing my perusal. I wasn’t sure if I shocked him because I was touching him or if he was pacifying me. Trailing my finger from one side of his broad chest to the other, I reached his right shoulder. Adding a couple more fingers to the mix, I slowly allowed them to slink down to his elbow. My fingertips were on fire just from touching his beautifully shaded skin. Placing my hand under the bend of his arm, I lifted it so the artwork that decorated him was almost eye level to me.
I had started this quest initially in an attempt to make him as uncomfortable as he made me. I wanted to see him squirm. Instead, I found myself genuinely intrigued by the bright colors, the meanings behind the designs, and why he decided to brand his body. Having tattoos myself, I knew they meant something. Inspecting every little inked inch, I saw an octopus, flowers, a demon, and a koi fish similar to my own. I was about to put his arm up to make him twirl and make a smart ass comment, since I had only made myself uncomfortable, but something caught my eye. Hidden in the depths of the color were small raised marks. No, not just marks, they were scars. My eyes shifted to his, silently asking where they came from.
Timber cleared his throat and pulled his arm out of my grasp. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Not sure of what to make of his change in subject, I let him have this one. For whatever reason, he didn’t want to talk about it. I knew that if I pushed and asked him questions, it would only open it up for him to ask me questions that I’d never answer.
Turning my body so I faced away from him, I said, “Yeah, it’s perfect.”
Timber was standing off to the side of me, looking in the same direction I was. We stood there for so long that I knew I’d be all wrinkly when I got out. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, and I knew it was almost time for me to wander back in and head home. The wind was starting to pick up a bit, and the waves were becoming rougher, causing my body to sway. At one point, a strong swell pushed me into Timber’s front.
The feel of his skin on mine was, in one word, electrifying. A zap went straight through my heart. His hands came up and grabbed hold of my waist to steady me.
“Whoa, easy there.” I turned my head to look up at him. “Good thing I was standing here or you would have went under.”
I couldn’t say a thing in response. I just stared at him standing behind me, holding me up. I hadn’t realized that my mouth was open until he let go of my hip with one of his hands and brought it up to my chin. He used his finger to gently push my jaw to close my mouth. I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn’t in the least. My heart was beating so fast I swore that he’d see my pulse under the skin of my exposed neck. He was breathing heavier and I watched his eyes dart all over my face. We both seemed to be lost in some sort of hypnotic trance. His hand had come up and cupped the side of my face, and it was almost shocking how tender it felt. What was he doing to me? Just when I saw him leaning in, and I knew he was going to kiss me, a massive wave hit us both and we fell backwards, catching us off guard. Going under, he reached for me to help lift me out of the water. I had sucked in some water through my nose and it burned. He must have emerged from the surface first because he as he hauled me up, I came out sputtering and coughing.
“You okay?” He looked concerned.
I wiped my nose, my eyes watering. “Christ, that one took me by surprise.”
“You? I’m grown man and it took me down.” I could hear the amusement in his voice.
I gave him a small grin and turned to walk back up on shore. “Well, I’m not going to stand out here and wait for another one to pummel me. Besides, I’m starving. I need to head home and make myself some dinner.”
He was following right behind me. I was hoping that he wouldn’t mention whatever that was that just happened out there. I didn’t want to analyze it, and I didn’t want it to happen again. I think?
When we got back up to my towel, I reached down to grab it and wrapped it around my body. With the wind blowing, I felt myself shiver.
“Are you cold?” He started to step into me, but I took a step backwards.
“No, not really.” I looked down at my feet, not wanting to meet his eyes.
Timber frowned at my retreat. He ran his hand through his soaked, messy black hair. It was sticking up every which way, which caused a giggle to bubble up.