“This is nice, right?” I asked smiling down at her.
“Nice?” She raised a slender brow and narrowed her eyes. “Yeah sure. About as nice as a colonoscopy.”
“Aw, come on. There are advantages to being in the water, you know.”
Kami tilted her head to one side and asked, “Like what?”
“Well,” I replied with a lustful grin, picking her up and pulling her thighs around my hips. “We can do this.”
“Hmmm,” she smiled, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I guess this is nice.”
“And we can also do this.” I drew her closer to the hardness under my shorts and discreetly grinded into the soft flesh that was covered only by a thin strip of nylon.
“Mmmm, yeah,” she murmured breathlessly, pressing her face into my shoulder to hide the flush of her cheeks. “Nice.”
Still moving, I walked us deeper into the water, leaving kisses along her shoulders and neck. Kami reciprocated with little whimpers and sighs, too caught up in what our lower halves were doing to notice. I stopped just before the water hit our chests. I didn’t want to alarm her, plus I was damn near too hard to even walk.
“Blaine,” she whispered against my shoulder.
I let my hands slip under her bottoms and palmed her bare ass. “Yeah, babe?”
“Ah,” she moaned at the contact. “I know what you’re doing. I know you’re trying to distract me.”
“Is it working?”
She sucked my neck lightly before nipping my skin with her teeth, causing me to push myself into her softness even harder. “What do you think?”
“Shit,” I hissed. “Why does it feel like you’re the one trying to distract me?”
“Maybe I am,” she replied, looking up at me and smiling. “Maybe I really just want to get you home and show my gratitude.”
“Gratitude?”
“For this. For believing in me despite all my crazy. You’re a good man, Blaine. And I really am thankful for you, even if it doesn’t always seem like it.”
I flashed a crooked grin. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re falling for me, Miss Duvall?”
Kami rolled her eyes and shook her head, her pouty lips curved into a smile. I couldn’t help myself. Before she could protest, I was devouring those lips with uncontrollable hunger, kneading handfuls of her backside. Still, I couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t kiss her deep enough. I needed her. And by the way her nipples strained against her bikini top as she moaned into my mouth, she needed me too.
“As much as I want to get out of here at this very second,” I mumbled, between pecks. “If I don’t put you down, I’ll probably get arrested for concealing a deadly weapon.”
She giggled, though I could see the seriousness creep onto her face. “Hey,” I said, grasping her chin to look into her eyes. “I’m right here. I’m not gonna let you go, ok?”
“Ok,” she said just above a whisper.
I kissed her deeply before letting her body slide down mine. With the height difference, the water was at her breasts. Panic flashed across her face just as I wound my arms around her tightly.
“Blaine…” she panted.
“I got you, baby. I got you, and I’m not letting go. You’re safe. I’m never letting go, Kami.”
The feel of her heart hammering in her chest vibrated through mine as I squeezed her even tighter, hoping to still her trembling. Minutes ticked by before the tremors began to cease, and I slowly pulled her away to access her face. Even through terror stricken eyes, I could see the strength in Kami clawing to the surface. She was so incredibly resilient that I couldn’t help but be amazed by her.
“What I wouldn’t give to let you see yourself through my eyes. To see what I see. There is so much beauty and courage in you, Kam. See, your fears don’t own you. They don’t define who you are. You just made this lake your bitch. Do you see how fucking crazy that is? You’re a fighter, babe. You aren’t afraid. You aren’t crazy. You. Are. A. Fighter.”
Her eyes misted, making me believe that I had crossed some unseen line, but before I could console her, she crushed her lips to mine. “Thank you for giving me something to fight for,” she said when she pulled away, claiming my next breath. “Now about that show of gratitude... Take me home.”
More than just my chest swelled when I looked down into those gorgeous green eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
Fear #38
The unknown.
While most people would argue that the unknown would easily make the Top 10, it was what I knew, and what I experienced, that was much scarier.