Because he wanted them to feel true.
He watched the reaction slide across my face, and instead of smirking, he softened. The smallest bit. Enough to confuse me again. Enough to make my pulse tangle with my breath.
Then he lifted the bikini top gently and tucked it behind him in the water.
“Fine,” he murmured. “Keep your kiss.”
Relief hit me so fast it nearly buckled me.
“But,” he added, voice silken and cruel all over again, “I’ll keep this for now. Think of it as collateral.”
“Riley!”
He grinned, wicked and triumphant. “Relax. I’ll give it back… eventually.”
And with that, he drifted backward, disappearing into the shadows cast by the pool’s edge, leaving me half submerged, half furious, and entirely aware that he was in control again.
Not because he took my bikini top.
But because he had made me fear, for one dangerous moment, that I might have given him the kiss if he had pushed a little harder.
For a beat, I stayed frozen in the water, heart thundering beneath the rippling surface like it was trying to break free. The night seemed to warp around me, the stars smearing, the torches flickering as if they, too, felt the sudden shift in energy.
He had taken my top.
And walked away.
Not far, just to the shadowed corner where the pool met the low stone wall, the water deeper there, darker, swallowing half his body. He leaned against the edge with casual arrogance, the stolen bikini top wrapped loosely around one of his fingers.
Waiting.
Watching.
Inviting.
Mocking.
My cheeks burned with humiliation, anger, and something more treacherous. Something that made the water feel too warm, my skin too tight.
I had two options.
Stay here and let him win.
Or follow him and… what? Fight him? Rip it from his hands?
My pulse answered for me.
I swam toward him.
Each stroke sent a shiver of cool water over my bare chest, reminding me exactly how exposed I was. The surface tension clung to my skin, making me hyperaware of every movement. I kept myself submerged to the collarbone, but he watched every inch that shifted beneath the water.
By the time I reached him, I was shaking. Not with fear, but fury so sharp it felt like a second heartbeat.
“Give. It. Back.” My voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.
He lifted his gaze from the water to my face, his expression unreadable for a moment. Too calm. Too composed.
Then he grinned.
