“Come in with me.” Cole’s voice, low and seductive, moved over me like a caress.
Flutters in my chest and low in my belly had me gulping for breath. “I… don’t have a bathing suit.”
Cole’s arched look had me giggling. Still, it was a nervous giggle. Sure, we’d had sex for the first time a few hours ago, but he still had yet to see me completely naked. And I’d never gone skinny-dipping before.
“Besides,” I hedged with a shrug. “That water’s probably freezing.”
He gave a lazy shake of his head. “Once you’re in, the temp’s fine.”
“Fine? Not warm? Oh man. Now I know it’s freezing.”
His laugh was quiet, but it had me grinning. “You were always afraid of the cold.”
I shook my head in protest. “I’m not afraid. I just hate it!”
Laughing harder, he wrapped his hand around my ankle and gave it a gentle tug. “Just sit on the edge and dip your feet in. You’ll see.”
This suggestion didn’t seem too terrible, but I let go a frustrated sigh anyway. “Fine,” I said, lowering myself to the cool cement. I sat lotus-style first, marshalling my courage. “Jeez. This ledge is already freezing my butt. The water is going to be so much worse.”
Choking on his laughter, Cole edged closer to me. “I promise to warm your butt. Now put your feet into the water.” He closed a hand around the arch of my left foot and pulled it slowly toward him. Our eyes locked, and the laughter in his morphed to something molten and heavy. “Just trust me, Elise.”
We both knew he was talking about more than just the water, but I didn’t put up a fight as he lowered my leg — from toes to mid-calf — into the pool. I hissed at the cold, my abs pulling tight.
“Relax,” he coaxed, running his hands up and down my submerged limb, massaging it with steady pressure.
And, yeah, that felt good. Soon the only part of my lower leg still cold was the line where water met air.
I held my breath and offered him my right leg. He dipped it into the water, and while it was no warmer than before, I was ready for the shock.
“That’s it.” His voice was low and honeyed, and I wanted to move closer to it. I slid to the edge of the pool ledge, letting the water climb over my knees. Cole stepped between them, running his hands higher.
“C’mon, baby.” He wrapped his arms low around my back, and at his touch and his words, I took the plunge. The cold had me gasping, and I was shocked to discover that my feet found no purchase, save Cole’s sturdy legs. I flailed helplessly for a moment before he pulled me against him. I gripped his shoulders
“It’s deep here, but I’ve got you.”
Cole swam us closer to the shallow end, and I felt when his feet braced against the bottom.
I’d gone in up to my shoulders, and Cole’s shirt was now almost completely soaked. My teeth started chattering.
He studied me, a line forming between his brows. “You’re that cold?”
I nodded, knowing I couldn’t speak without stuttering.
“Get closer.” Releasing my waist, Cole hooked me under each knee and brought my legs around him. I moaned at the contact. The skin of his waist was deliciously warm. And then I felt the fever hot length of his erection press against my inner thigh. My sex clenched in response.
“Cole.” I sighed his name.
He wrapped his arms around me again, squeezing me tight. His lip met the hollow just below my earlobe. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
I closed my eyes, soaking in the feeling of weightlessness as I clung to him. I was still cold, but his body felt amazing.
“You’re still shivering,” he said, nuzzling my neck and rubbing his hands up and down my back. He lifted his head, narrowing his gaze at me. “It’s the shirt.”
“Wh-what?” I asked through chattering teeth.
“Yeah, the sleeves and back are soaked. They’re sticking out of the water, and it’s chilling you.”
I gave him my side-eye. “It sounds like you’re trying to get me to take the shirt off.”
