When they reach the curves of my ass, he grabs tight handfuls, sending a jolt of electricity through me before he suddenly yanks me closer to him causing my legs to widen to accommodate his size between them. My pulse races in my ears at the sudden proximity of his solid frame pressed against my tits and despite the dryness in my throat, I refuse to crumble under his piercing gaze.
A faint, devilishly attractive smirk grows on his soft lips, and my gaze shifts to them before he slowly lowers his head between my thighs, never losing eye contact. All kinds of dirty thoughts flash through my mind as he edges closer to my core and when he is neck-deep in the water once again, he turns and lifts my thighs onto his shoulders. As he raises me, I place my hands in his soaked hair, now knowing exactly where this is going.
As we approach Lucy and Cody, I balance on his toned, broad shoulders, and he uses his hands to hold the tops of my thighs firmly. When I glance at Lucy, she smiles at me with a quirked brow as we get closer, then speaks with a mischievous grin on her lips when we are right in front of them.
“Oh, you're going down, Char.”
Chaos clutches my thighs a little tighter as if ordering me to stay confident, and I smirk.
“Yeah, we'll see bestie.”
When she laughs and throws her head back, I seize the opportunity to quickly snatch the tops of her arms, catching her off guard and startling her. She lifts her head forward, coming to her senses, and we start tugging and pulling on one another.
Without warning, I yank her to the side, and she screams while falling into the water, dragging Cody with her. Everyone around us starts cheering and Chaos taps the side of my ass with his hand in congratulations. Lucy glances at me with wide, shocked eyes once she has gathered herself.
“For a midget, you're fucking strong, Char!”
Chaos unexpectedly clutches me from beneath my arms just as I am about to laugh, and before I know it, he has launched me into the water. I shriek until my body hits the surface and I am submerged, at which point I realize I am sinking rapidly.
My lungs fill as I urgently struggle and paddle to reach the top because I am at the deepest end when suddenly, an unclear figure dives down to me and takes my arm, dragging me back up to safety.
As soon as my head emerges from the water, I gasp for air, oxygen flooding into my deprived lungs. Once I am pulled out of my traumatized state, I look up at Chaos, who has his arm wrapped securely around the bottom of my back, holding me close to his muscular body, but Lucy suddenly calls out to me from a distance.
“Charley, pull your top up!”
Laughter erupts through the air, and I glance down to find that my tits are completely out due to the impact. As I slip my bikini top back over my bare breasts, my cheeks flush with humiliation, and I take a quick peek at Chaos, who was watching me do it, of course. When his gloomy eyes reach mine, he raises an expressionless eyebrow, and I give him an uneasy smile before he turns his head to glare back at everyone and shouts furiously.
“Shut the fuck up!”
Everyone falls silent at his stern command, and when he is finished, he gazes down at me again before speaking quietly, his eyes wandering across my wet features.
“You could have said you can't fucking swim.”
My eyes scan his before I face away, remaining completely silent. I can feel him examining my side profile, but when he starts to move with me to the pool's edge, I cling onto him before he lifts and lowers me down onto it. He steps back from me, his warmth diminishing, and we maintain eye contact before he turns around and swims away. I observe him as he jumps out of the pool and continues until he reaches the house and is out of sight.
I release a long breath I hadn't realized I was holding before rising to my feet and returning to the sun loungers. Lucy rushes in my direction and takes a seat alongside me while everyone else seems to have returned to normalcy around us.
“Are you okay?”
I glance at her and nod, giving her a small smile.
“I'm perfectly fine.”
She nudges her upper arm into mine with a big smile.
“I think Chaos likes you.”
I roll my eyes but stay silent, completely aware that there is every possibility that Chaos is into me from the way he looks at me, but I won't admit that.
I lay there for a while with my eyes closed, lost in my thoughts, and soaking in the sun as everyone around me interacted with one another. When I suddenly feel a drop of water land on my stomach, I open my eyes to see a dark, ominous cloud looming above me indicating that a storm is brewing. As everyone rushes around to gather their stuff, I stand to collect my belongings as well.
Lightning starts to flash across the sky, followed by the distant rumble of thunder and the girls scream as soon as the rain begins to pour down, as if they hadn't been wet all day anyway, but I continue to grab everything without a care. This is one thing I have never been afraid of. Storms to me have always been calming.
The rain pelts down on me, and when I am done, I follow everyone inside. As we enter the mansion, I can't help but notice how different it looks from the night of the party and I find myself wondering whether maybe we could have been in a different part of the house, given its vast size. It's fucking outstanding, and I can't wrap my mind around it. The interior is impressive, decorated in bold black and gold giving a perfect balance of eerie yet luxurious.
I trail behind the line of wet people into the living room, and when everyone collapses on the large, dark couches, I settle nervously at the far end of one, close to Lucy while curiously taking in the opulent surroundings. For a while, I stare at the towering, rainy windows in a blur until it is completely dark outside, and a cold shudder rushes through me, prompting me to turn to Lucy.
“Do you happen to know where the bathroom is, Luce?”
