Her head lifts, her expression growing curious.
“What?”
“Into a swimsuit,” I clarify. “We’re going swimming.”
She stares at me like I’ve grown two heads.
“Au contraire, Mr. Vitale. I can’t swim.”
My lips twitch. “I’m aware. Which is why I’m going to teach you. Leo asked me to.”
“I’m not getting into that pool.”
“You are.”
She inhales gently, opens her mouth, then closes it.
“You can’t make me, Matteo,” she finally says.
“Wanna bet?” I grin.
She exhales sharply, pushing her chair back and getting to her feet. “I have no interest in learning how to swim.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” she mutters.
“I won’t let you lose control, princess,” I say calmly, holding her gaze. “I’ll be right by your side the whole time. This is just one of the many fears you’re going to conquer. All you have to do is trust me.”
She doesn’t respond immediately. Doesn’t look away. She just watches me for a couple of seconds.
“Fine,” she says finally. “If I drown, that’s on you.”
“You won’t.
She huffs under her breath as she turns away.
“You have twenty minutes to get your ass down here, Kitten.”
I’m already in the water when she comes out thirty minutes later. The pool is still, the surface barely shifting as I move through it, the cool water grounding me.
The soft sound of a door opening and faint steps announce her appearance. I turn around and find her standing at the edge of the pool. There’s a robe wrapped loosely around her, her hair is still slightly damp at the ends from the shower she took.
Her gaze finds mine. Steady. And there’s a bright smile on her face I hadn’t been expecting.
“I have a proposition,” she says.
I don’t move. “Do you?”
Her hands move downwards. She unties the robe she’s wearing slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. She lets it slip off her body and fall to the ground.
I suck in a sharp breath and the air changes. She’s wearing a black bikini that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Smooth, creamy skin on full display. Her tits are barely encased in the flimsy material of the top, and her ass practically spills out of the bottoms. My grip tightens slightly against the edge of the pool and the water suddenly feels too warm.
The edge of my vision darkens, everything narrowing onto her and only her. My cock twitches in my shorts, growing harder the longer I spend looking at her.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” I grit out.
“You like it?” She smiles, standing confidently while my eyes roam over every inch of her.
