Page 41 of Sterling Fight

“No line required,” he finishes his joke.

Then he hops off the dock and we plunge into the water.

16

[Judd]

I’d been raging with anger.

Then Genie revealed that sweet body of hers and teased me about pickup lines and it’s like someone released a filled balloon. The pressure squeaks out of me.

Genie shrieks as I hop off the dock and drop us into the lake. The sudden blast of frigid water is a shock to my system. One I relish.

Instantly, I calm, awash in the numbing relief of the crisp lake.

Just what the fuck was that with her mother?

Her mother’s tone and the damning words reminded me so much of my father. His cutting comments. His malicious intentions. Only a weak man keeps his children down, but it took me years to accept that truth. And I realize it doesn’t matter if you’re a pillar of the community or the town drunk; an asshole is an asshole.

I don’t want to let Genie out of my arms. As I’ve promised, I’ll never let anything happen to her. If we need to live in a cocoon of just one another and my home as a bubble to protect us, that’s what I’ll do for her. However, I don’t think Genie wants that kind of seclusion in her life.

I also don’t want to weigh her down beneath the water, so I release her.

She pushes herself upward, breaching through the surface, and I follow, hearing her laughing before she shoves water at me.

“It’s freezing,” she shrieks again, the tension from her mother’s words instantly washed away, as I’d hoped.

“It’s refreshing.” So are you. Her laugh. Her smile. The tease in her eyes.

She continues to shove water in my direction before I lunge forward and capture her wrist. Tugging her to me, our bodies collide. My bare chest against her covered breasts. Her bathing suit leaves nothing to the imagination, other than if her nipples are dusty rose or cinnamon brown. Does she taste like sweetness or is she spicy? She’s all subtle curves and soft edges, and I want to outline every dip and curl with my hands, and my mouth, and my teeth.

However, our swim is about distraction, not attraction. I want her out of her head and away from that bullshit her mother spewed on the phone.

Genie wraps an arm loosely around my neck. Our bodies continue to tap. Legs brush beneath the water. Hips knock together. Despite the cold, I’m hard as the planks on the dock, and any second Genie is going to discover how deeply my body craves hers.

“I don’t think I can stand here.” She giggles, skimming her other arm across the surface of the water.

“Try.” With my hands at her hips, I hold onto her as she lowers her body, feet reaching for the lake bottom.

When her head dips underneath the water, she quickly pops back up and spits. “Nope.”

“No worries. I’ve got you.” I’ll keep her safe. From her mother and any other person who wants to speak to her in such a condescending manner.

Genie glances around, taking in the budding greenery, and the silver glow of the lake water, rippling beneath the vibrant sunshine.

“I don’t see other docks. Where are the other houses?” She squints into the distance as if focusing will reveal hidden homes that don’t exist.

“There aren’t any. This is private property. The house. The woods. The pond. It’s all mine.”

“Pond?” she chuckles. “This is a lake.”

“It’s technically a pond,” I clarify of the spring-fed body of water.

“And all of this is yours?” She turns her head.

Our faces are so close, I could rub my nose against hers, or better yet, I could run it along her chin and down her neck. Inhale the perfume she wears that’s a strange combination of floral and spice, and completely intoxicating.

“All of it.” I hum, attempting to keep my arm loose around her lower back. My other hand is on her hip, keeping her lower half distant from mine.