Page 108 of Run to Me

Tatum adds her very loud opinion on the subject. “He’s happy because of Maisy’s magic sauce.”

Clementine and Gina giggle at her innuendo, but I lose my opportunity to make a snappy comeback when Javi yells, “Ice cream!”

Jake, Rock, and Brody race out of the water like they spotted a shark, and Trevor acts as pool attendant, passing a folded towel to each swimmer.

Meanwhile, the ladies gawk at the man lifting himself out of the pool like he’s in a slow-motion movie scene. All we need is a sexy soundtrack as we drool over the bearded, tanned, tattooed eye candy. From his veiny forearms to his defined abs to his sculpted chest, Jensen’s muscles pop with each movement. He lands in a squat, and his thighs bulge against the hem of his black swim trunks. He rises to his full height and shakes his head, slinging water droplets in all directions. The hand raking through the wet strands, causing his biceps to flex, is what draws several appreciative sighs from our group, including one from me.

“Goddess, have mercy.” Gina attempts to whisper, but her words reach my end of the row, and I bark a laugh. She leans forward to address me. “I’m married, not blind.”

I’m not a jealous person, so I return her blushing grin with a knowing smirk and say, “Nobody, man or woman, would be blind to that.”

As if on cue, and proving my point, all the husbands rush to their wives with bowls of ice cream in hand. We laugh at their obvious efforts to divert the women’s attention away from the bad boy prowling my way.

Rock scoops up Lucy and places her in his lap to spoon-feed her. It blows my mind how over-the-top he is with her when he never showed interest in girls as a teenager. She loves every second of his possessive, doting behavior.

Jensen crawls onto the end of my lounger, stopping on all fours with his knees caging my legs. “Did you enjoy the show?” he whispers in my ear.

Using one finger, I slide the sunglasses up my nose. “Maybe. Five out of ten, if I’m honest.”

“Bullshit.” Water drips from his beard to my neck. He darts his tongue out to lick me, and I fight back a shiver. “Your little see-through skirt hides nothing, birdie. Wrap yourself in a towel if you walk around again.”

When he asked me at the last minute to join him for a swim party, I grabbed the first bathing suit I could find. My cheeky bikini bottoms expose half my butt, perfect attire for an exotic beach but wholly inappropriate for a backyard swim among friends in Walford.

Despite agreeing with him, I bristle at his command. He can be bossy in the bedroom, but I’m my own woman everywhere else. “If you would’ve given me more notice, I would’ve found my one-piece suit. I’ll use a towel, but not because you’re ordering me to.”

“I’m only trying to prevent two inappropriate displays. Like the one currently in my pants because your tits look amazing in that skimpy top. If we were alone, I’d lather you with that coconut tanning oil, slide my dick between them, and play with your nipples.”

“Go away,” I hiss, darting my eyes around to see if anyone’s paying attention to us.

Turns out, everyone’s looking because we’re the new couple, and they’re intrigued by our pairing. None of our friends saw our relationship coming aside from Javi.

“I can’t,” Jensen says earnestly.

“Why not?”

Still on his hands and knees, he drops his gaze to his shorts. Rock and Lucy, nearest to us, grunt and giggle, respectively. Jake whistles low, proving he also heard our conversation. Tatum’s clueless, shoveling ice cream down her throat, as are the two couples at the opposite end.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whisper-yell at Jensen.

I assumed he was joking seconds ago when he mentioned the situation in his shorts. My cheeks heat, flustered from being the source of entertainment for everyone and by his predicament. Believe me, it’s no small predicament.

“It’s your fault for being hot as sin.”

“Fix this,” I say, gritting my teeth.

“Scoot forward and let me sit behind you.”

“I doubt that will improve your situation,” Trevor quips from the foot of Gina’s chair, which is four lounge chairs away from mine.

Everyone’s holding in their laughter, close to erupting. I hide my face in my hands. Death by embarrassment is imminent.

His lips at my ear again, Jensen whispers, “I can stand up and let these ladies see what I’m packing, or I can slide in behind you. Your choice.”

I scoot forward. As I do, I wonder if I’m the only one who notices Brody floating on a raft in the pool, eating his ice cream alone.

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MAISY