Page 43 of What I Like About You

Chapter Fifteen

“Hey man,”Kyle said, turning to him as he ascended the few steps up to the captain’s perch. “I got this. You go have fun with your girl.”

While it wasn’t written specifically in the resort’s policy which member of the staff had to stay on the boat during excursions, Dalton couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been the one to take on that role. Not that he minded, especially since Kyle really only got in the water these days if Drea was with them, and he knew these trips to Turtle Cove were special for them. So Kyle’s words caught him a little off guard. He opened his mouth to protest, but the look Kyle gave him told him not to bother.

Then he caught a glimpse of Zara standing by the railing toward the front of the boat, pulling her swimsuit cover over her head, and it was as if the world stopped. The navy sheath swimsuit with red polka dots hugged every curve like a second skin. All the blood in his body rushed straight to his dick as he took her in, looking like a vision straight out of the 1950s. Watching her turn away from him to put her cover-up into her tote bag, he had to remind himself that this was not the time and place to take a bite out of that incredible heart-shaped ass of hers. That would be for later. Or so he hoped.

“I hope that’s a double knot tied behind your neck,” he whispered in her ear as he came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her midsection. Lowering his eyes to glance down her front, he couldn’t help but smile as he drank in her ample cleavage. He hadn’t been joking last night when he told her that her breasts were perfect. Standing here now, watching as they sat nestled in the sweetheart neckline of her swimsuit, straining against the fabric, he was incredibly tempted to just tug on the tie at the nape of her neck and free them.

“Always,” she responded, as if she knew what he was thinking. He could almost hear her roll her eyes. “So don’t you dare go getting any ideas. I don’t need to put on a show.”

“As tempting as it is, Zara, I wouldn't do that to you,” he answered softly, pressing a light kiss where her neck and shoulder met. “Not only because I know how uncomfortable it makes you, but more than that, that's a view that belongs to me, and me alone. And I have zero intention of sharing.”

He felt her inhale deeply and lean into him. It felt so good to have her trust him like this. And he hoped that with what he was about to do, that trust would hold. Even ignoring the time they were out of touch, it’d been years since he’d done this, and he hoped that she would find the throwback to their childhood as fun as he did. Suddenly squatting down and scooping her up into his arms, he quickly pivoted and tossed her into the crystal-blue water. Not waiting for her to surface and scream at him, he rid himself of his T-shirt and shoes and leapt over the railing, tucking into a cannonball as he hit the water.

The water was cool initially, but his body quickly adjusted, and by the time he reached the surface he no longer felt the chill. Shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes, he twisted his body to turn in the direction he expected to find Zara, only to be met with a splash of water to the face.

“What was that for?” he asked, laughing, wiping his eyes.

The incredulous look on Zara’s face was just playful enough that he knew he wasn’t in too much trouble, but he reached to pull her in close anyway, hoping his touch would soothe the irritation.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“It was faster than listening to you hem and haw about the water being chilly,” he replied with a smirk. He pulled her into him fully, moving his hands down to her ass and guiding her legs around his waist. He reveled in the feel of her gloriously large breasts pushing up against his chest as she wound her arms around his neck. The feel of her wrapped around him like this was incredible, and he didn’t want to waste a single second.

“Careful,” she warned, sounding almost a little embarrassed.

“What?”

“There are other guests. People will see.”

“See what? Me holding my girl?”

Dalton saw her shrink into herself a little when he said “my girl,” and he wondered if she was simply being bashful at the moniker or if she was really embarrassed by his gesture. She glanced up to meet his eyes, and the emotion he saw there confirmed that it was definitely the former. While he preferred that over her being embarrassed by his actions, he still wanted to make sure that the only kind of butterflies he gave her were the good ones.

“Yes,” she whispered in response.

“Good, I hope they do,” he replied with a curt nod of his head before leaning in to whisper, “I also hope they see me do this.”

Tilting his head slightly, his lips found her in a sweet, gentle kiss. Her lips tasted slightly of salt water, yet were still as delicious as they had been last night and the night before that. Her arms tightened around his neck ever so slightly, and Dalton took this as a sign to keep kissing her. Not that he really needed an excuse to continue getting lost in her mouth like this. The sun was shining, the water was just the right temperature, and Zara Wellington was in his arms.

This might just be the perfect moment.

“Hey, you two!” Dalton heard Kyle’s voice call out. Hesitantly breaking the kiss, Dalton turned slowly to find his best friend standing at the railing of the Brown Eyed Girl. “Whenever you decide to come up for air, you might consider that you forgot snorkel gear!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Dalton replied sarcastically, flipping Kyle off in the process. His single-finger salute was met in kind with another roaring laugh from Kyle.

“Oh my God! See, that’s what I was talking about!”

“Zara, he’s my best friend. Of course he’s gonna give me shit. In fact, I’m surprised that’s all I got considering all the teasing I’ve done about him and Drea,” he told her. “But let’s go get you some flippers so I can take you to see the turtles.”

They swam back over to the front of the boat where the ladder came down for guests to get in and out. Dalton motioned for her to sit on a step, as Kyle handed him a pair of fins over Zara’s shoulder. As much as he wanted to draw out the moment of caressing her shapely legs, he knew others were waiting to use the ladder, so he slipped the flippers on her as quickly as he could before grabbing another pair and slipping them onto his own feet. Zara handed him one of the snorkels Kyle had handed her while they waited, and off they went.

A moment later, when the rest of the group had gotten in the water, Antwan swam up to them, a smug look across his face.

“I’m gonna need you two to turn down the cute, would ya?” he said in mock seriousness. “It’s borderline nauseating.”

“I refuse to apologize, Antwan,” Dalton responded. “I’ve waited too long for this beauty to forgive me. I’m not going to waste a single moment.”