AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She made a careless shrug toward the receding shoreline. “I can’t very well now, can I?”
He continued to glare at her. “Get off my boat.”
A small flicker of alarm crossed her beautiful features. “You know that’s impossible.”
“I said, get off my boat, Erika.”
“You can’t be serious.”
He took a threatening step towards her. Fear lit her eyes and she instinctively stumbled backwards.
“Jay!”
“Get. Off. My. Boat, Erika,” he enunciated each word with force. “Now.”
“Stop it Jay——argh!” she cried out as he took another step in her direction. Then in a swirl of pink lace, Erika threw herself overboard.
The tension in his shoulders eased immensely as he sauntered over to the side of the vessel knowing full well they were still in shallow water and there was no fear of her drowning. He looked down at her as she resurfaced and couldn’t resist smirking at her perfectly coif hairdo lying flat against her head.
Erika spun around and the fire in her eyes had him smiling brighter. With a childish rage, she slapped the water and screeched on a high-pitched note.
“I hate you, Jay Colby!” She swiped at a lock of wet hair and glanced down at herself. “Look what you did to my beautiful dress!”
“Look on the bright side,” he said and bent down to pick up her parasol which she had dropped in her haste to leap overboard. “Your umbrella stayed dried.”
Of course, she didn’t look in the least bit happier. Surrounded by a pool of pink chiffon and lace, her lovely face looked unnaturally ugly wrinkled up in outrage, he knew she would love nothing more than to drown him. Jay chuckled low, then leaned over and stretched out a hand.
“Come on.”
She gave him a look that, if he were a weaker man, might have had him shriveling away in fear, but grabbed hold of his hand, nonetheless. With the added weight of her wet clothing, she was much heavier than usual as he yanked her out of the water and onto his deck dripping wet.
Erika stood there with eyes blazing. “That is the lowest, most uncivilized thing you have ever done, Jay Colby!”
He grinned, letting his eyes leisurely span the length of her, lingering on her breasts where the soaking material clung to them. “I didn’t do this. You jumped, remember?”
She released a low grumbling sound from her throat and clenched her fists and for some reason, Jay was actually enjoying himself. It had been a long time since he saw Erika’s emotions so close to the surface. Her real emotions. Sure, she had acted insulted or piqued by his behavior before, but it was an almost automatic reaction for her. As if she were expected to respond indignantly. This, however, was the real thing.
He studied her one more time before turning and collecting a blanket from the compartment. “You might want to cover up.”
She snatched the blanket from his hand. “Take me back to shore this minute.”
Without responding, he reached for the sail and propelled the boat around toward the shoreline. Though they floated in shallow waters thanks to the extended sandbar beneath the lake’s surface, he was surprised how far they had actually drifted out.
“You are the most boorish, ill-mannered man of my acquaintance.”
He rolled his eyes, already having heard her thoughts of him many times before.
“You’re insufferable, barbaric and have ill-treated me for the last time.”
“Whoa.” He became alert. “I haven’t treated you poorly.”
“If you so much as lay a finger on me or my friends in the future, I will see to it that you pay.”
“How so like you, Erika, to create something out of nothing when it suits your convenience.”
Her eyes glared. “I don’t consider kissing me nothing.”
He stilled, his eyes narrowing. “So that’s what this is all about.”
