AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t know you were coming in.”
“That makes two of us.”
Jill wasn’t sure if she’d swim to him or vice versa, but Rob was now close enough to touch. Close enough that the moonlight reflected from his tawny eyes.
“Thank you.”
Jill stared at him in surprise. “For what?”
“I hadn’t even realized I’d decided the lake was evil until you forced me here.” His shoulders lifted from the water. His bare shoulders.
She glanced at the dock. Was that dark bump his clothes? She couldn’t be sure in the lighting.
“This afternoon was an accident. The water is neutral. Neither good nor bad.” Did she make sense or was she merely babbling? The realization that he’d stripped warmed her insides, made her remember how his strong body had felt tangled with hers. She gulped down the lump forming in her throat.
Water droplets ran down his face and Jill decided she’d been wrong. Water was good. Life-giving good.
“You’re okay?” he asked, and she got the impression he asked so much more than what met the surface. There was tenderness in his eyes that belied everything he’d said earlier in the day.
“I am now.” She bobbed in the water, wondering if he’d kiss her. She wouldn’t ask him to, but she hoped.
“Jill.”
Her chest swelled at the emotions wrapped into her name. Emotions that told her even if he kissed her, even if he made love to her right at this moment, he’d regret it in the morning. She had to let him make the next move.
And he wasn’t ready to make that move. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. And if she were wise, she wouldn’t be longing for him to make love to her again.
With more courage than it had taken her to dive into the lake, she flung her arms forward and showered an unsuspecting Rob with water.
Surprise flickered onto his face, before he grinned. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“Really?” she daunted, kicking her legs back in preparation to make a quick escape. “By who? You?”
He dived toward her, sending a spray of water in her direction. Jill took off, swimming away for all she was worth, determined not to let him catch her, but honest enough to admit that if he did she wouldn’t be heart broken.
She surfaced quite a distance from the shore. No sign of Rob. Where was he hiding? She turned and scanned the calm lake surface, thinking the brilliance of the moonlight reflecting from the water one of the loveliest sights she’d ever seen.
Maybe it was her company that gave the world such a rosy hue.
She leaned back and re-wet her hair to keep it from her face. Something grabbed her foot. Rob. She shrieked and kicked half-heartedly, trying to escape his hold.
He surfaced a foot in front of her.
“You should be ashamed, Rob Lancaster. You scared me.”
“You expecting Nessie?” He laughed.
“Dude, you’re comparing yourself to a monster.” She t
eased back, splashing a light spray of water in his direction.
“Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?” He cast a threatening look in her direction.
“My lesson? You were trying to teach me something? When?” She flicked more water at him.
“That’s it. You’ve had it now.”
Jill lurched away, but was too late. He grasped her and ducked her under, not holding her there but for a second. Probably in deference to her experience earlier in the day.
