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“Now,” he murmured against my throat. “We better get out of the pool, and I need to order the pizza.”
Laughter eddied through the shivers of his breath whispering against my skin. “We have a lot of homework to do.”
“Hmm-hmm…and I want to play you the new song and see what you think.”
“I love it,” I told him, and he lifted his head.
“You haven’t heard it yet.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You have an amazing voice, and I love listening to you.”
Arms wrapped around me, he chuckled. “You’re good for my ego. I may have to keep you.”
“Oh, the horror,” I mock groaned.
“The horror, huh?” Then he had me up and I eyed him.
“Ian!”
“Oh, but it’s the horror…” And he tossed me into the water, and it was even chillier against my sun-warmed skin. When I resurfaced, he was standing on the side, hands on his hips—lookingdamngood. “So—pineapple?”
A delightful shiver went through my whole body at the look in his eyes. “Yes please.”
And it was my turn to do laps. Because all I wanted to do was climb him like a pole. When I finally abandoned the pool, he hauled me out and handed me a towel.
The next hour we actually spent on homework, but he kept my feet in his lap and would occasionally put a warm hand on my ankle while we worked through the calculus problems. The only break we took was for pizza, and then he dragged my feet back to rest against his thigh.
“Want to grab a shower and change before we head up to my room?”
I’d like a lot of things, but I’d settle for a shower. “Meet in your room when I’m done?”
“Hmm-hmm… unless you want to use my shower,” he offered.
“With you?”
He squeezed my ankle. “I’m not in a rush.”
Surprise flickered through me.
“Don’t get me wrong—Ilikemaking out with you, and Ilikehaving you here and I want to do more, but I’m not rushing anything. You’re important enough for me to take my time. You’re worth more than a rush.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. Valued. Appreciated. Wanted. It was—a weirdly wonderful feeling. After another squeeze to my ankle, he started packing up his stuff.
“Besides,” he said as he stood and raked his gaze over me, smile teasing. “Anticipation is half the fun.”
“So you’re saying we’d only have half-as-much fun if we rushed it?” I raised my eyebrows.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Head tilted, he squinted at me. “Definitely not saying that, but I still want to take my time. Enjoy every aspect of it. That’s okay, right?”
“Yes,” I answered swiftly. “It’s more than okay.” But he hadn’t taken his time with… Nope, I shoved her name unmentioned out of my head. She didn’t get to be a part of this.
And he just said I was more important and worth taking his time. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saying I’m worth it.”
The look he gave me sent another wave of warmth through me. “Hell, Frankie… if you need me to tell you that every day, then you better get ready to be sick of it.” When he held out an arm, I slid right against him and he hugged me tight, whispering, “You’re the best. Never forget that.”
