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I pull off my robe and toss it onto a sunbed, step forward to curl my toes over the edge of the pool. A second’s pause as I wait for the cover to retract fully and then I dive in.
It’s an instant hit of bliss. The perfect temperature swallowing me whole, the rush against my skin, the weightlessness. I do a length along the bottom and turn, strain against the need to breathe as I enjoy the distance from the world outside. When I eventually surface, I’m smiling. This is my spot. The one thing in the entire house I designed. Swimming was my passion, not Nathan’s. And it was easy for him to approve the expenditure when it gave him ample opportunity to watch me swim. He liked that I took care of myself, kept trim and toned, athletic to a degree.
I look to the empty seat beneath the glass shelter where he would have sat and feel the strange sense of my newfound freedom collide with the familiar pleasure of him watching me. His small smile of approval, the drink he would have waiting for me. Juice on a morning, coffee in the afternoon, a whisky before bed. All rituals.
And now I’m making new ones.
I dip beneath the water, swim just above the pool floor as I push the thoughts away and emerge with one thing on my mind. To swim. I don’t keep track of time or the number of lengths. I just swim, cherishing the sound of the water rippling through the quiet of the night. Soothing my body that’s enjoyed several hours of fun with Mr Oh-So-Perfect. I made him crack. That suave, cocky, controlled exterior obliterated under my touch, my influence...
I smile in triumph as my strokes quicken. I have no idea what the morning will bring, but right now I have no regrets, no regrets whatso—
‘So, this is where you got to...’
His low rasp breaks through the night air and I look to the doors, to where his semi-naked body leans against the opening and swallow, slowing my strokes. He is so honed, his abs taut all the way down until they form a V that dips into his snug-fitting black briefs. Utterly delicious.
And now I’m hungry...all over again.
I swim to the edge, hook my arms over it and lift out just enough to rest my chin on my hands. ‘Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.’
His eyes burn into mine across the distance, dark and probing... How long has he been watching me? The way he rests against the wall, his arms folded, suggests he’s settled in and been there a while. Enjoying the show...just as Nathan used to.
I swallow back the thought, mask it in a smile and wonder what he’s thinking. What has his eyes slightly narrowed, his body all tense?
‘No need to apologise.’ He eases away from the frame and walks towards me. My eyes rake over him, feasting on every flex of muscle, and the thick bulge inside his briefs. Heat swells in my lower belly. If he’s wanting to pick up where we last left off, I’m all for it...
‘Do you often swim in the dead of night?’
Slowly, I tug my gaze up to his. ‘Sometimes...or I run, whatever appeals.’
He chuckles, that low soft sound that tickles my insides to life. ‘This all part of you making the most of your waking hours?’
‘Yup.’
His brows draw together, his budding concern obvious, and I don’t want his concern. I want anything but...
‘You know you need sleep to function properly, right?’
‘Yes, Dr Boretti, I’m fully aware. And I sleep when my body wants to sleep.’
‘And not a second more?’
‘Correct.’
He shakes his head and I don’t want the unsettled feeling in my gut to swell, the emotion his concern is so quick to trigger. He pauses before me and I lower my gaze.
‘Tell me something...’ He drops down onto his haunches, flicks my chin softly to call my eyes to his. ‘Were you always like this?’
He rests his arms on his thighs and studies me intently.
‘Like what?’
‘Like some electrically charged power tool.’
I give a shaky laugh. ‘Some description!’ But then... ‘I’d rather be compared to a battery-powered sex toy, in which case I really could go all night.’
His mouth twitches. ‘You want to reduce this to sex again?’
‘Don’t you?’ I bite my lip, my eyes flare up into his and for the briefest second I catch his own fall to my mouth and I know he’s thinking of the multitude of things I’ve done with it already, the things I’ve yet to do. But then they are back, searching mine with an intensity that scares me.
