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“I think I’m free now, so no busting out needed,” I tell her.
“Put this on,” she says, handing me some clothing.
I grab the items and hold them up. It’s a teal-colored bikini and a fancy cover-up. Excitement rises in my chest.
I look at it and then at her.
“I thought you might like a pool day.”
Like?
I would love anything that got me out of this room and this entire house. To just lie in the sunshine and let it warm my skin would be amazing.
I think she might be my favorite person ever right now.
I jump off the bed and hustle into the bathroom. I peek my head back out the door at Lilliana and smile. “Thank you.”
She winks.
I put the swimsuit on, thankful I shaved my legs the day of the funeral so that’s not a dire situation, and I check myself out in the mirror. Apart from being bigger-chested than Lilliana, the bikini fits. I fix the straps and make sure they are secure since I’m busting out of the top, and then I throw the cover-up on.
Lilliana is sitting on the edge of the bed, and she stands as I walk out.
“Does it fit?”
“Mostly,” I say, touching the bow tied behind my neck. “Works for lying out.”
“Perfect,” she says. “Come on.”
She grabs my hand and pulls me through the door, and before I know it, I’m standing next to a pool lounger with a plush blue-and-white striped cushion and a fluffy navy towel on the small table next to it. It’s idyllic and serene outside, and the water in the pool is still, reflecting the sunshine off the top like glittering diamonds.
Lilliana takes her cover-up off, throwing it haphazardly on the ground next to her, and she lies on a lounger. She looks so at ease, athome.But I feel tumultuous inside, not at all like lying on a lounger casually.
“I think I’m going to take a dip in the pool,” I say.
She waves me on, closing her eyes. I take my cover-up off as well, but I fold and lay mine on the bottom of my chair.
I walk to the stairs, dipping one toe in and swirling it around, watching the water ripple out, away from me. It’s cool but not cold. Enough to be refreshing but not cause goose bumps to rise on my skin. It’s perfect.
I lower myself down the steps and lightly run my fingers through the water. It laps softly at my skin, and I spin, letting my fingers trail in a circle. I can’t remember the last time I went for a swim.
I lie back, letting my legs and feet rise, floating on my back, eyes closed. I forgot to tie my hair up, so it fans out from my head, carried in the currents my movements make. The sun warms my face, and for the first time in a long time, I feel at peace. If only for a few moments. Everything fades away—my current situation, Ruby’s disappearance, the complete loss of control over my life. It’s gone, and I’m just Wryn, lying on the surface of a pool, soaking up some vitamin D.
I don’t open my eyes until a shadow falls across me, blocking the warmth and sending a chill over my skin. I crack one eyelid and then pop both eyes open. I stare up at Connor, who is looking down at me. He’s standing there in swim trunks that hug his hips, his abs rising from the deep V of his lower torso, going up, up, up to his pecs, and finally, I snap my eyes to his. I shouldn’t be staring at him like this, but it’s hard not to when his toned, tanned body is right here in front of me.
It’s human nature, right? To stare at something beautiful.
His eyes aren’t on mine; they are trailing down my body. I want to smile, but I don’t. The air is charged with something electric. I’m barely breathing as I let him ogle me. I don’t make any moves to stand up or cover myself. I just let his gaze linger, warming me more than the sun did.
I don’t know why I’m having these visceral reactions. Why my body and my head can’t get on the same page. I feel crazy. One minute, I hate him, and the next minute, I want to feel his hands on me.
He finally moves, throwing the towel he has clutched in his hand behind him, not watching where it lands. Then, he’s walking into the water, toward me. Right before he gets to me, he stops and dives under the water. The ripples shake my body, and my body clenches, waiting for him to come up underneath me, pushing me over and out of my languid state. But it never comes. He finally pops up on the other end, the deeper part of the pool, and he treads water.
I close my eyes again, determined to forget he’s here, trying to get back to that peaceful state I was in before he interrupted. But it proves harder than I thought. I can hear the small splashes his hands make as he moves them back and forth. I can sense his eyes on me. My nipples prickle with my awareness, and I gasp a little.
Traitorous body.
There’s something about the water and being barely clothed that lends itself to sexual thoughts.
