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“So how did you end up with theJing San Triad?”
I notice he’s much more at ease in the water and doesn’t have to move his arms and legs as much as I do.
He studies me, then seems to choose his words carefully. “My grandmother lost everything during the war. After World War II, the Communists came into power, and not being a part of the proletariat could land one in trouble, so she didn’t try to reclaim what belonged to the family. As a single mother, she struggled. My aunt was born with a heart condition and required extra care and medicine.”
“She must be an incredible woman to have survived all that.”
Usually I’m the one getting pulled intohisgaze, like a spaceship caught in a tractor-beam, but this time, he seems to be surrendering himself to mine. “She was.”
“Did you get to spend a lot of time with her?”
“She raised me after my mother died.”
“I’m sorry.”
He raises a skeptical brow. “You are?”
“Of course. That must have been devastating for you and your family.”
“But I’m the guy who might be responsible foryourearly death.”
“I’m sad for Rafe the boy, less so for Rafe the gangster. How old were you when she died?”
“Five.”
“Oh. That’s tragic.”
I realize I’m sinking because my limbs are tired from all the treading. Rafe wraps an arm around me. I hold onto his shoulders. My face is inches from his, and I can feel my breath bouncing back to me. We stay that way for several beats.
I’m not going to fall for him this time. Just because I feel bad for what he and his family have been through doesn’t mean the man presently before me deserves my sympathy.
He swims me over to the pool’s edge into more shallow water, but it’s still a touch deep for me. I reach for the edge, but before I can turn my body around, he traps me against the wall, facing him. Awkwardly, I hold onto the wall with my hands turned backwards over my shoulders. I’m already breathless from the treading, but now I’m breathless for another reason.
“That was good, Priscilla,” Rafe says. “You lasted longer than I expected.”
“The conversation helped,” I reply, wanting to ask more about his family, but I get the feeling he’s moved on.
His arms, on either side of me, cage me in as he presses even closer. He lowers his head till our foreheads touch. I feel my chest rising and falling with my breathlessness. I know I said to myself that I wasn’t going to give in to this attraction, but if he kisses me right now, I don’t think I can resist.
“Is my iced tea here yet?” I try.
“James set it by the lounge chair a while ago.”
I hadn’t noticed. My hands start to slip, and the only thing that I can grab onto well is him. As soon as I do, he sandwiches me against the wall. Reaching around me, he cups a buttock. My body immediately begins to warm. I should resist this. The more involved I get, the more it messes with my head. Though maybe it’s already too late.
“I haven’t ordered lunch yet,” I say with a shaky breath.
“I thought you didn’t want lunch,” he replies.
“I changed my mind. I’m hungry now after all that treading water.”
His other hand reaches between my legs. “All right. What’s your favorite dish?”
I can’t really think of one because I have a lot of favorites, so the only thing I can think to say is, “When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough mac and cheese.”
His thumb slides along the outside of my bikini bottom, where my clit is. I swallow a whimper.
“James,” he calls out.
