AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Spoken like a true professional.” I carefully unseal a lock of hair from her cheek. “I’m fine. My knee is fine.”
She pushes off the floor so she can sit up on her knees, rivulets of water streaming off her elbows and down the front of her. I do the same and manage to scramble up to standing before she does. I reach for her hand, and she accepts it. As I pull her to standing, she’s blinking, her gaze moving all over me.
I swallow a laugh because this whole thing is beyond insane.
“We’re soaked,” she says, and then lets out a small shiver.
The shiver. That’s what does me in. I’ll blame that for my lack of self-control. It’s such a quiet, intimate sound. It’s begging me to protect her—to love her.
There’s a pause, like we’re both asking for permission. She sloshes in the water as she tries to get her footing. “Whoa,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist to keep her upright.
She tilts her face to look at me, her gaze darting down to my mouth.
Water’s dripping from my face and when I shake my head, it sprays out even more. “No,” I say, my voice a hoarse whisper.
“No, what?” she challenges, looking from my mouth to my eyes and back to my mouth again.
I tighten my grip on her. “I won’t kiss you,” I breathe and bite down on my lip, hard.
“What if I’m asking you to?” Her bottom lip trembles, and all her strength has shifted into a vulnerability I’ve never seen before. It’s absolutely making me question everything I thought before.
“No, Oakley. I promised you I wouldn’t.”
“It’s desperate times, Alec.” Her whisper is so soft and her eyes brim with tears. “Desperate measures.”
But I have to keep my word. She deserves better than what she got with Brandt.
I slide my hand across her face to move her wet hair out of the way and she lifts her mouth, so subtly that I hardly know whether to believe it’s real.
“I made a commitment to you,” I say. “I will be the man I said I would be.” My jaw aches from biting down so hard. I should step away from her—I should make sure her footing is secure and then walk away.
But I’m cemented to the spot. And her waist is smooth and soft.
She gives a nod, her eyes sad. “Thank you for keeping your promise to me. It’s—well, now that I know you’re a man of integrity, I—” She gives a gurgling laugh. “It makes me want to kiss you more.”
I stare at her, searching her expression.
“Please?” she whispers.
I let go of every warning, removing from my mind all the past gut punches telling me no.
The woman has asked me three times.
If she’s sure, I’m sure.
The past is in the past. And this is now.
I claim her.
I kiss her.
Chapter 25
Oakley
There’s a slice through my stomach—a blaze of light. I’m cold and my clothes and skin are sopping wet. But the blaze of light? It tells me everything’s okay with the world, even though it’s full tilt—a rollercoaster I didn’t realize I was on.
We’re kissing.
