AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Screw this; I could fish later. I brushed dirt off my hands and planted my ass in the chair.
Yup, the day was definitely getting better.
I stretched out my legs comfortably, crossing them at the ankles, and folded a hand behind my head.
Danny dove under with a curse and resurfaced a quick second later. He stood close to where I’d been standing, though the water reached higher around him. Of course he had enough energy to throw me a glare, but that only made me smile wider.
Would it be considered losing the fight if I’d never joined the battle in the first place? I may have told myself to keep my distance, but I couldn’t say I’d actually done that.
“Can you stop messin’ with my head?” he bit out, moving the soap over his body too quickly for my liking. What was the rush? “You’re watching me like you’re interested.”
I hummed and adjusted my cock in my shorts. “Not my fault you can’t eavesdrop properly. I never told anyone I wasn’t a Dom.” I tilted my head and scooted lower in my seat. “Can you slow down a bit?”
He did slow down—altogether—though not because I’d asked. He was on edge now. Hesitancy flitted across his features, and he threw a glance at the cabin before he looked back at me. “Is this a joke?”
I shook my head unhurriedly. “I told you, little one. This is no laughing matter to me.”
He clenched his jaw. “You can’t call me that if you don’t fucking mean it, Payne.”
Yeah, he had to be mine. For however long he was interested. Because the second he got defensive, I wanted to be there and promise him I wasn’t going anywhere. He was terrified to trust, even more terrified to let himself believe. And I got it. It was soon. It’d been a twenty-four-hour whirlwind. But if we allowed ourselves to look at each other from a purely professional perspective…with years and years of learning how to profile and read people, he had to know as well as I did that whatever this was… We were at least worth a shot.
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, Danny.”
I wanted to throw caution to the wind. Go all in and see if we could spice up the months he’d be under my care. A year, maybe? Before he went off on his adventures.
“If you want me to keep my hands to myself, I will.” I was serious. The last thing I wanted to do was make him uncomfortable—in an unpleasant way. “If not…take a couple steps closer so I can see you.”
Danny wasn’t modest by any means either. He’d been standing stock-still because he didn’t dare take the next step on his own. I understood him. He struggled with feeling exposed emotionally.
He wasn’t standing stock-still anymore, though. He moved closer to the beach and shifted the soap south to wash his privates the moment they emerged from the water.
I planted my elbows on the armrests and pressed my knuckles against my lips.
He was too fucking beautiful. Sexy, stunning, all male, so much strength, abs I wanted to lick and come all over, and…behind that hardened, scarred, tough exterior…was a boy who should be smiling all the time.
Danny gave me what I wanted. Time slowed down as he washed himself. We didn’t speak, and we didn’t look away from each other. I stared hungrily when he focused on his ass. It was all right that he didn’t turn around. I could do with some teasing too. For a few seconds.
I cleared my throat and rose from the chair. “Finish up.” Then I picked up his towel off the ground.
I wanted him out of the water before his lips turned blue.
His shudders were hard to miss.
He tossed the bar of soap onto the beach before he went under, and he shook himself like a dog. Too bloody cute. Those were the glimpses I wanted more of. Hell, all of them. Around me, he should be able to relax completely. That was my goal anyway.
He’d been brave for putting on a show for me, no matter how briefly. In his eyes, everyone was a potential threat. Someone who could hurt him and make him feel more alone.
We’d work on that.
I held up his towel as he came out of the water, his eyes revealing he was probably a little unnerved. Maybe he wondered what would happen next. I had no plan to make him wait.
Come to Daddy.
The second he was within reach, I used the towel to haul him against my body. Jesus, he was a popsicle. I wrapped him up tightly in the fabric, then dipped down and captured his mouth with mine. He shook and shivered, to the point where I got worried. His soft lips were a little cold too. But he didn’t seem to care about the towel. He sucked in a quick breath and threw his arms around my neck, and I caught the towel right before it could fall to the ground.
We deepened the kiss at the same time, our tongues meeting teasingly, gently, as I covered him with the towel and hugged him hard.
“We gotta get you warm.”
