When she turned on the water at the sink, he paused. “Just to be clear, I’ll get the dishes later.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. The water cut off. He chuckled as he stepped outside and headed for the tub. He had set the timer to keep the water warm on the weekends, so it was already comfortably toasty. Jamie turned on the jets, dropped his clothes on the bench and stepped in.
It would take her a little while. He knew that. He could picture her perfectly, sta
nding in the kitchen, her fingers wound together, jaw set tight as steel. She might be careful and serious, but she was strong as hell, and he had no doubt she’d work up to it.
He laid his head back and closed his eyes, picturing her walking slowly down his hallway, her heels clicking against the wood. When she reached his bedroom, she’d stare hard at the towel. Then at his bed. Her hands would hesitate over the knot that kept that wrap dress on. God, he’d give anything to be the one to untie it. To slide the sash free and watch that bright yellow fabric open. To see that first glimpse of skin. What was she wearing under there? Something sweet and modest? Something delicate and silky?
Jamie’s cock was aching by the time he opened his eyes and found her standing before him. He blinked in surprise. In his mind, she’d still been nervously undressing.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes sweeping down the wide white towel she clutched to her body.
Jesus Christ, she was naked under there. No doubt about it. Her eyes were wide and her knuckles glowed as pale as the cotton she clutched, but she stood straight and met his gaze.
“You’re sure no one can see in?” she asked.
“I’m sure. Too many shadows.”
“Could you…?”
Jamie closed his eyes again, but his ears strained to make up for that chivalry, as if he could possibly hear a towel being unwound over the sound of the rolling jets. He counted to ten, then twenty, sure that there’d be some global shift once she was naked in the water with him. At the very least, she’d splash a little.
“Can we even count it as skinny-dipping if you keep your eyes closed the whole time?”
That would be a tragedy, so Jamie opened his eyes immediately. And there she was. The swirling bubbles hid most of her body. All of it, really. He could see much more of her skin while he was sitting in class. But the few inches of her shoulders seemed startling bare above the water. Fascinatingly bare. Her dark hair just brushed along her collarbone when she moved. Water danced and dipped just an inch below that, teasing him with her nudity each time a little trough showed more skin.
Jamie forced his eyes up to her face, then realized it didn’t matter. She was too busy checking out his chest to notice. He slid up a little straighter in response.
“So,” she finally said. “I did it.” Her smile started small, but it didn’t take long for it to spread across her face.
“You certainly did. How’s it feel?”
“I don’t know yet.” She slid a few inches to her right, coming a little closer, though there was still two feet of tub between them. From this angle, she was looking right out into the yard. A breeze stirred her hair, and he watched her take a deep breath. “It’s like a cave in here. A secret.”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Beyond the trellis walls, the day exploded in brightness and light. The people out there moved through their Sunday world. And no one knew Jamie and Olivia were tucked into these shadows, nude beneath the water. Her foot brushed his. He breathed very carefully.
When he’d dared her to skinny-dip with him, Jamie had felt in control. A little superior. Just as he should, as the man tasked with teaching her how to loosen up. But this wasn’t like a casual dip with a tipsy girl who’d tossed her bikini top away like an unneeded jacket. This was Olivia Bishop, whose nudity seemed a precious, guarded thing. And just the glimpse of her naked shoulders felt risqué. Now Jamie didn’t feel superior and calm. He felt nervous and so aroused that he was thankful for the shroud of bubbling water. Not cool to casually lounge around with a throbbing erection.
Not cool at all.
“Look at that,” she whispered, and for a moment, Jamie worried the waters had cleared. But she pointed out toward the sunlight, to the hummingbird feeder he’d hung on a small tree. Two green birds danced there, swiping at each other as they competed for the sugar water.
But Olivia was smiling, so he watched her instead.
“This is really neat,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” he said with an irony she seemed to miss.
“I feel different.”
“Yeah?”
She turned and aimed that smile at him, and it tilted in a naughty way he’d never seen on her. “Yeah.”
Jamie shifted his leg so that it slid against hers, and there was no mistaking the excitement that sparked in her eyes. “I feel strange calling you Ms. Bishop when I’m supposed to be teaching you today.”