“Oh!” I squeal unexpectedly, when one of the guys strips until he’s butt naked.

Sebastian laughs.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let Duncan touch you or come near you. You’re mine, for tonight,” Sebastian says.

I grin like an idiot. I love hearing him call me his.

But my grin falters the second I see Sebastian begin to strip next to me. His shirt is gone, revealing the muscles I’ve been feeling all night, and then his pants are gone, making his erection much more noticeable beneath his boxer briefs.

I gulp as my eyes rake over his body and become glued to his straining cock. I need to stop staring, but I can’t. I want to know what that glorious erection would feel like rocking in my body. But it also terrifies me because I’m not sure my body is ready for such a massive intrusion.

“Like what you see?” he chuckles in my ear.

I force my eyes to drag up to his eyes instead of his cock. But my heart hates me a little for it.

“Sorry.”

He lifts my chin up and then his lips are on mine. Exploring, tasting, devouring.

He stops and kisses me a moment later. “Don’t be sorry,” he says like the kiss was nothing.

Kisses mean nothing to a guy like Sebastian, but to me, kisses like that are rare. No, kisses like that never happen in my world.

I’m frozen as I watch Sebastian walk to the pool’s diving board.

“Come on, baby,” he says, doing a flip before diving in, in a perfect arch. His body gracefully hits the water and people cheer, holding up their hands, giving him a score of a ten for his incredible dive.

My mouth drops open, and I know I’m drooling. I snap my mouth shut, but it doesn’t stop my erratic breathing.

I start taking a step forward, needing to be in Sebastian’s arms. I realize I’m supposed to strip, so I hesitate at the edge of the pool while a dozen or so eyes stare up at me.

My hands tremble. I can’t do this. I can’t strip in front of these people. I’m not ashamed of my body, in fact, I love my body. But these people come from money. They have perfect bodies to go with their flashy dresses and expensive houses. Their parents have provided them with an incredible start to life with substantial trust funds waiting for them when they graduate to turn into billion-dollar businesses.

They are elite, while I’m ordinary. I may have abs of steel, but I don’t come from money. I didn’t get a boob-job like half the women in the pool to add curves. I’m flat, yet strong. And I have no intention of showing them just how ordinary I am.

Sebastian stares up at me expectedly, but even his gorgeous body isn’t enough to convince me to strip naked.

Then, I see Naomi swimming toward him planning on taking advantage of my hesitation. If I don’t jump in, she’ll be the one in Sebastian’s bed tonight. Not me.

My hand goes to my back, pulling on the zipper without thinking. The zipper slides halfway down and then stops. No matter how hard I pull the zipper, it won’t budge.

Naomi swims faster, and I jerk my body, trying to get the damn zipper to go down far enough that I can rip the dress over my head. The jerking makes me lose my balance though, and before I realize what’s happening, I feel the warm water consuming me as I crash into the pool.

I pop my head back up hoping people won’t care, but of course, they care. Laughter, hysterical laughter is breaking out all around me. Even Sebastian is laughing at me.

Dammit.

I give up. I can’t fit in with these people even for one night. Not long enough to get laid, that’s for sure. I should have stuck with someone in my own league.

Sebastian swims toward me.

“Here, let me help you,” he says.

“No, that’s ok—”

I stop when his hands touch my back. In the few moments of embarrassment, I forgot how electrifying it feels to have his hands on my skin.

He unzips the dress and reaches for the hem, pulling the dress off my wet body. No one can see my body under the water. This might actually work out for me. Then I move and realize my stupid heels are still on.


Tags: Ella Miles Pretend Romance