“You boys have fun now,” I said airily. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
I took my bag and disappeared behind the tree to change.
Five minutes later I approached the pond. The temperature was warm and perfect. The sky was blue and cloudless. The water from the falls was music to my ears.
And the men in the pond were naked.
Completely naked. I knew this from the fact that their clothes were piled on their packs. Not that I was wearing much. All I had on were the two pieces of the turquoise bikini. For me, that felt like almost as much exposure as if I were naked, too. Almost.
The men were in the middle of the lower pool, the bigger one. At first glance, they appeared to be standing in water up to their necks, so I figured it wasn’t too deep, but then I noticed the way their heads bobbed slightly up and down. I realized that they were treading water, so efficiently that it looked like they were barely moving at all.
It was impressive as hell.
Their eyes were glued to me as I stepped cautiously into the pond. The water wasn’t cool, but it wasn’t warm either. More like bathwater that had sat too long. Except my bathtub had never contained naked men.
I waded out until the water was up to my thighs, very conscious of the eyes on me—until Jessie turned his back to me. Surprised, I stared at him. The others did, too.
When the water reached my waist, I bent down, gasping a little at the temperature. But I got used to it very quickly. Using a simple stroke, I swam over to where Jessie was.
“What’s wrong?”
The moment I appeared in front of him, he took my hands, supporting me. That was pretty damn impressive since it meant that he was only using his legs to keep both of us afloat. “Nothing’s wrong, I just didn’t want to stare at you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you?”
His face reddened. “Okay, I did… but I knew I shouldn’t.”
“Because of our conversation last night?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“That’s sweet, but it’s not necessary.”
He frowned. “I don’t want to be like those other men who bothered you.”
“You’re not.” I spoke directly to him even though I knew the others were listening. “I wore this for you—all of you. Because I wanted you to look at me.”
“You did?”
“Yes,” I said with another smile. “Trust me, I’m not wearing it for its support or its coverage.”
That got a grin from him, but it faded quickly. “I just want to be sure I’m not upsetting you. For most of my life, I didn’t think that way, and now that I am, it can get a little confusing.”
I braced myself on his hands and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “I love that you’re trying. But when I’m wearing this, it’s because I want to wear it for you. Now, if I’m wearing a big, bulky t-shirt the approximate size of a football field, then that’s a clear sign to back off, bud.”
He grinned. “Will you still wear my shirt to bed tonight?”
“Yes, I will.”
Kincade neared, treading water as expertly as Jessie. “Just so we’re clear, I’m wearing this for you,” he said. “And you’re welcome to look.”
Since he was buck naked, I blushed. “Good to know, but I figured you were an exhibitionist at heart.”
“At heart and every other spot, too.” His arms glided back and forth through the water with such slow, even strokes that I wasn’t sure why he didn’t go under. But all of these guys seemed to be part mermen. They swam better than anyone I’d ever met.
Brock was swimming lazily around the little pond, occasionally ducking under the surface and staying down for a long time. I remembered Kincade’s boast about being able to hold his breath for two minutes and wondered if Brock could, too.
Jessie still held my hands as we watched the others swim. I kicked my legs to stay afloat, but he was doing most of the work.
Brock surfaced, throwing his head back like some kind of magnificent sea creature. He caught me looking and gave me his sexy-as-hell crooked smile. Then I let my gaze fall on Kincade, who had clearly been waiting for me to do so.
He smirked and then let his head fall back in the water, his torso floating to the surface as he did a backflip. His head, chest, hips, and then his legs disappeared backwards into the water before he resurfaced. And just for a second—I’d seen his penis. It had pressed against the side of his leg as he glided backward into the water. It had been limp and glistening with water, and large. Really large.
And long.
Really long.
Kincade raised an eyebrow at me as he resumed treading water, as if nothing had happened, but I’d sure as hell noticed—and so had the others.