‘Go!’ Archie yelled with no warning at all, and ploughed forward at the same time, his arms and legs moving like windmills as he thrashed through the water towards his mother.
Josh diplomatically waited for a few seconds and then started a steady front crawl, keeping one eye on the child. He held himself one stroke behind the boy, hoping that was the right thing to do.
‘I won, I won!’ Archie was leaping around in the water, whooping with delight and Josh was amazed by how good it made him feel.
‘I couldn’t catch you!’ He wiped the water from his eyes. ‘What a swimmer you are!’
Kat was laughing and shaking her head. ‘Not in the slightest bit competitive, my child, as you can see.’ She picked Archie up and smiled at Josh, a curious look in her green eyes. ‘That was sweet of you.’
She looked surprised, as if she hadn’t expected him capable of considering the child’s feelings, and he was forced to admit that he was pretty surprised himself.
Partly because the psychology of a child’s mind wasn’t his strong point and miraculously he seemed to have got it right, but mostly because he was having such a good time.
Usually, if there was a race, he only derived pleasure if he was the winner. It would never have occurred to him that he could have got such a high from seeing the boy’s pleasure at winning.
‘Can we do it again, Josh?’ Archie was clearly ecstatic about his victory. ‘This time I promise to give you a chance,’ he offered generously, and Josh pulled a face, watching as the boy wriggled out of his mother’s arms and waded forward to start the race again.
‘Not sure if my ego can take being thrashed twice in one day.’
Kat laughed. ‘Coward.’ Drops of water clung to her dark lashes and her hair hung down her back. He noticed that it was much darker when it was wet and he also noticed that her swimsuit revealed every line and curve of her body. Suddenly Josh forgot about Archie. He forgot everything except the woman standing in front of him.
Her laughter faded and he saw uncertainty flicker in her eyes as the look in her eyes reflected his own. ‘Josh…’
The urge to lean forward and kiss her soft mouth was almost overwhelming. He wanted to touch and taste. He wanted to take—
A flash of animal lust shot through him and he turned away with a soft curse, reminding himself of all the reasons why this was not a good idea.
‘Josh!’
With something approaching relief he turned his attention back to Archie, who was yelling his name.
Cold water.
He needed seriously cold water.
Dipping under the surface, he swam underwater until he reached the boy. ‘Do you really want to race again?’ The trouble was, this time he didn’t want to hold back. He was pumped up and almost bursting with frustration and what he really needed was a burst of intense physical activity to calm his libido. ‘I’ve got an idea.’
‘What?’
‘I’ll race against your mum and you can be the finishing post.’
Archie nodded enthusiastically. ‘Mum!’ he shouted, and bounced in the water. ‘I’ll wade over there and you and Josh can swim to me.’ He st
arted off and Kat frowned.
‘No, Arch, not on your own. You’re not a strong enough swimmer.’
Josh swore softly. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think of that.’
‘I’m probably just being paranoid—you know me and worry.’ Kat swam quickly after her son and Josh let out a long breath.
What did he think he was doing? One small success and suddenly he thought he knew everything there was to know about children.
Hardly!
He had absolutely no idea what they could do at different ages, as he’d just proved. Left to his care, Archie probably would have drowned.
Suddenly furious with himself, he waited until Kat had reached Archie and once he’d satisfied himself that she had the child and his responsibility had ended, he turned and ploughed into the waves, swimming out to sea with a powerful front crawl.