“Not from where I’m standing.”
She smiled to herself, diving beneath the water and spinning like a torpedo, the rush of freedom from the maneuver causing her blood to pound. She’d forgotten how amazing it felt to be able to move like this. When she emerged, he was still watching her, but she no longer minded. In fact, it gave her an added impetus to perform her exercises, to perfect them, to show him. To impress him.
With a degree of nervousness she hadn’t known for many years, she went through some simple routines, tumbles, twists, feeling the nimbleness and agility from the water and knowing that each exercise she did was making her strong and ready for the next competition.
Only, when she thought of travelling to Zurich to compete, she didn’t feel her usual steely determination. She didn’t feel the same sense of anticipation she’d known before every competition she’d ever taken part of. This was different now. Dread was there too.
Anxiety? About her stalker? Perhaps. But beyond that, Mila struggled to unspool the emotions so she could make sense of them.
She couldn’t have said how long she practiced for, but as she spun a triple somersault and went to come up for air, her hand brushed against something and she blinked open her eyes. The water was opaque but she recognized a wall of abdominals even then. She recognized Leo’s wall of abdominals.
Coming up for air, she blinked to find him right in front of her, hair slicked back, droplets on his face.
“You are stunning.”
She bit down on her lip, heart quivering. The truth was, she felt it, in that moment. Unlike the compliments she received, which always felt as if they were given by rote, performative when she was doing a photoshoot for one of her sponsors, or trying on a new costume, when Leonidas flattered her, the words arrowed right into her soul and became a part of her.
“How is your ankle?”
“I can’t feel it in the water.”
He nodded. “And generally?”
“So much better.”
His eyes scanned hers. “I’m glad.”
Something dented her happiness, just for a moment. Did he want her to leave? It didn’t make sense, when he’d been the one insisting she stay here until her stalker was found, but at the same time, surely he had a life to be getting no with…
“You will enjoy exploring the grounds much more if I don’t have to carry you.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
His smile lit her bloodstream on fire and then he kissed her in such a way that made her feel as though she’d never ever been kissed before.
Their bodies melded beneath the water, her hands exploring every inch of him, hungry and desperate for him, like they hadn’t just made love hours before. It didn’t matter. Her need was insatiable.
“Please,” she whispered.
He didn’t need to be asked twice. He thrust into her, holding her against him, moving to a rhythm that was theirs and theirs alone, until she split apart, no longer herself, no longer recognizable.