I huff and turn back to shore. I hand the goggles back to the kid and apologize to the mother. She still looks like she could hit me, but the kid just takes his shark goggles and crams them back on his face.
Blood boiling with anger, and water pouring off of me, I snatch my pants and shoes from the beach and walk toward Dr. Napier. No, I stomp. I stomp like a petulant child. I can hear my pulse ringing in my ears; a deafening wump-wump-wump that matches the beating of my racing heart. The fabric of my blouse sticks to my skin, even though I try to pull it away.
He’s stripped the top half of his wetsuit down to his waist. Even as pissed off as I am, I still want him with every ounce of my being. I want to run my hands over pecs and stroke my fingers through his chest hair. Not an option. Not now. Not ever. But I can give him a piece of my mind.
Once I’m close enough to make sure he can hear me, I cup my hands around my mouth. “Rule number one, asshole.”
Dr. Napier, dripping wet, wheels around to look at me, eyes wide. And then those eyes roam over my body, taking in my soaked shirt and bare thighs. His brows knit up like he can’t figure out why I’m dripping lake water.
I bite the inside of my cheek, angry at him for doing something so reckless. I’m angry about what could have happened to him. I’m angry at myself for caring what happens to him, but more than anything, I think I’m just angry that I can’t help any of it.
“Ms. Palomer—“
“Don’t you fucking dare!” I’m grateful most of the vacationers are on the other side of the lake, so they don’t have to hear the words exploding out of me. “Don’t you dare.” A slight smile pulls at the corners of his lips, and that spools my anger even tighter.
“For four years, you’ve been my professor, my boss, and my academic advisor. How many times have I sat through lectures on safety, huh? Rule number one: use the buddy system unless you want to die. It was a test question in Intro to Field Studies. You know that class? The one you teach?”
Dr. Napier’s smile keeps growing, and he raises an eyebrow at me like he can’t believe I would dare speak to him like this, but I ignore it. After years of holding it all in, the dam bursts. I’ll probably have to find another graduate program after this, but I can’t stop. Even if I could, I don’t want to. I just can’t do this anymore. It’s killing me one day at a time.
“You walk around with that stick up your ass like using my actual name is unprofessional, but here you are, breaking your own rules and not giving a flying fuck how it affects anyone else. Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought you were dead!”
I get close enough to see the individual droplets of water dripping off of his hair and running down his neck, but I’m seething too hard to enjoy the sight. Raising both hands, I shove at his shoulders. He doesn’t budge an inch.
“I get you don’t want me around,” I snap at him. “And I don’t know what I ever did to make you dislike me, but I’m done. Get some other bimbo to label your samples.”
The smile on his face falls faster than a rock hurled out of an airplane. “What do you mean, you’re done? Done with what?”
I struggle with the harness on the rebreather, trying to unclip the straps, but my hands are shaking. “What do I mean? I mean, I’m fucking done with all of it!” I stare up into his eyes, air leaving my lungs in heaving, violent puffs as I try to catch my breath. “Find another lab assistant. I will not sit by and watch you put yourself in danger like that. Maybe you don’t care what happens to you, but I do!”
My fingers slip off of the plastic buckle again, and I growl in the back of my throat. “Never mind. I’ll drop it off at your cabin later.” I turn to leave, but the hand that grabs the strap and pulls me back has other ideas.
9
WES
Fuck it.
Grabbing the strap around her waist, I pull Corinne back toward me. I can cope with a lot of things, but watching her walk away like that isn’t one of them, even if it guarantees I get fired. I grip her chin in my hand, turning those fiery eyes up to mine. “Is that what you think? That I don’t want you around? That I dislike you?”
Some of the anger leaves her eyes, but it’s replaced with confusion. “Yes…?” Her voice trails off.
I shake my head, cupping her face in my hands. Her confusion deepens; those little lines scrunching up between her eyebrows, but she doesn’t pull away. “I have felt a lot of things for you, Corinne, but dislike was never one of them.”
My heart batters my chest. It’s like the damn thing wants to claw its way out of me, just to let her hold it. I run my thumb over her lower lip, watching her pupils dilate. In for a penny… “The things you make me feel would make the devil blush. I’ve fought every minute of every day for the last four years, just trying to be a decent guy—”
I pull her closer, putting our faces so close I can feel her warm breath on my neck. “But the things I want to do to you—the things I’ve wanted to do to you since the first day you strutted into my class… none of them are decent.”
Corinne gapes at me, eyes wide. I lean in close, brushing my nose against her cheek and whispering in her ear. “I tried, Corinne. I really did. But I can’t help loving you.”
She draws a shaky breath, warm hands wrapping around my waist. Corinne leans back, gazing up into my eyes. “Seriously? I’ve wanted to hear you say my name like that for four years, and you wait until I’m half-naked and soaking wet? Can we work on your timing, Dr. Napier?”
“I think maybe you should call me Wes, and we should absolutely fix the half-naked part.”
“Wes.” My name sounds like pure sunshine coming out of her lips. “I can’t help loving you either.”
Unclipping the straps around her stomach and chest, I slide the rebreather off of her shoulders and lower it to the grass. Corinne watches my face with those aqua eyes. I brush my lips over hers. The aching, pulling feeling in my chest won’t let up, but it rumbles happily at the feel of her soft skin. I give her a nudging little kiss, loving the way her lips move with mine. It’s effortless. Natural.
Deepening the kiss, I coax at the seam of her lips. Corinne opens for me with a soft moan. The sound heats my blood, making my head spin. Her tongue dances with mine, sweeping over my lips, giving as good as she gets. Sliding a palm down her back, I tug her body against mine. The need to hold her is overwhelming. The little flame I’ve harbored deep in my soul is doused with gasoline. It erupts inside of me, consuming everything until all that’s left is Corinne.