“Took you long enough,” she says, grinning. “I was worried I’d be poached before you got here.”
Her cheeks are flushed from the hot water, her face dewy with sweat, and her blond curls have become a fuzz ball that frizzes around her head like a cotton swab that’s been through a blender. She looks wild and so stunning I stop and stare. I want to memorize everything about this moment, from the exact pink of her lips, to the glitter in her eyes, to the way she’s looking at me like there is nothing else she needs to be happy.
She blinks, her smile fading as the silence stretches between us. “Is everything okay?”
I nod. “Very okay. Just stopping to admire the view.”
“The view of my white girl afro?” She fluffs her curls. “It’s even worse now that I’m blond.”
“It’s beautiful.” I climb the last few feet up the rocks, bringing my face even with hers. “You’re beautiful.”
“You too.” She leans in, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips that sends longing surging through my body, making my knees weak. “Get in. The water’s amazing.”
She pushes away from the rocks, drifting back to the other side of the pool, granting me my first glimpse of her body beneath the clear water. When I see the one-piece polka dot suit she’s wearing, I don’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.
If Sam were naked beneath the water, I don’t know if I’d be able to resist reaching for her with both hands.
“You can put the clothes and stuff on the towels,” she says, motioning to the left side of the pool, where she’s spread out three towels, side by side, flanked by whirring bug repellent lanterns. With the cushion of ferns underneath and the soft glow of the lanterns, the makeshift bed would be the perfect place to pull Sam out of the water and make love to her beneath the darkening sky.
I can’t look at it without imagining Sam naked and reaching for me, so I keep my eyes on the river as I undress. I chuck off my shoes, toss my cabin key and phone onto the towels, and strip off my tee shirt before sliding into the water with a hiss.
It’s hotter than I was expecting, but the heat feels good on my shoulders, which are still aching from all the paddling this afternoon, and it only takes a few seconds to adjust to the heat. When I do, I look up to find Sam watching me with an amused expression on her face.
“What?” I ask from my side of the pool.
“You left your board shorts on,” she says, lips pushing into a pout.
“You have your swimsuit on,” I point out, motioning toward her beneath the water. “I was following your lead.”
“I only have my suit on because I didn’t want to be naked if someone other than you showed up.” She stands, her shoulders and breasts rising out of the water, steam swirling from her suit as the hot, damp fabric makes contact with the cooler evening air. “And I don’t want you to follow my lead.”
She reaches up to the tie behind her neck and slips the bow free. I watch, mesmerized as she lets the newly loose straps dangle down the front of her body and brings her hands to the top of the suit, just above the swell of her breasts.
“I want you to take the lead,” she says as she draws the fabric slowly down, baring her breasts. “And take me.”
My breath rushes out and my pulse pounds in my throat.
All I want to do is pull her into my arms and devour her whole. I want her tongue in my mouth and her tits in my hands. I want to pinch her nipples between my fingers, rolling them into hard points before I replace my hands with my tongue. I want to suck her into my mouth, to make love to her breasts until her body is so slick I can feel her heat on my fingers, even with the water pressing in all around us.
Instead, I force myself to stay where I am, my clenched fists at my sides. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” She pushes the suit lower, baring more of her irresistible skin and the taut muscles beneath. “And I don’t want you to be careful or worried. All I want you to think about is what you want.”
“What I want?” I repeat, a frown tugging at the skin between my eyes.
“Yes, what you want.” She bends over, guiding the suit down her thighs and stepping free. She tosses the wad of sodden fabric onto the rocks and stands in front of me, naked and beautiful and so tempting I can barely breathe. “Which, knowing you the way I do, is probably to make me come as many times as you can before you lose control and fuck me so hard I’ll ache a little when I wake up tomorrow morning.”