Page 17 of Every Move You Make
Her eyes flew to his, wide behind the mask. He shook his head once, then pointed at the jellyfish that simply floated on. For a second, they simply hovered there, her hand still wrapped in his. Even underwater, he could feel his pulse pounding.
She didn’t pull her hand away. Not immediately. Her eyes searched his through the glass of their masks, something softer replacing the earlier fire. Then slowly, deliberately, she loosened her hold. Kicking her legs, she rose up. He followed.
Breaking through the surface, she pushed her mask up at the same time as him. Water slicked her hair back from her face as she blinked at him.
“Thank you for that,” she said quietly.
He nodded once. “You’re welcome.”
A beat passed. The boat floated a short distance away, the world strangely distant around them. Without another word, she adjusted her mask and tipped backward into the water again. He followed. This time, she stayed beside him.
A cluster of clownfish swam past him. He reached for her arm and pointed. She turned, her eyes wide behind the mask, her shoulders brushing his in the current. The ocean wrapped around him, cool and endless as he explored the beauty with her by his side. Each time he dove deeper, she followed, unafraid. Bold and curious as ever.
A long time later, he surfaced, his limbs pleasantly tired. Shauna followed him.
Pushing her mask onto her head, she said, “That was amazing, wasn’t it? So beautiful.”
He pulled his own mask off, dragging a hand through his wet hair. He studied her. Eyes bright, cheeks flushed, and skin glowing under the sun.
“So beautiful,” he replied, unable to pull his gaze away from her.
Her eyes met his, and something hot flickered there. She floated closer to him, circling him slowly, studying him with the same intensity he was watching her.
“Come on,” he said, deliberately breaking whatever was flaring between them. “Let’s get back to the boat.”
He climbed up first, then turned and offered her his hand. Her fingers curled around his, and something electric sparked between them. Ignoring it, he pulled her onto the deck.
He patted himself dry with a towel and glanced over to find her doing the same. The late afternoon sun burned warm against his skin. Shauna grabbed the sunscreen, squeezing some into her palm and smoothing it over her arms, shoulders, and the long line of her legs. He tried very hard not to stare, and failed miserably.
She looked up and offered him the bottle. He rubbed the lotion over his chest and arms, then reached over his shoulder to get his back.
The attendant approached him with a bright smile. “Would you like some help with that? I can do your back.”
Before he could even respond, Shauna plucked the bottle out of his hand.
“No, thank you,” Shauna told the other woman, her voice sharp. “We can manage.”
Akash blinked.
She stepped behind him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, turning him slightly. He felt the first warm stroke of lotion across his back and nearly forgot how to breathe. He had to literally force his mind back to what had just happened. Shauna had cut off the other woman as if she was… she was… Jealous?
He swallowed. No. That didn’t make sense. They were no one to each another. Why would she be jealous? This was nothing. Wasn’t it?
Shauna’s hands moved slowly, deliberately, across his shoulders and down the center of his back, and he completely lost his train of thought. His skin heated beneath her touch, every nerve suddenly awake. Fuck. He shut his eyes, hating how much he liked her touch.
She finished and lightly tapped his arm. “Your turn.”
Handing the bottle back to him, she spun around, offering him her back. Taking the bottle, he gently shifted her hair over one shoulder. He spread the lotion across her shoulders, and he felt her breath hitch beneath his touch. And then, almost as if nothing had happened, she started talking.
About the reef. The colors. The way a manta ray had moved like silk through the water. He tried, really tried, to focus on what she was saying instead of the smooth warmth of her skin beneath his hands, but it was hard. So fucking hard.
Thankfully, Shauna kept talking, blissfully unaware of the havoc her nearness was wreaking on his mind… and his body.
The boat roared to life once they were seated again. Akash pulled his shirt back on. Beside him, Shauna slipped her dress over her head once more, the bright bikini disappearing from view. He hadn’t realized how much the sight of her had been affecting him until she was covered again. At least now he wouldn’t have to keep fighting the distraction of her sun-warmed skin every time he looked her way. Especially since she’d chosen to sit beside him. Close. Close enough that her arm brushed his as she continued to excitedly explain every coral formation and creature she’d seen.
He nodded, adding a comment here and there, but part of him was still acutely aware of the warmth of her thigh near his. And her scent. He breathed her in every time he inhaled. Saltfrom the sea, coconut from the lotion, and beneath it all, that strong floral scent that was so uniquely her.
He inhaled before he could stop himself, and something tightened low in his chest. Being this close to her, breathing her in, feeling the heat of her body beside his… all of it was its own kind of torture.
