Page 24 of Chasing the Dream

He assumed she meant the water, but all he could think about was seeing her in that bathing suit. “Good. Great.” Am I even making sense right now?

“Not too cold?” She finished untying the cover-up and started shrugging it off.

“No. It’s perfect.” Just like you.

One more tug, and she was free. She laid the mesh garment over a chair and started walking toward him.

The cool water lapped around his body, but inside he was on fire. Morgan Delaney in a bikini was a sight to behold. It was a classic design, not too skimpy but not overly modest either. Her breasts sat up high, the tops of them peeking over the bra cups. Her stomach was smooth and flat, her waist nipping in above gently curved hips. He hadn’t seen the back view yet, but he knew it would be spectacular since he’d been staring at her in dress pants all week long. I’m screwed!

“Ahh. Feels good,” she said as she slowly immersed herself.

“I brought you another beer.” He picked it up to give his hands something to do other than what they really wanted to do, which was pull her close and glide all over her beautiful body.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

She moved closer, and he pushed his back up against the wall as if he could fade into it.

“Of course not. Why? Are you tipsy?”

She laughed. “No. Well, maybe a little.”

She stopped right in front of him, so close he could see the water droplets dripping down her cleavage. Then she held out her hand and took the beer from him, their fingertips lightly touching.

Everything inside him screamed that this was a mistake, bringing her here, feeding her, giving her alcohol. He watched her tip her head back and take a long drink, and then she handed the bottle back to him.

“Why does beer taste so good when it’s warm out?”

“Because it’s cold?” He felt flustered with her standing so close.

She laughed and then flopped backward and started doing the backstroke. She kicked her feet, flinging water at him with her toes.

At first, he thought she might have done it on accident, but then she did it again and laughed when a big splotch of water hit his cheek.

He turned and set down his beer. “That’s it. You’re in for it now!”

“No!” she shouted, arms and legs flailing as she tried to swim away.

He caught her in two strokes, clasped her ankles, and pulled her forward, her head dipping underwater in the process.

She came up sputtering and tried to squirm out of his grip, but she was laughing at the same time.

Finally, he let go, and she righted herself. “I’ll get you back for that,” she warned, narrowing her eyes at him.

He started backing away. “But first, you’ll have to catch me.”

“Piece of cake.”

“You think so?” He kept moving back, and she kept coming forward, her eyes pinned to his.

“Mm-hmm.”

He darted to the right, and she lunged at him, barely grazing his shoulder with her fingertips as he slipped past. “Nice try.”

She came at him again, determination flaring in her beautiful blue eyes. He decided he liked the adult version of “keep away.”

“You’re not going to give up, are you?”

“Nope.”