I shrug. “I didn’t earn it.”
He shakes his head and lets out a low whistle, scanning the grounds. “So, this is how the one percent lives.”
“Yep, and trust me, it’s just as foreign to me as it is to you.”
“How so?”
“We’ve been estranged for years. I had to outgrow my adolescence before he decided we could have a relationship again.”
“That’s shitty.”
“Enough about Roman. You swimming or not?”
Dropping his T-shirt and smokes, he dives in, and I turn in time to see him emerge, a river pouring from his thick blond strands, sliding down his impressive chest.
He lifts to stand, towering above the water line, marking his height an inch or two above six feet.
“How you feelin’ today, lightweight?” He asks, his faint drawl distinct, like perfectly edited punctuation.
“I feel…like I got drunk off a few chick beers. And maybe a little embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. You made an impression.”
“Couldn’t have been much of one, I got kicked out.” I tread water, feeling the burn of the sun on my back.
“That wasn’t you, it was Dom, trust me.”
“So, tell me why you quit the plant the first time.”
“I was working at the garage, but Dom graduated from college and came back to claim my spot.”
“Dominic just graduated?”
He hikes a brow. “You judged him that hard, Pup?”
“Maybe, but he’s a dick. Where did he go to college?”
“Just got his masters from MIT. Computer geek. He’s an evil genius with a keyboard.”
My interest only grows. “Really?”
He lifts one side of his mouth. “You impressed?”
I stand stunned, not at all able to picture Dominic on any school campus just as Sean cuts his hand along the water creating a tidal wave that drenches me.
I sputter out the water in surprise. “You ass!”
“You’re in a pool.” He lifts a thick brow. “Bound to get wet.”
His statement is loaded with insinuation, and I know Christy would have a field day if she saw this guy. I can hardly believe he’s standing in Roman’s pool.
I move to engage in his play and turn swiftly instead, pulling myself from the water before adjusting my bikini to make sure I’m covered. I picked the less revealing of the two I own, but I might as well be naked with the feel of his eyes on me.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m thirsty? You?”
His eyes dip to the water dripping from my neck. “Sure.”
“Water? Tea? Grape juice?”
“Surprise me.”
“Surprise,” I say, stripping the water from my hair with a towel before wrapping it around me and widen my eyes. “It’ll be grape juice.”
“Living it up today, huh?” His smile is blinding. I fight the urge to ask him to take off his shades. Walking toward the house, I can feel the tension coiling, and I know the goosebumps on my skin have little to do with the air hitting my wet body. Once inside, I carefully trek over the sea of polished marble and peek outside to see Sean hoist himself up on the side of the pool, lighting a cigarette, waiting for me. Fighting the urge to text Christy, I bury my face in my hands and feel a smile building beneath. Though I’ve only had two partners, I’m not an innocent girl. In fact, when I became sexually active, I surprised myself with my thirst, my sexuality, with my fascination for the act itself, and the unexpected cravings after, but this attraction is on another level.
Opening the fridge, I grab two bottles of grape juice and again glance outside. When I was seventeen, I had a horrible crush on Brad Portman. The feelings that stirred in me when the attraction was returned were some I knew could never be topped. Later, when he kissed me for the first time and fire exploded in my chest and belly before trickling to my core, I was sure nothing could come close to that euphoria, nor the feeling of when he closed his eyes tight with pleasure and pressed inside me, claiming my virginity.
Those feelings and memories, I swore would remain the hottest moments of my life, until I walked outside, juice in hand, to see Sean lift his sunglasses.
“BLUE MADONNA” BY BØRNS CROONS from my cell phone on the lounger as I wade through the water at the deep end. Sean stands propped against the wall on the opposite end. His powerful arms stretched along the concrete behind him, his eyes trained on me as mine drift to the midnight ink on his arm.
“So, what’s the deal with the tattoo?”
“Deal?”
I roll my eyes. “Some of your friends have it too, a lot of them. What does it mean?”
“It’s a raven.”
“I’m aware of that,” I say, my thighs and calves starting to burn from lack of exercise. “But what does it symbolize? Is it like a…best friend thing?” A giggle escapes me.
“You makin’ fun of me, Pup?”
“No, but you don’t think it’s a little weird you share a tattoo with that many grown men?”
“Nope,” he pops the ‘p’ sound. “Think of it as a promise.”
“A promise of what?”
He shrugs. “Whatever promise it needs to be.”
“Do you always answer questions in riddles?”
“It’s the truth.”
His eyes dip as I swim to the middle of the pool, my chest inches above the waterline, before lifting back to mine, the look in them enough to have me taking a mental picture.
“You want to tell me what you’re thinking all the way over there?” His question dries my tongue.
“I’m thinking I don’t know a lot about you.”
“Not much to tell. I told you I moved here when I was young. It’s a small town. As you can imagine, we came up with creative ways to occupy our time.”
“That’s when you met Dominic? When you were kids?”
He grins. “I was wondering when you’d bring him up again.”
“Is he always like that?”
“Like what?”
I wrinkle my nose. “Abrasive?”
This earns me a chuckle. “I think you know the answer.”
“So, what’s his problem? Mom didn’t hug him enough?”
“Probably not. She died when he was young.”
I wince. “Shit, I’m an asshole.”
“So is he. And he doesn’t apologize for it, so you shouldn’t either.”
“So, you’re all just friends with a promise? Why a raven?”
“Why not?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m getting nowhere with you.”
His smooth voice clouds my vision. “Why don’t you stop hiding behind the water and come a little closer, then I can get a better look at you.”
“I’m not hiding,” I hear the squeak in my voice and want to drown myself.
He lifts his chin in silent order, and I slowly inch my way closer. His posture stays relaxed as he sinks into the water so that his lips crest just above the smooth surface.
He’s still feet away, but his effect is lethal, my arms feel like lead now as I swim toward him. Predatory hazel eyes roam over me as if he’s deciding where to sink his teeth in first. I love it, the draw, the sizzle growing in the chlorine perfumed air. I’m in way over my head with this one, and we both know it.