“Come on.” Her fingertips glide beneath the tiny elastic waistband of her black lace panties. “What are you waiting for?”
Rising, I sit my pole aside and pull in a hard breath. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her all day, half-naked or not, and now that she’s standing before me like this, it’s fucking impossible.
The flannel shirt I’m wearing is hotter than hell, and a dip in the lake would feel amazing, but I promised myself I’d be a complete gentleman this weekend. As awkward as it was showing Aidy to the guestroom earlier, I think she appreciated that I didn’t bring her here to put the moves on her like some horny jackass. I’m sure she gets enough of that back home as it is.
Not saying I wouldn’t love a piece of Aidy Kincaid.
I’d love the hell out of a piece of this woman.
But I’m also enjoying the hell out of her company, and sex tends to make things awkward, and I’m not ready to tarnish whatever it is we have quite yet.
I can almost hear Matteo’s voice in my head, telling me to man the fuck up and go for it. But I’m not Matteo.
I’m not any of my brothers, and thank God for that.
Growing up, I liked to think of us all as different continents. We each had our own customs and personalities, and most of the time we needed a treaty or a truce in order to get along, and even as adults, not much has changed.
“Still thinking about it?” Aidy asks, lip curled and brow raised. She steps out of her panties, and I swallow hard. Keeping my eyes locked on hers is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
Fuck it.
I work the buttons of my shirt, feeling a throb in my cock when she pulls her satin bra straps down her delicate shoulders. Unhooking it, she tosses it aside, says, “ta da,” and rests her hands on her hips.
“I find it really odd that you haven’t at least tried to check me out yet,” she says.
“It’s not like I don’t want to.”
Her lips curl up at one side. “Have you always been this big of a gentleman?”
Our eyes catch, igniting a spark that’s been waiting all along, and I inhale sharply.
“No.” I toss my shirt aside and work on my belt. Aidy’s eyes fall to my stomach, visually tracing the ripples and curves I’ve stubbornly refused to lose over the past year. Despite my shoulder injury, I’ve done my damnedest to stay in shape, to not lose the body I spent my entire life working on. “Not always, Aidy.”
Her lips purse as she swallows. “Good to know, Ace.”
Without warning, she jumps in the water, splashing me and the edge of the dock in the process. She comes up a couple seconds later, her body bobbing up and down and her palms slicking back her wet hair.
She smiles, does a happy squeal, and then treads water a few feet ahead of me. “Water’s fine. Get that stubborn ass of yours in here before I do something even crazier.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” I step out of my boots and pull off my jeans, and when I tug on the waistband of my boxer briefs, I see her eyes travel to the bulge beneath them. This is insane. This woman is insane. Taking in a deep breath, I remove the last article of clothing and stand at the edge of the dock, the wood warm beneath my feet.
For the first time in a long time, I don’t think.
I simply do.
And within seconds, I find myself completely submerged. Enveloped in lake water and treading water. When I come up for air, the first thing I see is her smiling face.
Aidy laughs, splashing water on me before swimming closer.
“I knew I could talk you into it,” she says.
“Cocky much?”
“Determined. Stubborn. Not cocky.” Her body bobs up, painted in sunset colors, and the closer I get, the more I see the small ring of dark makeup beneath her eyes. Even still, she’s fucking gorgeous. Lit from within. “Isn’t this the most amazing feeling in the entire world?”
“Winning the World Series is the most amazing feeling in the world,” I say. “Signing a five-year contract is the most amazing feeling in the world.”
“You know what I meant,” she says, swatting her hand before it returns to the water. “Let’s just hope some fish doesn’t swim along thinking your . . . is fish bait.”
“Are you saying my cock is as small as a worm?” I squint at her.
Aidy laughs. “No, no, no. I saw it. It’s like the size of fifty worms put together.”
I stick my tongue out. “Thanks for that visual.”
Her cheeks warm. “No, I just meant . . . it’s not . . . it’s a good . . . I meant there’s no way it could be mistaken for a worm. Maybe a good-sized fish? Fish eat other fish, right?”
“Can we not talk about my cock in this context anymore?”
“What would you like to talk about?” she asks, seeming grateful for the change of subject.
The sound of voices and the hum of a boat engine trails over the water, pulling my attention to the left. Up ahead, a couple of bodies in a small boat glide across the water, headed our way. This inlet is pretty private, secluded from other houses, but it’s still a public body of water, and we get the occasional angler and boaters.
“Shit,” I say as I recognize the DNR logo on the side of the boat. Those men are more than likely Harold and Eddie. I’ve known them for years, as long as I’ve owned this place, and I’m not about to give them a free show. I’d still like to be able to look them in the eyes.
“What?” Aidy asks before following my gaze.
“Go, go, go.” I swim toward the dock, and she follows. “I know them. Let’s get out of here.”
We reach the small ladder at the edge of the pier, and I climb up first, reaching for her hand as she follows. Gathering our clothes in our arms, we sprint toward the house, nearly slipping as we cross the rocks. The grass beneath our feet feels like heaven as the back door nears.
The second we pass through, we collapse against the wall, naked and wet, smelling like dirt and grass and lake.
We laugh, something I haven’t done in a long time, and when I feel the swell of her breasts and the hardness of her nipples pressed against my chest, I find myself unable to breathe.
Our bodies are touching now, and her back is to the wall.
I’m not sure how this happened. Maybe it was always meant to happen. Maybe it was inevitable. But neither one of us moves, our breaths suspended, and just as quickly as they happened, our expressions fade, replaced with something else entirely.
Her fingertips trail down my arms, tracing the veins that run down the center of my biceps. Her gaze falls to my chest, then lifts.
Aidy’s tongue grazes across her bottom lip, a silent invitation, and I breathe in her earthy scent.
“God, you’re beautiful.” My words are breathless. My heart is hammering. And my self-control? Non-existent. Cupping her face in my hand, I press my mouth against hers.
Twenty-One
Aidy
* * *
I’m shivering, but my body’s on fire.
The warmth of Ace’s body pressed against mine does nothing to quell the tremors making their way through my body the second he kisses me. I’m pressed against a wall next to the back door, his hand on my face while his other rests on the small of my back. My fingertips trace the pulsing veins running down his chiseled arms, and the heat of his full mouth on mine weakens my legs.