“Thank you. I want—”
He put his mouth to hers, a little more firmly this time, a little more leisurely. Her shoulders felt small, her skin satiny, warm from the sun. She held herself still but breathed faster.
Just as he was lifting his head, her small hand flattened against his chest. Keeping a tight rein on his expanding lust, he teased his mouth against hers.
Still she didn’t move away. Ever so lightly, he touched his tongue to her bottom lip.
Drawing a deep breath, Hope whispered with wonder, “I like kissing you.”
“Probably not as much as I like kissing you.” Which meant he needed to get a grip before he pushed too fast. “I think I should take that dip now, okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
Snagging up a swim belt and buckling it around his waist, Lang stepped to the swim platform and jumped in. Cold water closed over his head, but thanks to the belt, he popped right back up. Refreshed but still turned on, he folded his arms over the platform and smiled up at her. “Come on. Sit and talk to me.”
Gingerly, she stepped onto the platform and lowered herself to sit, but kept her feet tucked to the side. “You’re sure there aren’t any snakes or big turtles or anything?”
“If there were, I scared them away with my splash.”
She smiled, peeked over the side and finally, with a load of caution, dipped her feet into the water. “It’s cold.”
His elbow touched her knee. At thirty years old, he shouldn’t even have noticed that, but he noticed everything about Hope, down to the smallest detail. “It’s not too bad. By mid-July it’ll be like bath water.”
“You’re used to lakes, aren’t you?”
“We were always around water. Corbin and I learned to swim when we learned to walk. We could spend all day in the water, but Mom wouldn’t let us be there by ourselves.” He grinned. “She likes to hover.”
Hope looked up at the sun. “Did she swim, too?”
“Occasionally.” He shrugged. “More often than not, she’d bring a book to read in the shade, only looking up to yell at us for something.”
“Who got in trouble more?”
“In the water? That’d be me, but only because I was always hot-dogging. You know, doing backflips off the dock, or climbing too high in a tree.”
Hope laughed. “It’s a wonder you survived.”
“Being around Justin now, I see it all differently. I’m surprised my mom didn’t go nuts.”
“He’s a great kid.”
“Yeah, he is.” Lang saw how the heat had flushed her face. “You sure you don’t want to get in?”
“Not this time. I’ll have to work up to it.”
“Then I should probably climb back in.” He didn’t bother with the little drop-down ladder, and instead hoisted himself up with his arms and plopped down heavily beside her. Lake water sprayed over her legs and arms, and a puddle beneath him snaked over to soak her bottom.
She laughed.
And he had to kiss her again. This time, he had her full participation. As if she’d been anticipating that reaction from him, her arms came up around his neck.
Scorched. That’s how he felt. And a little lost.
Why hadn’t he known a kiss could be like this?
Things had advanced quicker than he’d dared to hope, and he was pondering the best way to enjoy her interest without taking advantage of her lack of experience, when suddenly she jerked away with a screech.
His heart sank as she jerked her feet up and out of the water.
“Something bit me!”
Wait...what? That was so far from what he’d expected, Lang didn’t quite understand. And he was still breathing too fast.
Hope gave him a shove. “Something’s in the water.”
“There are all kinds of things in the water.”
“Yes, I know that.” Exasperated, she stared down at the water again. “It’s just that I’ve never got in there.”
“You’re not afraid of bugs,” he pointed out.
“I can see bugs. But in that dark water...”
He shook his head, as much to clear it as to deny any danger. He started to question her, but the outraged expression on her face as she peered down into the lake did him in. His choked laugh brought her pointed attention shooting back to him. The signs of humor made her eyes narrow.
That only made it funnier.
She pushed him again, without much heat, then her lips twitched. “I’m serious. Something nibbled my toe.”
“Are you okay?” he asked around a smile.
“Yes.” She looked at her foot. “All my toes are still where they belong.” With suppressed humor, she admitted, “It just startled me.”
He curled his hand around her small foot. “No damage done.” He glanced into the lake. “There.” He pointed at the silvery reflection of a fish. “It’s just a little blue gill.”
“Aw. It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?” Keeping her feet on the platform, her arms around her knees, she studied the fish, then glanced at him again. “It could have been something else.”
Damn, but she delighted him. “You taste so good,” he teased, “I can’t blame the fish.”
Her expression changed, turned heated. “I think you taste good, too. I liked kissing you, Lang.”
“I’m glad. If you want, we can do a lot more kissing.”
“With no other expectations?”
“You’re in charge. If you ever want more, you’ll let me know. Otherwise, kissing is it.”
This smile was different. It was a smile of relief and anticipation. A smile of trust.
A smile of power. “Thank you.”
Lang knew he’d just lost a big chunk of his heart.
* * *
Ivey saw the hands of the wall clock tick past 9:00 p.m. She really needed to head home, but she also hated to go. Seated on the floor behind the coffee table, she and Justin competed in a video game. So far, he was skunking her. Badly. Of course, he’d played before and she hadn’t, but still...he was only ten. Why couldn’t she grasp the movements? Her driver kept wiping out, while Justin’s gathered points right and left.
Sitting behind her on the couch, Corbin said, “He’s really good at this.”
“Hush, you’ll distract me.” And at that moment, she wiped out for the final time. “Argh!” Dropping the controller, she collapsed back against Corbin’s legs and groaned dramatically.