When she tipped her face up, he kissed her. “I know you’re not a thong girl, Cait. I saw your pink panties, remember?”
She groaned, and he kissed her again. He couldn’t fight the urge to spread his hands over her ass, which felt incredible. “Want me to stand like this, just in case anyone comes by?” Her eyes darkened, and he was this close to blowing off her swimming lesson and blowing her mind instead.
“You’re such a guy.”
“Exactly, and you’re my gorgeous half-naked girl. If we keep this up, you’re liable to wake my very male sea monster.”
She took a step back, but the hunger in her eyes told him she was just as close to giving in to the inferno between them as he was. But he didn’t want to do anything that might set her back, so he tried to ignore his half-hard cock and said, “Mm-mm, angel. You look delicious.” And I’m in the mood for a feast. “We’d better get in the water before I forget my manners.”
As Cait headed down to the shore, he poured a bottle of water into a bowl for Scrappy, kicked off his flip-flops, and stripped off his shirt.
Cait dipped her toes in. “It’s cold.”
“Exactly. Let’s go, baby.” He scooped her into his arms, and she screamed as he strode into the water.
“Brant!” She clung to him. “Don’t drop me!”
“I would never put you in danger, which is why I’m waist deep in cold water right now.”
She giggled. “That’s very chivalrous of you.” Her butt touched the water, and she shrieked, scrambling up his body. She wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing with her knees and using his shoulders to pull herself higher.
Laughter bubbled out before he could stop it. “Jesus, woman. You’re like a freaking monkey.”
“That water is freezing!”
“And you’re making me too damn hot. Now it’s my turn.” He put his mouth over the cutouts on her stomach, slicking his tongue along her skin, and gave it a nice hard suck.
“Oh God,” she said in one long breath, and slid down his body, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Your mouth is wicked.”
“And you’re testing every ounce of my control. On your feet, woman. It’s time to learn to float.”
Her eyes widened. “I can’t float. You saw me go under.”
“I promise I won’t let that happen.”
She looked at the water, tightening her hold around his neck. “I don’t think I need to learn to swim. I can just stay on the beach.”
“Unless you see a helpless animal or a small child drowning. Then that big heart of yours is going to take you in. How about I sweeten the pot?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well, you like my mouth, and I like your everything, so for every skill you learn, a kiss you shall earn.”
Heat shimmered in her eyes. “I might need one for good luck.”
“Get over here.” He pulled her mouth to his, taking her in a slow, drugging kiss. “You don’t need luck,” he whispered against her lips. “You have me, and I’ve always got you.”
His words were as lethal as his lips.
“I’m going to lower you into the water, but I’m right here and I won’t let go.”
Cait clung to his arms as he lowered her onto her tiptoes in the almost chest-deep water. There were no waves in the cove, but the water swished with their movements. I can do this. I can do this.
Brant had a solid grip on her torso, and his eyes remained trained on her. “You okay?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Now let’s take a little walk.”
“A walk?” She tightened her grip on his arms. “That’s how I got in trouble last time.”
“Cait, this cove doesn’t drop off until you get farther out. I’ll stay on this side of you.” He was standing between her and the deeper water. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded. She did trust him, but she was still nervous.
He put his arm around her, bracing her against his side. “All we’re doing is walking and getting comfortable.”
She repeated that in her head like a mantra as they walked about ten feet one way and turned around and walked back. He didn’t rush her but let her walk at her own pace.
“Feel pretty good?”
“Yeah. I’m okay,” She was surprised to find that her nerves were settling. “This isn’t bad.”
“I’m just going to teach you the basics today, so you’ll know what to do if you find yourself in deep water.”
She leaned against him. “Like pray you’re nearby?”
“No, like remember how to tread water, float on your back, and doggy paddle to shore. If you know you can do those things, you’ll be more confident.”
“You make it sound easy.” She hadn’t even realized he’d turned them around and they were walking the other way again.
“After today, it will be easy. I promise. Just push past the initial fear. If you tell yourself you can do it, you’ll learn quicker.”
“Don’t I need to know how to actually swim?”
“Eventually. I’ll teach you freestyle in the pool by my cottage.”
“Why aren’t we using the pool now?”
“Because the more comfortable you are in the ocean, the more confident you’ll be. If you learn in the pool, you might still be intimidated in the ocean. But if you’re confident in the ocean, the pool is a piece of cake.”
“Then I want to learn to swim here,” she said insistently.
“Attagirl, but we don’t have enough daylight left to do it all today. Let’s get the basics down.” He pulled goggles out of the pocket of his bathing suit. They were dark green, the kind that covered only her eyes, not ones that went over her nose like Joni and Randi had worn. “Put these on.”
“Do I really need them?”
“No, but it might make it less scary when you learn how to hold your breath under the water. I’d rather you were concentrating on breathing than how much the salt water stings your eyes.”
“Good point.” She put on the goggles.
“And for that you get this.” He pressed his lips to hers.
It was just a simple touch of his lips, but he was being so patient with her, it made the kiss feel even more special. “I like this game.”
He chuckled. “Me too. Are you ready to learn to float on your back?”
“Not really, but I’ll try.”
“We’ll stay here where it’s not too deep. The great thing about floating on your back is that you can see everything around you. Once you master it, you can pull yourself across the water using your arms.”
“Or sink to the bottom and flail like a maniac.”
“That’s not going to happen. If Scrappy gets into the water again, you need to be able to save him.”
She looked over her shoulder and saw Scrappy sitting on the sand watching them and knew he was right. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“You’re going to lie back and try to keep your body parallel to the surface. I’ll keep my hands under you. All you have to do is breathe, relax, and let the water carry you.”