I got the feeling he didn't just mean that they would be bored on their own, so I let him pull me back out of the bedroom—my bedroom—and through the house.
From the deck, I could see lights out on the lake somewhere, and I squinted into the darkness, instantly worried.
"Max, what—" I grabbed his hand in alarm, but the smile he shot me said this was all part of their plan.
"You feeling up for a swim, Hellcat?" he suggested, giving me a wicked grin.
My brows shot up. "I'm not wearing a swimsuit."
His smile spread wider, and he tugged his T-shirt off in one smooth motion, dropping it in the grass as we continued down toward the pier. "So?"
My jaw dropped, but then he gave me that look. The one that so clearly challenged me. Fucking hell, he knew I couldn't back down when dignity was on the line.
We got to the end of the pier, and he pushed his pants off, then executed a perfect dive into the inky waters. Totally naked.
"Are you coming in?" he called back to me when his head broke the surface once more. "I promise it's not that cold."
I groaned, knowing full well how chilly it'd been on my feet earlier. Yet... I couldn't let him have all the fun.
Hesitant, I started to tug my tank top off, then looked back up at the house, which was lit up like a Christmas tree. "What about—"
"They won't see," he assured me before I could even fully form the protest. "It's so dark out here; I promise, we're totally alone."
That was all the reassurance I needed. I tossed my tank top aside, then my bra, then shimmied out of my shorts and panties. Gasping a deep breath, I plunged into the dark water and instantly felt the biting cold seize my body.
Not that cold, my ass.
"Wh-what th-the f-fuck, M-max?" I exclaimed when I popped up near him. "It's fr-freezing!"
He just laughed, the shithead, and dragged me into his arms. "You'll warm up in no time," he told me with a chuckle, then kissed me long and hard. "Come on, we have one last surprise."
He started gliding in the direction I'd seen the lights, toward where they'd pointed out a diving platform earlier, and I grumbled about being tricked as I swam with him. Goddamn sexy shark that he was, I couldn't resist.
As we drew closer, my breath caught all over again. A small boat was tied up beside the wide dive platform, right beside the pretty awesome waterslide. That boat explained how Kody and Archer had pulled off what had to be the most romantic date setting I'd ever seen.
The whole platform was set up with pillows and soft blankets and illuminated by a dozen hurricane lamps with flickering candles inside. Exquisite arrangements of flowers complimented the candles, and near the pillows, a dessert tray was all set up for the four of us. There was even a bottle of Champagne chilling in an ice-bucket. They'd thought of everything.
"Are you guys for real right now?" I gaped, holding onto the edge of the platform with my fingers.
Archer reached down to pull me from the water, then his brows shot right up. "You're naked," he observed, shooting Steele a puzzled look. "What happened to getting swimsuits on upstairs?"
Steele just pulled himself out of the water and shrugged. "I got distracted. And I like seeing Hellcat naked, so win-win."
Archer rolled his eyes, and Kody tossed us towels to wrap up in. Steele had been right, though; once I'd gotten used to the water, it hadn't been as cold as I'd thought.
"You guys are seriously setting the bar high here," I teased as I wrapped myself up in the towel and made my way over to the pillows.
"Good," Kody replied, nudging me to sit down, then he knelt on one of the blankets as he opened the Champagne. "Forces these unromantic fucks to keep stepping up their game, right?" He winked at me like we were in on a joke together, and Archer smacked him in the back of the head playfully.
"So, you guys set up this ultra-romantic picnic in the middle of a lake with flowers, candles, Champagne..." I accepted a glass from Kody and took a sip. I was already decently buzzed, but I really liked this Champagne. "Just for fun?"
"Some might say we did it because we love you, Princess," Archer commented in a dry tone, and I snickered a laugh.
"Uh-huh, some might say that," I agreed, teasing. "But then Steele got me naked, so some might also wonder if you had ulterior motives."
Kody gave a fake gasp of outrage as he handed out drinks to the other guys before reclining into the pillows beside me. "Babe, I can't possibly imagine what you mean by that," he lied, holding my gaze unblinkingly as he took a huge sip of his champagne.
I smirked back at him, shaking my head but playing along. "I'm sure you can't."
"So, what do you think of the house?" Archer asked, changing the subject as he turned on a little portable stereo, filling the night air with soft piano music.
Steele's music.
My lips parted in surprise as I heard the original compositions that he'd been working on over the last few weeks pouring from the speaker. He gave me a knowing smile back but didn't comment.
"The house?" I repeated, refocusing on Archer's question. I screwed up my nose, gazing back at the lit-up lodge on the shore of the lake. "It's okay, I guess."
Kody choked on his Champagne, and Steele clapped him on the back to help out.
Archer just gave me a flat stare. "Just okay, huh?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, I mean... is there even a gym? Where will you guys work out? And I didn't see a piano anywhere. We obviously need to add all of that."
His unimpressed stare melted into an adoring smile as he realized what I was saying. "Yeah, well, we didn't have a lot of time to get everything perfect. But aside from that..."
"Aside from that?" I turned my face to look at the house again, a soft smile on my lips. "You guys fucking nailed it."
"Thank fuck," Kody groaned, collapsing into the pillows and making me laugh.
I took another big mouthful of my drink, then placed the glass aside. "I've got one really important question, though."
Archer's brow shot up. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Are you sure no one can see us out here?"
Steele answered me. "Not unless they have binoculars, and I thoughtfully didn't provide those to any of our guests. Total privacy, Hellcat."
"Well then," I replied, loosening my towel and tossing it aside. "I believe someone has a promise to deliver on."
Archer met my stare unflinchingly and carefully placed his glass aside.
"Are you sure about this, Kate?" His tone was carefully even, like he was trying not to influence my decision. Silly boy.
I smirked. "I'm more than sure. Are you?" It was no secret that Archer was the least comfortable with sharing, but he'd come a hell of a long way in recent months.
He glanced over at Kody and Steele, but neither one of them said anything as they waited for his response.
After a second, he jerked a nod and prowled toward me on hands and knees. "Fuck yes, I am." His mouth crashed into mine with a force that pushed me back into the pillows, but I wasn't complaining. Instead, I kissed him back with equal fervor, my lips parting to give him access to my mouth.