He shoved them into the door, and I looked behind us. It didn’t matter that his dad owned this place. I still felt like we were doing something wrong. Like we were doing something that could easily get me fired.
We pushed through the door, and Beck quickly punched numbers into the security system that chirped at us. His fingers were clumsy, but it quit the moment he hit Enter.
He gripped my fingers in his and moved through the dark hallway with ease.
“Where are we going?” I followed after him as we passed the dining room and moved into the main hallway. He didn’t answer me. He just kept walking with my hand in his and determination on his face.
We pushed through a door that led to the pool, and I dug in my heels.
“Beck.”
“What?” He dropped my hand and tugged at the base of his t-shirt. I watched him as he lifted it over his head, struggling as he got to his shoulders, and I couldn’t stop staring at his toned stomach or the way his muscles disappeared into his jeans.
“We are not doing this.”
“Doing what?” He threw his shirt to the side and gripped my fingers in his again. He tugged me toward him as he walked a few steps backward.
“I told your friends that I would take your drunk ass home. Not that I’d let you go drown in a pool.”
“You won’t let me drown.” His fingers were toying with mine, and I could barely concentrate on what he was saying. I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the feel of those damn fingers.
“I am not getting in that pool, Beck.”
He dropped my hand as we got to the edge and kicked off one of his shoes. He laughed as he almost tripped, and I cursed as I reached out for him.
“See, Josie.” He didn’t stop me from holding on to his arms. “You’re my little savior.”
“I am not your savior.” I shook my head. He was even drunker than I thought. “I just don’t want your death on my hands.”
His other shoe went flying and his hands dropped to his belt. I watched every second of him slipping the leather out of its buckle. His abs bunched and moved with every move of his arms, and even though I told myself I should look away, I couldn’t.
He popped the button of his jeans and slowly lowered his zipper. Black boxers still covered him, but I still felt suddenly hot. I felt like I was suddenly crossing a line with him even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong.
He tugged his jeans off his hips, and I dropped my hands from his arms.
“Are you coming?” He looked from me to the water. It looked perfectly inviting, the water was crystal clear and lit up from lights beneath it. I could hear the ocean crashing against the sand in the background, but I couldn’t see it. All I could see was him.
“Beck, this isn’t a good idea.” He wasn’t listening to me. He dived headfirst into the water. “Shit.” I kicked off my shoes in case I had to save his stupid ass, but he glided through the water before quickly coming to the top.
He pushed his dark, wet hair out of his face and grinned at me.
“You worried about me?” He cocked his head to the side and looked at my bare feet.
“Just because I don’t like you doesn’t mean I want you to drown.”
“You like me.” He was so sure of himself. He swam toward the edge of the pool and rested his arms on the concrete. “Come in.”
“I’m not getting in that water, Beck. Get out.”
“I’m not getting out until you get in.”
I shook my head and crossed my arms.
“Just put your feet in.”
I looked at him and I knew that he wouldn’t give up until I did. If Beck was nothing else, he was stubborn.
I tried to roll up the edge of my jeans, but they were too tight against my legs.
“Just take them off.” Beck smiled.
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” I tugged them back down toward my ankles.
“I won’t even look.” He covered his eyes with his hands. “And I promise not to touch you.”
He was so full of shit. I knew that with absolute confidence, but it didn’t stop me from turning away from him and tugging my t-shirt out of the knot. I undid my jeans and pulled my t-shirt down over my ass before I tugged them down my legs.
I folded them as I took a deep breath and laid them on one of the lounge chairs. Beck was watching my every move as I made my way toward him. His chin was resting on his arms, but his eyes were solely on me.
I sat down next to him and dipped my toes into the cool water. I slowly dragged my feet back and forth and watched the way the water cascaded over my legs. I did everything I could to avoid looking over at him.
“Are you happy now?” I held on to the edge of the pool and glanced over at him.
He was still just staring at me. I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or what was going through his head, but the mask he normally wore felt like it was slipping. His eyes looked more green than brown, and he looked like he was perfectly content in that moment. Just sitting there staring at me.
“I am happy.”
That should have made me feel good. It should have made me do anything other than becoming overwhelmed with anger. But when I closed my eyes, all I could see was her. Here he was with me breaking rules, basically breaking into the club, and he should have been with her.
“Cami,” I said her name, and he let his head fall back between his shoulders in exasperation.
“I don’t want to talk about Cami.”
“Well, that’s too bad, Beck.” My hands tightened on the pool’s edge. “I feel like Cami is the only thing we should be talking about right now.”
He shook his head, but I wasn’t finished.
“She’s your girlfriend.”
“I told you…” He practically growled out the words.
“You belong to her.”
“Fine.” He pushed his hair out of his face and moved closer to me. He placed his hands on either side of my legs, our fingers only centimeters apart.
He had a silver chain around his neck that I hadn’t noticed before. The water glistened off it, and I felt mesmerized as it dangled in the space between us.
“Let’s pretend like I am hers. That doesn’t stop you from wanting me.”
My gaze snapped up to his, and the urge to slap him was unreal. How dare he say something like that to me?
I pushed off the concrete in order to escape him. My leg was only halfway out of the water when his fingers gripped my thighs. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t slap Cami in my face.” My thighs shook beneath his touch. “I’m already aware that what we did was wrong.”
“Cami doesn’t give a shit about me.” He tried to push his way between my knees to get closer to me, but I boxed him out.
Beck was already close enough. I couldn’t think straight as it was, and every inch closer he got to me fucked with my head a little bit more. I needed to put distance between us. I needed to get away from him.
“She says differently.”
“Did she also say my dad was sick?” His fingers dug into my skin. “No?” He chuckled, but I had no idea what he was talking about.
I shook my head softly. “I don’t know…”
“Exactly. She didn’t tell you because she doesn’t know. Cami doesn’t care about anything other than her reputation.”