Don't breathe! Don't breathe!
But it doesn't matter how much I beg my body to ignore the desire and urge for oxygen, it doesn't matter how much I command my lungs to shut down and refuse passage to the liquid. I need air to live, and that's what my body is demanding.
I suck in a full gasp of water and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Water is now filling my lungs, and as I continue to fight, I watch the faint light above me as it fizzles out to blackness. There is no noise, and I feel the struggle leave me, as I sink without any resistance to the bottom of the pool.
Out of the darkness, Kent's face begins to form. It's blurry, coming in and going out. He's bright, with an explosion of light behind his head.
A halo. . .
Focusing my eyes, I blink a few times, and realize his lips are pressing against mine. He's giving me mouth to mouth, blowing air deep into my chest. He pulls back, lowering his ear to my mouth, listening for a sign of life.
Placing his lips over mine again, he stays there for a moment, not pushing air into my body, but just resting there.
I'm fully alert now, well aware of his face and his hands holding my head, and his lips. His lips. . . They're warm, tender, and this doesn't feel like him giving me air. It feels like something else, something more personal, more intimate. Like a kiss.
The urge to cough hits me, so I roll to the side and cough loudly, pool water pours out of my mouth in a never ending stream. Kent pulls away to give me space, and sits back on his heels.
“Are you all right?” he asks, concern smothering his face as he holds my shoulders and supports my back.
“Yeah, I think so.” Attempting to push myself up, Kent helps, lifting me easily. “I can't believe I was so stupid. I shouldn't—”
“Stop,” he says, cutting me off. “You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just so happy you're all right, had I been any later—”
“Don't, you saved me.” Smiling, I look down at my hands. “I'm lucky you were here. I definitely didn’t want to drown today. That would have been the start of a truly shitty day.”
I'm trying to lighten the mood. I can see the concern on his face still and the guilt he's harboring as if this is his fault. And honestly, I’m freaked out. I don’t want to acknowledge the severity of the situation.
“Some first date,” I say playfully.
Kent chuckles, his laugh sexy and soothing. “If you wanted to know what it felt like to kiss me, you didn't have to do this. This is going a little overboard, no?”
Laughing, I can't help but smile. “Right, I'll keep that in mind. Don't go to the extreme. Got it.”
Kent laughs again, and climbs to his feet. “Let me go get you a towel.” He turns and goes into the house. I take a moment to smooth down my wet hair and take a couple of good breaths. You’re okay. You’re okay, I keep repeating to myself. My heart rate returns to a normal rhythm as I gradually calm down.
Kent returns quickly carrying a towel. “I'm just really happy I got here when I did.” There’s genuine relief written all over his face.
“You're my angel,” I say, gripping the ends of the towel as he wraps my shoulders.
“I don't know about that. I can be a lot of things, but what I'm thinking is far from being an angel.” Kent winks as he moves in front of me, and helps me to my feet.
Grinning, I rub the towel through my hair to dry it. “You really need to stop.”
“Stop what?” he asks innocently.
“Stop acting like you have a chance with me.” Smirking, I pull my bottom lip in and give him a sexy little smile.
“That's what you want me to think, but we both know it's not true. You don't believe that for one second.”
“You don't know what I believe.”
“I might not know what you think, but I know what your body is telling me.” He lets out a breath and looks up at the sky. “It's hot out today, huh?” Peeling off his shirt, he tosses it to the side.
His body glistens in the sun, wet from pool water, shiny like he's covered in oil, and all I can think about is running my tongue up his body. I want to lick his abs, and bite him gently. I want to feel his hand rake through my hair and grip the roots.
My body starts to heat, my pussy getting warm and wet the longer I stare at him. Hot, strong, hard body, with a bold, cut, and rugged jaw. I want to feel his lips on my entrance, and his tongue licking, and lapping my folds.
What are you doing? No!
You're not doing this!
This is why I gave myself permission to enjoy the idea of him last night. That little act of self-pleasure was supposed to make this all go away. There isn't supposed to be any attraction. There isn't supposed to be any hint of this desire.
But my body is deceiving me. It's going against everything I'm telling it to do.
And it's as if he knows it.
His smile thickens, his lids hood, and he cups his hands in front of his chest, rubbing them back and forth. “See, I'm right, aren't I? You want me?”
“No, I didn't say that.”
“You don't need to say anything, I told you that already. Your body says everything I need to know.”
“This isn't happening, Kent, no matter how much you try. You won't win this.” Throwing a finger between us, I let my eyes settle on his. “Nope, not happening, sorry.”
“I'm going to make you eat those words,” he says taking a step closer.
I step back.
He steps in.
I step back.
He steps in.
We do this dance, he pushes and I try to pull away, despite my entire body being on fire, and begging for his touch. Then my back is up against the pool house. I can't move anymore. The brick wall is against my back, and I have nowhere else to go. His smile grows as he realizes I'm trapped. He’s a lion. I’m his prey.
Stopping inches away, he looks me up and down. “Last chance to admit the truth, Perri.”
“Or what?” I ask, trying not to flirt, but I know my voice is weak and holds no strength.
Because the truth is, I do want him. I want him all over this damn beach house. I want him to take me in every room of the house, against this wall, in the pool, even on the sand. I just want him.
“Or I show you what you're missing.” His mouth peels back as he looks down at his waist and then back up at me.
My eyes drift down, and I see the outline of hi
s shaft in his shorts. He's hard, his cock is big and thick. Kent makes it jump, and I jump in surprise.
He chuckles, stroking his jaw as he takes another step to close the gap between us.
“Kent, we really shouldn't. If my father—”
He's almost pressing against me, his eyes full, heavy, and devouring me where I stand. “You're not a child, Perri, you're a woman. Your father doesn't get to control you. And he certainly doesn't control me.”
My chest vibrates, and my stomach tumbles. I can feel his eyes all over me. On my face, on my lips, over my breasts, steadying on the diamond between my thighs. Sucking in a quick breath, I hold it for a second, still feeling the burn from the water left in my lungs.
“Ken—”
I attempt to get out, but I'm instantly silenced. His lips are on mine. His hands swoop in, capturing my face. He holds me tight, thumbs pressing the very thin line of my jaw.
There is no fight left in me. I don't even try to push him away. I don't want to.
I kiss him back, embracing his mouth, allowing his tongue to slip between my lips and coil around mine. My back arches into his chest as he glides his hands down my face. Reaching my wrists, he grips them between two fingers and lifts them around his neck.
He pushes his tongue deeper, his hands finding their way into my hair. My eyes close, and I let him manipulate me how he wants. Because I don't want to stop him, and I don't want him to let go.
Kent's hands become fiercer, grabbing my ass and lifting me off my feet. I wrap my legs around his waist as he pushes my back against the hard wall behind me. My shoulders crack, and I feel the exposed skin of my lower back as it scrapes the rough brick surface.
Breaking our kiss, I pull in a winded breath as he moves his mouth down my neck, his stubble rubbing roughly across my sensitive skin. And I like it. I like the little burn, the light twinge of pain, I like the flame on my skin when his mouth moves, and I can still feel where he's been.
Moaning, I dig my heels into the back of his legs and grind my pinkness against his stomach. Kent growls, pressing me harder into the brick wall as he bites my collar bone and squeezes my tit.