Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“Me?” Theo asked with a grin. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“Hmm,” I mused, tapping my chin. “What’s your family like?”
“Boring.”
I chuckled. “That’s not very nice.”
“I’m not talking about my family. I’m talking about your question.”
I frowned.
Theo looked out over the water, thinking for a moment before he said, “My parents are English. They both grew up in London but migrated to the United States in their twenties, so I grew up on the Upper East Side in New York. My four times great grandfather was in the railroad business, so I guess you could say we come from old money. Dad loves to golf. Mom loves to shop. Both of them love to drink red wine and dote on their one and only son.”
I smiled.
“Now,” Theo said, heaving another row of the boat. “Ask me something more exciting.”
“Exciting?” I chuckled, tucking my hands under my thighs. “Um… I don’t know…”
“Sure, you do. Ask me something you actually want to know.”
“But I did want to know about your family.”
“What else?”
I frowned, and for a long moment, it was just the sound of the water lapping against the boat, and the oars dipping into the sea, and the birds flying overhead.
“Let me give you an example,” Theo said, and he paused rowing long enough to lock his eyes on mine. “Were you touching yourself this evening, before I came to your door?”
My eyes popped out of my head, and that was answer enough for Theo’s lips to spread into a wide grin.
“You were,” he said, leaning back and letting the oars rest. He swallowed. “What were you thinking about?”
My lips parted in shock. Was he really asking me this?
“Or should the question be who were you thinking about?”
This time, my jaw hinged open. “Theo!”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said as he began rowing again. “You wanted to talk about me, huh?”
Theo winked, and I rolled my eyes, playfully splashing him with water as he steered us toward a small opening in the limestone cliffside. Part of me wanted to cover my red face with my hands or leap into the water to get away from his gaze, but he somehow made me feel… comfortable. I couldn’t explain it. He’d just asked me the most personal question anyone ever had, but it didn’t make me angry and I didn’t feel embarrassed, either.
If anything, I was starting to get turned on again.
What is wrong with you, Aspen!?
The closer we got to the island, the more I craned my neck to take it all in. There were stairs that led down to the water from what appeared to be a restaurant above, and Theo tied our boat to the railing before digging into one of the bags.
“Here,” he said, tossing me a pair of swim fins. “Put these on.”
“What is this place?” I asked as I strapped the fins to each foot.
“The Blue Grotto.”
“Really?!” I asked excitedly, eyeing the small cave opening in the side of the cliff. “Don’t we have to pay for a tour boat or something? I was reading up on it because I wanted to take some photos.”
“They run tours all day until about five or so,” Theo said, strapping on his last fin. “After that, everyone leaves, and the only real way to get here is if you have a boat.” He waved a hand over our little rowboat with a grin.
“Sounds like we could get in trouble,” I mused. Then, I held up one of my fin-covered feet. “Isn’t it also illegal to swim in the Grotto?”
His smile widened, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he stood, his eyes cast down on me as he stripped his white t-shirt overhead and let it drop into the boat at his feet. He arched a brow at me, something of a challenge sparkling in his irises, and then he dove over my head and into the water.
The splash of cold water made me gasp, but then laughter bubbled out of me, and before I could even think better of it, I had my t-shirt peeled off and I was jumping in the water, too.
“Ah!” I said when my head emerged again. “It’s f-f-freezing.”
“You’ll warm up,” Theo said, and there was mischief in his eyes when he added. “I promise.”
He nodded toward the small cave opening in the limestone, and then we swam that direction, and I was thankful for the fins because there was nothing to hold onto and no hope of possibly touching the bottom. I followed behind Theo with him checking over his shoulder now and then to make sure I was alright, and when we got to the cave opening, he paused, reaching back to grab my hand.
“Hold onto me,” he said, pulling my hand to rest on his shoulder. “Stay low in the water and watch your head.”