Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Was he the right one, though?
Every fluttering nerve ending in her body seemed to believe so. The organ caged inside of her ribs, as well, and how it knocked louder and faster as she swam in his direction was telling. So telling.
“You look like a mermaid out there,” he said, gruffly, then seemed to decide his statement sounded ridiculous, looking down and toeing the earth with his boot.
“Do you believe in mermaids, Burgess?”
“I believe I’ve watched The Little Mermaid four hundred times.” He shivered. “The real thing, though? No. You?”
She made a considering sound. “Ninety-five percent of the ocean hasn’t been explored. I think that’s a lot of room for secrets.” Slowly, Tallulah started to swim back to the shore, enjoying every ripple of water against her bare skin. “But more than anything, I think they were designed so that men had women to blame for shipwrecks or bad luck at sea. Surely these accidents couldn’t be a man’s doing. It must be a fish woman.”
A corner of his mouth jumped. “Some explorer refused to pull over and ask for directions. That’s what really happened.”
“Bingo.” Tallulah’s feet found the bottom on the pond, but she didn’t stand. “That being said, I do find the idea of mermaids very romantic. These beautiful creatures appearing to sailors.” She dragged her fingertips through the water in front of her. “Enchanting them so thoroughly they go totally off course.”
Burgess blew out a slow breath. “Right about now, I can commiserate.”
“Would I cause you to crash your ship, Burgess?”
“Into a million pieces.”
“Mmmm.” It wasn’t lost on Tallulah that his admission excited her even more than skinny dipping. More than . . . anything in recent memory. “Are you going to be a gentleman and close your eyes while I get out of the water?”
“Yes,” he said with conviction, but his chest was beginning to rise and fall.
“What would you be willing to do for a peek?”
“Fuck it,” he muttered, like a sailor accepting that he’d been tempted into steering his vessel toward the rocks. “Anything.”
That guttural confession caused an electric current to move through Tallulah. “If you had to pick something of mine to look at,” she murmured. “What would it be?”
“You mean, which part of you?”
Tallulah nodded.
Several charged seconds ticked by. “You realize that’s an impossible choice.”
She started whistling the Jeopardy theme song.
He dragged a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ.”
“Walk me through your decision-making process,” Tallulah suggested, having an inordinate amount of fun, every inch of her tingling, anticipating, her whole body seeming to hold its breath.
“Obviously it’s down to . . . two. Parts.”
“Tits and ass.”
“Oh yeah,” he growled, his gaze seemingly attempting to cut through the water. “I mean, for a minute there, I was considering something else. But I’m pretty sure that would end with you on all fours in the grass.”
The body part she assumed was in question clenched involuntarily, causing her breath to hitch. “You’re even blunter in the dark.”
“You have no idea.”
“Consider me warned.” Without waiting for him to respond, she swam in a meandering circle. “Which part of me?”
His chest dipped so low, she wasn’t sure it would ever rise again. “Let me see your tits.”
Either her body temperature had elevated, or the pond had turned into a hot tub. “Close your eyes while I’m getting out. I can’t have you getting a peek at everything.”
“You worried I might discover you have a fish tail?”
She honest to God giggled. “I think you would have noticed by now. You stare enough.”
“You make it impossible not to.” With a quick twist of his neck, he got into position, holding the towel open and closing his eyes. “Come out of there now. I’m tired of pretending it’s not making me anxious to watch you shiver. Get in these arms.”
“As you wish, Sir Savage.”
Fully trusting him to keep his eyes closed, Tallulah splashed and dashed out of the water, running straight into the open towel, groaning loudly when the warmth of the terry cloth, accompanied by the crush of Burgess’s arms, closed around her, rubbing to create friction and warmth on her skin. And the adrenaline rush burned a path up to her throat, turning her into a weightless jumble, a livelier, more daring version of herself that she loved and wanted to lean into. Explore.
Burgess had wrapped the towel around Tallulah in such a way that the opening was at the back, so she turned around and gathered it around her body, tucking the corners between her breasts. Then she brushed past a stone-silent and utterly rapt Burgess, their arms grazing together as she picked her way back toward the SUV, tossing him a come-hither glance over her shoulder, her blood pumping hotter when he followed.
She reached the vehicle first and opened the passenger side door the entire way, using the runner as an impetus to push herself up onto the seat and twist around, so her bare legs were dangling outside of the car. A lot like they’d been the night they kissed outside of Down. Burgess came closer, studying her with the kind of intensity that said he wanted the deal they’d made fulfilled. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not quite yet.