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Noted.
“Didn’t bring any swimmers with me,” Ash mutters, like he knows exactly where my mind has gone, and I blush so hot I’m surprised steam doesn’t curl off this freezing pool. When I glance up at him, he crooks an embarrassed smile, and maybe that’s why I speak without thinking.
“You didn’t need to wear anything.”
Ash’s eyebrows bounce up.
“I mean—people skinny dip up here all the time,” I rush to clarify. “Not me, obviously.” A wave at my bikini top. “But some people. Um, where are Rowan and Evie?” Because I desperately need backup in this conversation. Already, I’ve opened my mouth and shoved my whole foot inside.
“They’ll be a while yet.” Ash pushes away from the edge, wading toward the center of the wishing pool. The water laps at his chest, and pennies float away from his feet, disturbed like underwater confetti. His skin is tan all over, freckled in places, and there are silvery scars and pockmarks on his back.
He turns to me, sending ripples across the pool to tickle against my body. For a long moment, I gaze at my brother’s best friend. Dumbstruck.
All my life, I’ve waited to feel like this. To feel drawn to someone, pulled toward them like an iron filing toward a magnet. And now it’s finally happening, but I’m being so clumsy and lame.
Can’t think of what to say.
Can’t stop myself from staring.
Can’t do anything except meet Ash’s gaze, and plead with him silently to make this all better. And maybe it’s all in my head, but I swear understanding flits behind those chestnut eyes.
“We forgot our pennies,” he says, nodding at our piles of abandoned clothes.
I push off the edge, bobbing forward. “No wishes for us.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Ash cups my elbow when I reach him, steadying me in the water, and it’s like my brain blows a fuse. He touches me, therefore I go nearer. No logic, no reason—pure instinct.
I need to get close.
Ash groans when I flatten my body against his. Two huge hands grip my hips under the water and squeeze me there, and his bare skin is slippery and wet. My palms coast easily up his chest, his shoulders, his neck, and all the while I’m watching my own hands, stunned at my boldness.
I’m touching Ash—pawing at him shamelessly.
And he’s letting it happen.
Holy shit.
My brother’s best friend; the man I heard so many stories about over the years, painting a vivid picture in my head before I ever laid eyes on him. He’s here, and he’s growling, yanking me so close that I can feel the harried thump of his heart. He ducks his head to nuzzle my neck, his hot breath all shivery against my chilled skin, and when my hips press forward—he’s hard.
Ash’s cock is long and thick and undeniable. Harder than granite, and straining against his sodden black boxers to reach me.
My insides clench on nothing, and I’m one big needy ache.
He wants me too. Wants this too. Triumph and relief swell inside me, warm and sweet and golden, and I rock up on my toes, ready to kiss the crap out of this man. Never had any practice before, but I’m ready to learn on the job.
But: “We can’t do this,” Ash says, his voice low and rough. His stubbly chin rasps against my cheek, and he nuzzles my jaw again even as he says it. His heart thuds against mine, strong and persistent.
I turn to stone in his arms.
“Rowan,” he says, reminding me, and god, I’m so ashamed in this moment. The chill that sweeps over me is colder than the pool. Because wasn’t I just thinking that Ash is my brother’s best friend? Don’t I care what this will do to my sibling? My only family?
God. I’m a bug.
Everyone knows that your brother’s best friend is off limits. It’s a basic rule. That would be true even if Rowan hadn’t had such a rough time before he met Evie, struggling with PTSD.
And now he’s finally back on track, getting ready to welcome his first child, and I’m really gonna throw him off kilter? Am I truly that selfish?
My limbs are clumsy, but I thrash to move back. Despite his words, Ash clings on for a split second, brushing the faintest kiss against my neck before grudgingly letting me go. And knowing that he wants me too, knowing that we could have had something here if we were two different people—that stings like a bitch.
