Page 74 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

She snickers. “You feeling protective, big boy?”

“You fucking bet I am,” I mutter, watching as she leaps out of the truck bed.

The rest of the monsters pile out, too, but it’s all I can do not to stare at her.

Off in the distance, the mustang herd’s whinnies echo up out of the night.

“Aww, they’re out, awesome!” shouts one of the pixies as she slings an arm around Jack’s neck and drags him toward the gulch.

Jasper grabs two of the other girls’ hands and follows, hooting and hollering.

I want to grab Bluebell’s hand and hold it, but I don’t want her to have to pull it from mine when we get close enough for them to see us again.

Leaning in close to her, I drag my fangs up her neck to her ear. “We can’t touch in front of them, not yet, so maybe we should make this a fun tease, little mate. What do you think?”

Her eyes flash in the moonlight, and she grins. “Love that idea.”

For a moment, nobody exists outside Bluebell and me. It’s just the two of us, the rocky riverbank and the cold, waiting water.

Tires screech as more cars pull up. A half dozen of the Punishers hop and fly out, rushing toward the riverbanks with partners in tow.

“Oh shit,” Bluebell whisper-hisses. “What are we gonna do?”

“I almost hope someone says something,” I admit. “I don’t think they will, though, so let’s just enjoy ourselves?”

She glances in the direction of the river, frowning as she seems to debate what I said. Finally, she smiles up at me. “It’s gonna come out sooner or later, right?”

“Let me distract you,” I offer.

A fire crackles by the shore. One of my buddies from the team drops onto a fallen log and pulls a guitar from his back. The first strumming sounds seem to relax Bluebell. Some of the players smile at her as we walk toward the water, but thankfully nobody mentions that kiss from the team breakfast this morning.

Mustangs splash at the far end of the river, content to watch us from afar. Jasper and Jack are already naked and in the water, howling about how frigid it is.

I pull my shirt over my head, then kick the pants off. I’m dying to know if Bluebell’s staring at my half-hard cock, but I settle for the assumption that she is. Closing my eyes, I roll my shoulders and walk to the water. I turn and back in, shooting her a wink as she stares at me, eyes wide.

Someone splashes me from behind, the freezing water sending a chill down my skin. Bluebell pulls her shirt and bra off in one big swoop then drops them to the ground in a pile with my stuff. My breath hitches as she pushes her jeans slowly down, revealing slim thighs, that godsdamn tattoo, and the soft thatch of dark pubic hair.

“Fuck,” I mutter, getting harder as I devour her naked figure cloaked in moonlight.

“Alkazar, we got smores whenever you’re done playing around!” one of the players shouts from the shore.

Bluebell dashes into the water, screaming at the temperature as she wraps both hands around her body.

“C’mon, Bloob,” Jasper shouts. “Just get them bitties all the way in, and I swear it won’t be so bad!”

She laughs as we sluice through the water to meet Jack, Jasper and their dates. Slapping me on the shoulder, she jerks her head toward the riverbank. “I’m gonna need that fire and those smores in, like, four seconds because this is a miserable level of cold.”

“Aww, it’s not that bad,” I say.

She barks out a laugh. “Yeah it’s like, twenty degrees closer to your body temperature than mine. I bet this feels just fine for you!”

I roll to my back and float, back-paddling closer to her. “Yep and I could just disappear beneath the surface and swim around for hours. Don’t even need to take a breath.”

“Stop showing off, Alk!” Jasper shouts. “And put that thing away!”

Bluebell and I share a look just before he lurches out of the water, tackling her into it. They disappear beneath the surface, and I force myself not drag her up into my arms. Moments later they emerge—Bluebell with an angry screech and Jasper with raucous laughter.

“Oh my gods, I’m gonna frickin’ kill you, Jasper Alan Tucker!” she shouts. Water streams down her hair.