Page 16 of Harbor

Renzo blinked for a second before his gaze landed on her. “Thinking.”

“At the bottom of a pool?”

He grinned, entirely unbothered and unknowing that she’d pretty much just had a panic attack. Fucking man. She hated that he looked entirely too good skimming the water as he came closer to the edge of the pool where she was waiting for him. His arms rested along the edge to hold him steady as he peered up at her.

“Why not?” he asked. “Looked like a pretty good place to think to me.”

Lucia bent down and pushed the palm of her hand against his forehead, causing him to float backward in the water with a laugh. “Nearly gave me a heart attack, Ren. Isn’t that water freezing?”

“A little. It’s not bad once you’re all in.”

“I’ll just take your word—”

“No, you won’t.” He swam fast to the edge, and before she could properly respond, he’d grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the pool with him. She was right—it was cold as fuck. But there wasn’t anything Lucia could do about it once her entire body was submerged in the water, and she was shivering all over. He stopped the chattering of her teeth with a kiss—a fierce, hungry kiss that lit her body on fire in an instant. Pulling away just enough to speak, though his lips still grazed hers all the while, he murmured, “See, not too bad.”

Well, not when she had other things on her mind.

After all, she didn’t care to think about anything else other than the way Renzo’s hands were skimming her sides. His fingertips edged along the hem of the shirt she’d thrown on, grazing her cooled skin at the same time. Fuck yeah—all she could focus on then was the way heat followed his fingertips. How could she be cold when he made her hot with nothing more than a touch?

“You’re shivering,” Renzo said, his hand dipping under her shirt so his palm could lay flat to her toned stomach. His lips curved in the sexiest way as her tremors kicked up a notch as his hand moved higher, between the valley of her breasts to rest overtop her racing heart. He could feel that beat the same as she could feel her heart kicking in her chest, she bet. Like just his touch alone was enough to make her heart kickstart into overdrive. She loved it. “We can go in, if you’re too cold.”

“No fucking way.”

Renzo’s laughter filled up the cool air. A dark, heady sound that rumbled in the water, and vibrated all the way through Lucia. She thought, like this, his laughter sounded sinful. Way too sexy. If she wasn’t already soaked from being dragged into the pool, she’d be wet from just that sound alone.

He probably knew it, too.

He had to.

His gaze drifted over her face as he edged closer to her in the water. His palm cupped her breast, fingers tightening around the hard peak of her nipple at the same time. The shock of pain from the action quickly melted into a hum of pleasure as it cut right down her middle, and felt like it radiated over her already-clenching pussy.

Dark eyes watched her.

Silent, and glimmering.

Oh, yes.

He most certainly knew.

Lucia sucked in a shaky breath as he kept watching her. Like predator and prey, she thought. The intensity in his russet gaze when it was stuck on her was enough to pin her in place, and make her lungs feel like they couldn’t possibly drag in enough air. It was a strange feeling, really. Something that should probably terrify her. Except his stare only made her want him more. The last thing she ever felt around this man was fear. He made her feel a lot of things—everything, really.

“Lucia,” he murmured.

“Hmm?”

Renzo flashed a grin. “I’ve got a problem.”

She arched a brow. “What’s that?”

“I’d like nothing more than to bury my dick between your thighs, but I just realized I don’t have any condoms. So, my best bet is to stay right here. If I get any closer—”

They’d slipped up once or twice before and used nothing. She’d never really thought about it—maybe that was because she was young-dumb, or because it was him. Either way, it didn’t matter.

“I’ve had the shot since I was fifteen to help regulate my cycles. Never thought to mention it, I guess.”

Renzo’s tongue peeked out to wet his lips. “Yeah?”

“Yep.”