I’m enjoying being close to her, but I step back after we do a few more practice swings. Daisy casts the line, her face screwed up in concentration. The sun rises higher, and I watch her until—
“Oh my God! There’s something!”
The wire bends the fishing rod as Daisy reels in madly. Suddenly the boat drifts forward. The rod flies out of her hands and she loses her balance.
“Fuck!”
My hand closes on air as Daisy trips over the boat and crashes into the water. Can she even swim? Fuck it.
I haul myself over the edge as the photographers paddle toward us, and I slip into the freezing water. Daisy surfaces just as I submerge myself. Her black hair is flattened against her face.
“Oh it’s cold! So damn cold!”
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes! How did you fall?”
I swim toward her as the icy water kills my boner. “I didn’t. I jumped in to save you.”
“Who says I need saving?”
Daisy says it with a smile. Suddenly the sun hits her just right, as though there’s gold gleaming on her shoulders and the water behind her, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful. I loop my arm underneath her knees and the other around her back, and then I lift her. It’s shallow enough for me to stand, and as I lift her out of the water slightly, her dress clings to her skin, completely see-through.
“Liam, kiss me.”
Little droplets cling to her eyelashes. I see them as I lean in close, and then I press my lips to her freezing ones. She kisses me back, throwing her arms around my neck.
“Liam,” she whispers in my mouth.
Daisy.
I’ve never done anything like this for a girl. When we break apart, I can’t stop smiling. She giggles and presses her forehead to mine, and suddenly I think of the day I’ll have to let her go, and a hole gapes inside me.
“Are you all right?”
The photographer extends an oar toward us, but I wave it away.
I carry Daisy to our boat, and she climbs inside, sopping wet. Then I join her, wrapping a blanket around us both. She nestles against my chest.
“We’re fine, thank you. My wife and I would like to explore the lake alone.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you for your time.”
Daisy wheels her head around, teeth chattering. “What are you thinking?”
I smile at her, reaching for the cord to start the boat’s engine. It sputters to life, and we launch forward.
“Why ruin the surprise?”
The lake is surrounded by soft, earthy sand. In the distance, I see another boat with something metallic winking in our direction. Fucking paps. I veer into a series of shallow inlets with a long sandbar, trees blocking both sides. The only sound is the water, gently lapping up the boat’s sides.
This spot practically says, Please, fuck here.
I get out of the boat, my loafers sinking in the wet sand. Daisy ignores my outstretched arm, ripping off her heels to climb off the boat barefoot. She walks onto the beach.
“What are we doing here?”
Daisy’s dress is still drenched. I can see the outline of her G-string stark against her wet clothes. Even though my legs are freezing in my own soaking trousers, a stab of heat hits my cock.
“We’re taking a moment to dry our clothes.”
She looks around. “Here?”
“Would you rather be photographed getting out of the boat with your dress stuck to your arse?”
“I’m not taking my clothes off here!”
“But you’ll take your clothes off in a public garden?”
“The world doesn’t need more articles speculating about whether or not I’m a slut.”
I grab her shivering body, peeling her dress from her ass, which is ice-cold. “Especially when the truth is very obvious.”
I slide my fingers under her G-string, snapping the string against her skin.
She narrows her eyes dangerously. “Careful, Dirty Prince. You’re within ball-kneeing distance.”
“How do you know I’m not into that sort of thing?”
Her eyes roll into her head as I continue lifting the dress from her body. Daisy shivers violently as I pull it from her head.
“What about the paparazzi?”
“I give them a couple hours before they find us. That’s more than enough time to play with my naughty princess.”
She wraps her arms around her bra, shivering. I wring out the dress and drape it over the boat for it to dry, and then I strip.
“I’m not fucking you on a beach. I’m willing to sit here and wait until our clothes dry, but I’m not giving the paparazzi another ‘Slutty Daisy Fucks Prince in Broad