the moon had been approaching full. As they broke through the stand of trees and onto the beach, the sight stopped them in their tracks.
A full moon floated in a cloudless sky above them. Its reflection cut a swath across the cove directly in front of them.
Without hesitation, they ran hand in hand, plunging headlong into the moon glade.
* * *
RICK WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE way Summer kept up to him. He was a stronger swimmer and didn’t give it his all, but she didn’t lag too far behind.
Kentucky Lake’s temperature had reached bathwater stage, perfect for night swims. They swam across the cove and back.
“Want to go again?” he asked.
“No way. Gotta rest.” Hard breathing cut the ends of her words. He tried not to focus on the way the sound excited him or how the lake surrounding him warmed even more because of it.
He reached shallow water first and waded over to wait for her, offering his hand to help her up. With one arm, he lifted her to a standing position, then kept it around her for support—and because it felt so damn good to have it there. He could feel her muscles quivering with fatigue as they stumbled to the towels they’d dropped. She plopped down on the towel he’d spread out while he fetched a couple of the life jackets to use as pillows.
When he stretched out beside her, she rolled over on her stomach and tucked her hands under the life preserver, turning her face toward him. She closed her eyes dreamily. “If I weren’t so excited, I think I could sleep right here.”
“Why are you excited?” He needed to hear her say it.
“Tonight with the dancing. Being here in the moonlight.” She paused and opened her eyes. “You.”
Had a word ever sounded so sexy before? Breathy and hot and... His wet swimsuit molded to him, making an embarrassing spectacle of the word’s effect. He started to roll onto his stomach, but Summer’s knuckles brushed his arm. He remained on his side, enjoying her touch and what it was doing to him.
Her gaze slid down him boldly as her finger drew a light pattern on his bicep. “You really are quite a hunk, you know that?”
The flush her words caused didn’t stop at his face. His entire body suffused with warmth. “And you’re very beautiful...and very direct.”
She grinned. “You’re very diplomatic, too...which is a genteel way of saying ‘a tight ass.’”
The unexpected twist in the conversation jarred a chuckle loose from Rick. He relaxed and shook his head. “Gotta love Southern women and their gentility.”
“Yeah, we learn early that we can get by with most any comment if we add a ‘bless your heart.’” She paused, and a gleam lit her eyes. “You can be a real pain in the ass, bless your heart.”
Rick didn’t try to contain his laughter. Summer had such a cute way about her. “You are a mischievous little imp.”
Their smiles collided and Rick noticed the way the moonlight glinted from the braid that curved off her back and curled under her arm. He couldn’t resist touching it. Catching the end, he gave it a soft tug. She responded, rising up on an elbow and leaning closer. He wound the braid around his hand, reeling her in like a mermaid out of the depths until their lips locked in a kiss that was anything but genteel.
Their tongues entwined and he rolled her onto her back, sliding an arm under her neck and the other around her tiny waist. She shifted against him and the kiss deepened, lasting until they were panting so hard they had to come up for air.
Her hand brushed his cheek. “We have a lot of getting to know each other to catch up on.”
He nodded. “I agree. Getting to know more about Summer Delaney is high on my list. Especially that wild-child part I keep hearing about.” He grinned and was rewarded with a poke in his ribs.
Her mouth pursed, and then her bottom lip dropped into a sensuous pout that Rick couldn’t pull his eyes away from. She sighed. “But we’ll have to get back in the water.”
The woman was a master of the unexpected. “Why?”
“Because talking is going to be the farthest thing from my mind if we stay here.”
Rick protested her logic. “Mine, too, but we can’t talk if we’re swimming.”
She pushed out of his arms, and he groaned at the loss. “But we can talk if we float.” Grabbing her life jacket,