but it did.
Rayen and Paulo jumped in without a second thought, but all I could think about was the last time I swam, what awaited me at the bottom of the lagoon.
“Everything okay?”
I glanced over when Kai asked, enjoying the sight of the smile that curved his lips.
My attention went to the water again. “Well … it’s possible I’m a bit gun shy,” I admitted. “I guess it’s been harder to forget what happened than I realized. Especially with the thing at the ceremony.”
My palm warmed when Kai gripped my hand in his. “You’ll be with us,” he assured me. “And I promise we won’t let anything bad happen.”
There was no reason that should have brought me any sense of comfort, but there was no denying that it did. Beyond a doubt, I now had full confidence that my life was completely safe in all four of my guardians’ hands. It may have had something to do with how they sprang into action today, protecting me when things went awry at the ceremony.
“Do you believe me?” he asked. When I nodded, his smile grew. “Then, what are you waiting for?”
His question made my heart race. Then, before I knew it, I was airborne for half a second, before being submerged in tranquil water as the waterfall babbled in the distance, surrounded by the unmatched beauty of this island.
Surrounded by my guardians.
***
Pushing water from my eyes, there was no denying how my day had completely turned around. It’d gone from terrifying, to embarrassing, to … this—large, bronzed bodies glistening beneath moonlight as water cascaded from their dark hair.
Turned out the guys were just the distraction I needed.
Their conversation was laidback and easy. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen them in this light, so relaxed. They laughed freely, and playfully insulted each other in that special way only family could do. Yet, somehow, they managed to make me feel like I was a part of it all. Not like an outsider who didn’t belong there.
After we’d been in for nearly an hour, Rayen climbed out to grab drinks from the house. We went through a couple six packs, and weren’t drunk by any means, but we certainly loosened up. From there, things got a little interesting.
Beneath the water, where the darkness of night prevented anyone from seeing, casual touches made me breathe unevenly. Kai clung to my hand every now and then, while Rayen’s palm had settled at the small of my back. Paulo grazed my thigh more than once, too often to have been an accident. The three were everywhere, all over me, but none seemed to mind that he might be infringing on the others’ territory, reminding me of the photos I’d seen in Paulo’s room. They had ignited an interesting conversation between Kai and me, revealing that sharing a woman ‘was their way’. As I became the center of the hub they formed around me in the water, there truly was no sense of possessiveness among them.
And with the drinks I consumed now in full effect … I didn’t see the need to stop it.
They overwhelmed me, made my stomach tie in knots, only for them to come undone every time I got lost in one of their lingering gazes.
“Hop on. I’ll take you to the waterfall.” I glanced to my right when Kai offered, turning his back to me in expectation that I’d do as I was told.
For some reason, my first reaction was to turn toward the others, observing their expressions after Kai had just made it clear he wanted a moment alone with me. However, when Rayen and Paulo quickly became engaged in their own conversation, I knew they hadn’t thought twice about it.
Peering up at Kai, my nerves got the best of me.
“Sure,” I answered breathily.
Every move I made caused my anxiety to spike, and all I’d done was swim over to him. However, when he reached back to bring my thighs around his hips, my chest to his bare back, I was positive he felt my heart race.
His tight waist and abs were smooth where I locked my legs around. He took off slowly, pushing water aside with his powerful arms. Every stroke caused the muscles in his back to stretch and roll beneath his skin, moving his body against mine in tempting ways.
We reached the waterfall way too soon, but I smiled big when I realized he intended to take me through it.
“Hold on tight,” he warned with a smirk, and