encompass how much I agreed with that sentiment, so I let my actions speak for themselves. I kissed him with my whole heart, my hands clasping his face and my body curving into his as he kissed me back.
Before I could take it any further, though, he took a reluctant step away and gave me a predatory stare. "Too damn tempting, Hellcat," he murmured. "But we've already been gone for long enough. Kody and Arch will be getting impatient waiting for me to bring you back."
I got the feeling he didn't just mean that they would be bored on their own, so I let him pull me back out of the bedroom—my bedroom—and through the house.
From the deck, I could see lights out on the lake somewhere, and I squinted into the darkness, instantly worried.
"Max, what—" I grabbed his hand in alarm, but the smile he shot me said this was all part of their plan.
"You feeling up for a swim, Hellcat?" he suggested, giving me a wicked grin.
My brows shot up. "I'm not wearing a swimsuit."
His smile spread wider, and he tugged his T-shirt off in one smooth motion, dropping it in the grass as we continued down toward the pier. "So?"
My jaw dropped, but then he gave me that look. The one that so clearly challenged me. Fucking hell, he knew I couldn't back down when dignity was on the line.
We got to the end of the pier, and he pushed his pants off, then executed a perfect dive into the inky waters. Totally naked.
"Are you coming in?" he called back to me when his head broke the surface once more. "I promise it's not that cold."
I groaned, knowing full well how chilly it'd been on my feet earlier. Yet... I couldn't let him have all the fun.
Hesitant, I started to tug my tank top off, then looked back up at the house, which was lit up like a Christmas tree. "What about—"
"They won't see," he assured me before I could even fully form the protest. "It's so dark out here; I promise, we're totally alone."
That was all the reassurance I needed. I tossed my tank top aside, then my bra, then shimmied out of my shorts and panties. Gasping a deep breath, I plunged into the dark water and instantly felt the biting cold seize my body.
Not that cold, my ass.
"Wh-what th-the f-fuck, M-max?" I exclaimed when I popped up near him. "It's fr-freezing!"
He just laughed, the shithead, and dragged me into his arms. "You'll warm up in no time," he told me with a chuckle, then kissed me long and hard. "Come on, we have one last surprise."
He started gliding in the direction I'd seen the lights, toward where they'd pointed out a diving platform earlier, and I grumbled about being tricked as I swam with him. Goddamn sexy shark that he was, I couldn't resist.
As we drew closer, my breath caught all over again. A small boat was tied up beside the wide dive platform, right beside the pretty awesome waterslide. That boat explained how Kody and Archer had pulled off what had to be the most romantic date setting I'd ever seen.
The whole platform was set up with pillows and soft blankets and illuminated by a dozen hurricane lamps with flickering candles inside. Exquisite arrangements of flowers complimented the candles, and near the pillows, a dessert tray was all set up for the four of us. There was even a bottle of Champagne chilling in an ice-bucket. They'd thought of everything.
"Are you guys for real right now?" I gaped, holding onto the edge of the platform with my fingers.
Archer reached down to pull me from the water, then his brows shot right up. "You're naked," he observed, shooting Steele a puzzled look. "What happened to getting swimsuits on upstairs?"
Steele just pulled himself out of the water and shrugged. "I got distracted. And I like seeing Hellcat naked, so win-win."
Archer rolled his eyes, and Kody tossed us towels to wrap up in. Steele had been right, though; once I'd gotten used to the water, it hadn't been as cold as I'd thought.
"You guys are seriously setting the bar high here," I teased as I wrapped myself up in the towel and made my way over to the pillows.
"Good," Kody replied, nudging me to sit down, then he knelt on one of the blankets as he opened the Champagne. "Forces these unromantic fucks to keep stepping up their game, right?" He winked at me like we