Make Me Bad - R.S. Grey Page 0,64

Now she looks completely nude. Her hands release her chest and she dips forward, falling into the water slowly so she can start to swim away.

I don’t consciously realize I’m removing my shoes until they’re both gone. My jeans are off before I can even blink. I think I just shredded them. My shirt and jacket are tossed aside and I’m following her into the ocean for one reason: there are so few moments like this in a lifetime. I won’t let this one pass me by.

I run and crash against the waves, swimming fast. I catch her without much effort and reach out to grab her foot. She jerks around, smiling, and I let go.

“See? It’s not bad, is it?”

No, not at all. The water insulates us from the chilly air, and it’s almost warm now that my body is used to it. We swim for a little, keeping our distance until I find a sandbank and wave her over. She stops in front of me and stands. Her shoulders just crest the top of the water, but most of my torso is exposed to the cold air. We’re a few yards from shore and the waves are just strong enough to bob us back and forth in a constant rhythm. Our arms float at the surface of the water to keep us stable.

The water is dark enough that I can’t really see anything below the surface. I know she’s nearly naked though, and every now and then, the tide pulls out to build a wave and I catch dangerous, teasing glimpses of her pale curves cast in moonlight. The ocean is on my side. It wants me to see her. Fuck. I’m trying to keep my attention elsewhere, but just like Andy said earlier, I’m a man possessed.

We’re hardly a foot away from each other now. I force a safe distance, but the waves are trying to bring us closer together, and if I’m not careful, we’ll accidentally touch.

The tide strengthens and pulls the water out to sea and her breasts crest the surface. She bends down quickly, lowering herself under the water more, then she laughs lightly and looks away, knowing what I just saw.

It’s all so innocent and sweet. I need to scrub a hand down my face. I need this water to be forty degrees colder.

This is bullshit. My hands could be on her—I know she wants my hands on her—and yet I’m standing here, resisting.

Is she nervous being out here with me alone like this?

I want to ask her, but she breaks the silence first.

“Have you ever been skinny dipping before?” she asks, giving me her profile.

I want to lie to her, but I don’t.

“We all did back in high school.”

She frowns like I knew she would.

“I never did it alone like this, though…with just one other person.”

“So in some ways, this is a first for you too,” she says, finding comfort in that.

I know it bothers her, the idea that I’ve done more, lived more than she has. I’ve had girlfriends and intimate relationships, and she’s had the company of her books.

“I’m not completely hopeless, you know,” she says suddenly, eyes narrowing out toward the dark horizon. “Guys have been interested in me. Not a ton, one or two over the years…I don’t know, maybe they would have taken me skinny dipping and sought me out more, but my dad was pretty strict and I was a rule follower.”

“You don’t have to explain.”

She laughs and it sounds shrill, pained even. “Don’t I?”

She shakes her head and makes a move to swim away, but I reach out for her, clamping my hand around her bicep. She’s not going anywhere. A tidal wave could swell against us and we’d stay right here, rooted together.

“You’re beautiful.”

She puffs out air like I’ve just said something absolutely ludicrous.

“Fucking hell, Madison. You’re drop-dead gorgeous. Every guy in this town would agree.”

Again, her eyes roll and she yanks her arm, trying to get away from me so she doesn’t have to face what I’m about to tell her. Compliments are hard to receive, especially if you’re not used to hearing them. I want her to hear these.

“Can you tell how much I want you?”

Her gaze jerks up to me and her eyes narrow suspiciously. “Okay, Ben, you’ve made your point. You’ve made the loser girl feel very pretty and special. You can go back to your cool friends now and tell them you did your good deed for the year.”

I