is down to a little black bikini. She’s eyeing me up and down as if waiting to see if I can top her.
The bitchy look on her face has me wanting to rip her throat out, but instead, I force a smile and strip down to my bikini—the same exact one that she’s wearing. Was not expecting this scenario.
Her nostrils flare out as she looks me over angrily, like she’s imagining drowning me in the pool. “Nice bikini,” she says stiffly. “Trying extra hard to replace me, I see. This is just great.” She walks away, eyeing Madden up and down in his gray and black swim trunks.
He barely looks at her before his eyes land on me, visibly widening as he takes me in. His Adam’s apple moves as he swallows. “Holy fuck, Nat. Does my…” He stops before slipping up. “You look entirely too sexy in that bikini. Is that the only one you brought?”
His compliment causes my heart to jump with unwanted excitement. “He didn’t care, and neither should you. Besides, your ex is wearing the same one. I don’t see you complaining.”
He turns behind him to where Alana is standing with her hands on her hips, watching us. His eyes harden when they land on me again. “Yeah… but she’s not the one making me hard. Answer my question.”
“Yes, it’s the only one I brought.” My pulse races as my gaze roams over his hard body, stopping on the thick bulge beneath the thin fabric of his trunks. He does nothing to hide it, which immediately has me forcing myself to look anywhere else but there. “Next time maybe I will just swim in my clothes.”
I walk away before either of us can say something stupid. It’s natural for a guy to get aroused from seeing any decent looking girl in a bikini for the first time, right? That has to be it. He’s seen Alana naked hundreds of times in the past. That explains why he’s not excited by her right now. It’s the only explanation.
“Did I miss the memo on what bikini to wear?” Jess asks, looking down at her white and pink top. “I’m totally ordering that the second this trip is over. We can all bring them next year and match.”
Alana rolls her eyes. “This is bullshit. Why can’t anyone else see he only brought her here to hurt me? If you all can’t see it then clearly you don’t know him as well as I do.”
“Be cool, Alana. It’s not nice to make assumptions. She’s here with him. She came with him, and she’s our guest.” Jess gives her a hard look, before turning back to me. “Please don’t take it personally.”
“It’s cool.” I shrug it off. “She’s set on believing what she wants to be true.” I bring my attention to Alana. “Doesn’t mean it is.”
“Ladies, is everything good over here?” Madden wraps his arm around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” Alana mutters. “Fucking peachy.”
“Good.” Madden’s lips brush my neck, causing goose bumps to form. “Let’s swim then.”
I release a surprised yelp when he picks me up and slaps me hard on the ass. “Ouch! Why did you do that?”
“Because everyone is watching us, Nat,” he says the moment we’re at a safe distance from the girls. “Don’t act like you didn’t like it when we both know you did.”
“What? I didn—”
“If you say so.”
“I didn’t. Now put me… Don’t you dare throw me—”
Before I can finish our argument, he jumps into the water with me in his arms. I scream out as we hit the cold water and sink below the surface, his arms still wrapped around me when we come back up for air.
“I should kick your ass.” I laugh when he pretends to push me back under the water. “Keep it up and I just might.”
“Do it then,” he pushes. With a small growl, he yanks me to him and grabs my right leg, wrapping it around his waist, before reaching for the left. “I bet you really want to now… being this close to me and all.”
“How did you guess?” I mutter, pushing his chest hard enough for him to release me. I go to swim away, but he grabs my leg and bites it under water. “Did you just bite me?” I scream when he comes back up.
“What if I did? What are you going to do about it, Nat?” He pulls me back to him so that he can speak