“Cute, Calloway.”
I have to get out of here. I’ll submerge my whole body in an ice cold pool. Maybe it’ll rewire my brain. Plan concocted, I step forward to dart away, my concentration back on the deck.
And then my chest instantly collides with Ryke. I flinch back. “Sorry!” I shout nervously, hands raised. I catch a glimpse of him, confusion knotting his eyebrows.
“Why are you fucking red?”
Oh my God.
“It’s hot out,” Daisy covers for me. She knows very well that this is a different sort of hot. And yet, she’s on my side, sticking up for me—it’s kindness that I love and cherish with all my heart. But guilt sinks low because I’m flushed partly from her boyfriend.
It’s all screwed up.
I shield my face with a sweaty palm. “Yeah, it’s really hot. Imheadingtothepool,” I slur quickly, spinning on my heels to go to the stairs.
“We’re right behind you,” Ryke tells me.
And I suppress a shudder that borders fear （of myself） and something worse.
“Not like that, Lil.” I hear the concern in his voice.
“IknowIknow,” I mutter. I skip a couple steps on my way down to the main deck, and I round the corner towards the pool, tugging on the fabric of my one-piece that molds a very tiny baby bump. When the cool blue water comes into view, I ignore Lo on a lounge chairs. Prepared to just spring in.
I channel my inner-dolphin.
Here I go.
I hop and splash into the pool, expecting the cold to breach my lungs and steal my breath and fix everything.
Instead, the water warms my bones.
What. In the world.
I ungracefully surface, spitting chlorine water out of my mouth, the temperature of a bath. This did not go as planned. I comb my wet hair out of my face and eyes, and I try to heave my body out of the pool. I don’t struggle for too long. Lo squats in front of me and lifts underneath my arms, so effortlessly.
I graze his features, lusting after his sheer masculinity. Snap out of it, Lily. I blink quickly, hoping he’ll morph into a monster.
Not so. Loren Hale is striking and gorgeous through and through. If he possesses any monstrous qualities, they’re layered with beauty.
“Why are you so pretty?” I say.
His amber eyes penetrate me. “Just think about how awful I look in the morning.”
I let out a small laugh. “You’re still beautiful.”
He lifts my chin so I stop staring at his lips. “Lily Calloway,” he breathes, “you’re doing really well. I’m proud of you.” My heart swells.
He knows I’m aroused. He knows how hard it is to snuff out these feelings that pop up from almost anything and everything.
Dripping in water, I kiss his nose quickly, showing that I’m able to control this. Somewhat. And I choose the lounge chair next to his, lying down. “If I Jedi mind-trick myself, all will be well,” I tell him with a nod. I shut my eyes to attempt this.
I hear the legs of his lounge chair scrape along the deck. The frame touches mine, and he lies on his towel, close to me but not too close. A perfect non-tempting distance.
“You should know, Lil,” he says in a low voice, “that every guy on this yacht has the hairiest goddamn feet. It’s nothing but hobbits.”
I smile, my eyes still closed. Although Frodo is cute, I’m pro-elves. “Are they all short too?”
“Oh yeah, they barely reach your waist.”
“Except you,” I say, licking my lips.
“I’m not an elf,” he reminds me.
I pop one eye open and turn my head. He’s lying on his back like me. “You’re a wizard—”
“No, Lil,” he whispers. “I’m human.”
I shift on my side, my legs crossed together. I reach out to hold his hand, and he lets me, not scared of enabling. “Do you think our baby will have powers though? Even if we’re human, he could be magical?”
Lo nods determinedly. “Definitely. He’ll be the strongest guy ever.”
“Like Professor Xavier,” I smile at the image. But it fades quickly. “Do you think…do you think he’ll forget about us, if we’re just human and he’s something more?” Beads of water roll down my temple.
Lo’s hand rises to my arm, and he rubs my skin soothingly. The embrace comforts me more than it arouses. “I don’t know,” he says honestly. “I guess we’ll see.”
Yeah. I guess we will.
I’ve drawn closer to Lo, I realize, my ankle hooked over his, but it’s not a sexual action. It’s just a natural one.