Page 81 of Let You Love Me

Before Sophie, I was shy. I was also a rule follower. I never would’ve gone skinny dipping or parked somewhere to fool around with a boy. I never even drank under the age of twenty-one, too nervous and scared of getting caught.

Hell, the only reason I even lost my virginity so young was because I completely trusted Chance. He was always around, like he was already part of the family. Most days, my father treated him like a son, and that summer, Chance saw me in a new light. He made me feel like a woman. Desired. And I thought he lovedme. I believed him when he said every part of me was safe with him.

I was naive.

Then after Sophie, I had no time for anything else. Even if I had the time and opportunity, I’ve spent the last four years desperately proving I’m not irresponsible. I’ve done everything in my power to escape further judgment.

Whether it’s the boy beside me emboldening me or the wine loosening my limbs, I rise to my feet, an idea unfolding.

I kick off my sandals, and Teagan’s lips quirk, clearly amused. I’d love nothing more than to wipe the smile from his face so before I can overthink it and change my mind, I reach for the hem of my shirt and lift. In one swift movement, I pull it up and over my head. It dangles from my fingertips a moment, then falls.

The little flecks of green in his blue eyes burn in the darkness, almost catlike as he tracks my every move. The smile slips from his lips and a surge of satisfaction chases my ability to make it vanish.

I’ve never been more grateful in my life for the fancy underwear Gabby gifted me for my twenty-first birthday because, if the expression on Teagan’s face is any indication, he more than likes the purple lace bra I’m wearing.

My fingers move to the buttons of my shorts next, and Teagan’s eyes home in on the movement. “Lane, what are you . . .?” The gravelly rasp of his voice verges on desperation, and I laugh, drunk on the attention.

“It’s warm out, and I’m going skinny dipping. What does it look like I’m doing?” Somehow, in the last few minutes, I’ve become the bold one, and it’s so disorienting it makes my head spin.

Or maybe that’s the wine.

I shimmy the shorts down my full hips, standing in front of him in nothing but my matching bra and panties while a thousand insecurities rise to the surface. I have stretch marks. Birthing hips. I could stand to lose a few pounds and haven’t worked out since Sophie was born.

But I shove them all away as his eyes rake over me.

His Adam’s apple bobs, and the dimples I love so much are nowhere to be found as his jaw tightens, the muscles flexing in his cheeks.

“Are you going to join me or sit there staring?”

His nostrils flare, eyes brightening at the challenge, and he stands so fast, he’s a watercolor of movement. Gripping his shirt behind his neck, he yanks it up and over his head in one fluid motion. His abdominals ripple before me, his chiseled chest flanked in shadow.

I want to reach out and touch him, to trace every groove and line with my fingers, to feel them clench and undulate beneath my touch, but I don’t. Instead, I settle on unclasping my bra and let the material slide slowly from my shoulders, my breasts, focusing on the decadent way the night air whispers against my skin. And when it falls to the wooden planks in front of me, Teagan’s gaze turns feral.

He takes a step toward me, and my heart leaps before I turn and step to the edge of the dock where I quickly shed my panties, then dive into the cold, dark depths of the lake.

Chapter 19

TEAGAN

Ispin around andshove my hands into my hair as I try to repress the image of Lane’s full breasts and the milky smooth skin of her perfect ass from my mind.

Shit.

It’s impossible. I’m a good man, but notthatgood.

Water splashes a few feet away, a reminder that Lane is within reach and completely nude. “It’s cold!” she shouts with a laugh. “Well . . .?” A splash of water hits the deck behind me, spraying my calves. “Are you coming in, or are you going to make me swim alone?"

I exhale a shaky breath.

Does she have any clue what she’s fucking doing to me?

I may be strong-willed, but I have serious doubts about whether I can plunge into the lake naked with Lane and not make a move on her.

So why am I turning around and dropping my shorts?

I watch as Lane’s gaze shifts to my boxer briefs. I know she can very clearly see the effect she’s having on me, and I smirk. Her face is flanked in shadows, but I don't need to see her expression to know her cheeks are a beautiful shade of pink.

I slide my thumbs under the elastic of my boxer briefs and tug them down, a little surprised when Lane doesn’t turn away to give me privacy as I drop them. Then again, she’s done nothing but surprise me since I’ve met her. Every single time I’m with her, she reveals some new layer of herself I get to unwrap like a fucking gift. And playful, uninhibited Lane is dangerous. I’m already all-in on this girl, but this side of her has the ability to make me fall to my knees.