Page 26 of I Could Be Yours (The Toronto Terror #6)

ESSIE

“ T his place is so freaking perfect! Our room is gorgeous, Ess. It’s straight out of a fairy tale!”

“You deserve the fairy tale.” I clink my Badass Babe Brigade travel mug against hers. Hemi had them made for all of us.

“I’m so glad all my friends are here with me!” Rix is channeling her inner exclamation mark. “I can’t believe we have a private pool!” She bumps off the edge and grabs for the tail on my beaver floatie so we don’t drift to opposite ends.

“The water is perfect, and it’s so nice to be weightless,” Shilpa says.

“This.” Lexi clinks her lemonade against Shilpa’s, water lapping at their baby bellies.

“I have never been to a resort this nice,” Dred muses. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Rix smiles fondly. “I’m just glad you could get the time off work.”

“This is exactly what we all needed before the season starts,” Hemi says.

“Right? We’ll be refreshed when we get back to reality,” Hammer agrees. Her gaze follows Hollis, who’s heading over to the rest of the guys .

Nate looks fantastic in a pair of black board shorts, broad back flexing every time he brings his drink to his delightfully full lips. Despite his mirrored sunglasses, I still detect a slight furrow in his brow. I wonder what he’s worrying about now.

“You girls want to take some jet skis out?” Flip calls.

“I will pass on that.” Shilpa pats her belly.

“Same,” Lexi agrees.

“I only venture into freshwater bodies and pools,” Lavender notes without apology.

Dred holds up her book. “I’m ninety percent of the way through and sort of desperate to finish.”

The rest of us pull ourselves out of the pool, tuck our feet into slides, and follow the guys to the rental station. There are three couples and five singles, but only seven personal watercrafts available.

“I’ll hang back with the girls,” I offer.

Flip raises his hand, but Nate smacks it down. “You can ride with me.”

Rix, Hemi, and Hammer are too busy letting their significant others adjust their life jackets to notice the way Flip snickers and Nate glares at him. And Roman is too focused on his best friend adjusting his daughter’s bathing suit bottom to catch it.

I shrug. “Uh, sure, that works.”

I put on my life jacket and follow Nate to our watercraft.

He flips the key around his finger. “Do you want to drive?”

“Uh, you can take the wheel for now.” The water is choppy, and it’s been a few years since I’ve been on one of these.

He grabs the handlebar to steady the machine and holds out a hand. Heat travels through my fingers and tightens my nipples as I slip my palm into his. It was tough not to invite him over a couple of nights ago, but waiting until we were in Aruba seemed like the smarter plan.

I straddle the seat and shimmy back, making room for him.

He’s still wearing his sunglasses, so I can’t see his eyes, but his lip twitches and that space between his brow creases as he moves to sit in front of me.

I slide forward until my legs bracket his.

He pushes away from the dock and turns the engine over.

“Hold on!” he calls over the rev of the motor.

I grip the sides of his life jacket as he hits the gas, and we bump across the clear blue water.

At first, it’s super fun. How could it not be?

The sun is shining, the wind is in my hair, I’m surrounded by the ocean, and I’m wrapped around the hot guy who will eventually end up in my bed later tonight, when everyone else has gone to sleep.

But Nate is Nate. And when the guys start doing donuts and jumping each other’s wakes, I’m forced to hold on for dear life because Nate joins in. He launches us over a wake, making us airborne for several seconds before we hit the water again, and I nearly lose my hold.

“What the hell, Nate!” I shriek, clinging to him as he spins us around and heads for another wake.

“Hold on tight,” he calls over his shoulder.

I adjust my grip, but I can’t secure myself in time.

He launches us over another wave, and I’m tossed into the air.

A second later I hit the water, and a huge wave smacks me in the face.

I splutter and cough as ocean water goes up my nose and into my mouth.

Panic follows swiftly on its heels. Like most of the people in our group, I grew up swimming in fresh lake water, where there are no sharks who might think my feet are a tasty snack.

It’s fine near the shore, but out here…who knows what’s lurking under the surface?

“Nate! Get me out of the water!” I’m annoyed at how shrill my voice is and how quickly the irrational thoughts take hold.

Nate circles me, just as I imagine a shark would.

“Now! Get me out now!” I shout.

He gets in close and cuts the engine. “Calm down, Ess. What are you afraid of?”

“Calm down?! Don’t tell me to calm down! What if a shark bites my foot off? How will I walk down the aisle for my best friend if I don’t have a foot? ”

“You’re more likely to get stung by a jellyfish than bitten by a shark.”

“Not fucking helpful, Nathan!” I’m thrashing like a freaking walrus.

“Stop flailing so I can help.” Nate holds out his hand, and I curl my fingers around his. He pulls me closer, and I wrap my free hand around his ankle. He moves it to his shoulder. “Now link your hands behind my neck so I can pull you up.”

I do as he says, and the watercraft rocks toward me.

“It’s going to tip! Don’t let it tip or we’ll both be in the water!” I’m back to freaking out.

“It won’t tip if you don’t thrash.”

I stop flailing, and he winds his arms around my waist, pulling me out of the water and into his lap. I stay wrapped around him, mostly because I’m afraid if I move I’ll end up in the water again with the sharks and jellyfish.

He runs his hand down my arm. “You’re all right, Ess.”

“Am I, though?” I lean back. “I’m soaked because of you.” And all the time I spent on my makeup, that was supposed to make me look sun-kissed, was pointless.

His lip twitches. “Tonight I’ll make sure you’re soaked for the right reasons.”

“You think I’m inviting you back to my room after you tossed me in the water?” I shove his shoulder and the watercraft rocks perilously, so I throw my arms around him again.

His lips curve against my neck. “I told you to hold on. If you let me, I’ll make it up to you later and suck on that pretty little clit ring.”

“And my nipples. You’ll suck on those, too,” I demand.

“As if I would leave them out of the fun.” He repositions me so I’m nestled between his thighs, sitting in front this time.

His erection pokes me in the butt as he shifts forward. I’m about to comment, but Tristan and Rix ride up next to us.

“You okay, Ess?” Rix is wearing a worried expression, as is typical these days .

“Oh yeah, just fell off!” I say brightly.

“Be careful with Ess,” Tristan warns, then speeds off. Rix’s peal of laughter is drowned out by the sound of our engine turning over.

“You’re poking me in the ass,” I note.

“You are wearing a thong bikini, Essie. I’ve had to watch you parade around in it every time you got out of the pool to refresh your drink. And now your entire bare ass is pressed up against me. So yeah, I’m poking you with my hard-on.”

“Does this mean you’ve spent the whole afternoon thinking about bending me over the closest surface and fucking me from behind?”

“Among other, slightly less civilized things, yes.”

“Tell me about the uncivilized things.”

“No.” He takes my hands and puts them on the handlebars, settling his over them.

I thought being wrapped around Nate was an experience, but this is so much better.

His body creates a protective cage around me.

His hard-on pokes me insistently in the tailbone, and it’s all I can think about.

I wonder what uncivilized Nate is like in the bedroom.

I wonder what it takes to bring out that side of him.

Eventually his hard-on calms down in time to return the jet ski. It takes ten minutes for the guys to decide they’re bored and want to play water volleyball after we return to the pool. Somehow, I get sucked into playing, along with Hemi, Rix, and Hammer.

To the shock of no one, competitive Nate is out in full force.

I’m on the same team as Flip, and the opposite team as Nate. Every chance Flip gets, he high-fives me, or chest-bumps me, and Nate keeps trying to hit him in the head with the ball. Or at least that’s how it seems.

Aurora and I tap out and join Lavender and Dred on the lounge chairs when they start game two. Shilpa and Lexi have both gone to their rooms for an afternoon nap.

“Watching these guys makes me tired,” Dred muses .

“Yes,” Lavender agrees, slurping her drink. “Also horny. All those muscles and sluicing water.”

“How much longer do you think they’ll be at this? I’d really like to take Hollis back to the room and have my needs fulfilled before dinner.” Hammer sighs.

“I wouldn’t mind fulfilling my own needs before dinner.” Dred squints and adjusts her glasses. “Holy shit, look at that hottie over by the tiki hut.”

“There are a lot of hotties around here, Dred. You’ll need to be more specific.” I shade my eyes and follow her gaze.

“The dark-haired, tattooed Adonis. At least he has an Adonis body. We’ll see about the rest if he turns around.” Dred sips her drink. It’s probably water or juice. She doesn’t drink often.

I spot the object of her attention. His entire back is covered in a stunning design that wraps around his shoulders and trails down his biceps to his forearms. He’s a human canvas, and the art is magnificent. He turns, and we get a glimpse at his profile.

“Oh my gosh, is that Connor ?” I ask.

“Oh yeah, that’s Connor,” Lavender confirms.

“Why did I not know he was covered in tattoos?” Dred makes it sound like this was an intentionally kept secret.

“I had no idea, either,” I reply.

“He’s always so put together off the ice.

He wears tailored suits; his hair is perfect and neatly cut.

Even when he comes to Callie’s games he looks like he’s ready for a posh night out.

He’s been sitting beside me for months. And here he is, covered in ink, looking like a delicious bad boy. ” She sounds mortally offended.

“Why did we not know you have a thing for guys with tattoos?” Hammer asks.

Dred shrugs. “I don’t know. Sometimes I date guys without tattoos.

Although it’s been ages since I’ve been on one.

I’m just a sucker for guys that have them.

Especially guys with bodies that look like they were chiseled from stone, who also attend little girl’s hockey games to make them happy.

Gah.” She fans her face. “He’s hitting all the bad boy who’s really a marshmallow buttons so hard right now.

Do not tell Flip I was checking out Connor. He will lose his mind.”

“He did fuck Flip’s sandwich,” Hammer muses.

“And Flip fucked his shirt, so I’d say they’re pretty even,” Lavender adds.

“Are they, though? Because apparently, it was Connor’s last clean shirt,” Hammer notes.

“I don’t get why Flip just didn’t fuck his own shirt,” I mutter.

Dred jumps to Flip’s defense. “Based on what I know about Connor’s family, his shirts were probably softer and more plentiful than whatever Flip had.”

“That’s probably accurate.” Flip was forever doing laundry when we were teenagers, cycling through his limited wardrobe at an unprecedented rate.

“Boys are ridiculous.” Lavender checks the time. “I’m getting hungry, and honestly, there is zero chance that Kodiak won’t want a pre-dinner vagina snack, so I’m going to help end this game, if that’s okay with the rest of you.”

“I’d like to eat an actual meal before it’s my bedtime,” Dred agrees.

“Same,” I chime in.

“Me also.” Hammer nods.

Lavender adjusts her white thong bikini and stands.

Kodiak’s head whips in her direction.

“I’m going to jump in the shower before dinner,” she calls to him.

“I’m coming.” He pulls his massive body out of the pool and eats the distance between him and his wife in two strides. He takes her bag, then dips down and tosses her over his shoulder.

“See you at dinner! Say forty-five minutes?” Lavender calls.

“Make it an hour!” Kodiak shouts over his shoulder.

“That man is gone for her,” I observe.

“Totally. Absolute couple goals,” Dred agrees.

Everyone else abandons the game, partnering off to have some pre-dinner sex. I gather my things and purposely bend in the direction of the pool while doing it. When I straighten, Nate is already gone.

Guess I get to take care of my own pre-dinner needs.

I spend extra time on my hair and makeup and pick out a sexy little dress, but I end up at the opposite end of the table as Nate for once.

I throw out the idea of going to the resort night club, but everyone is sun tired and wants to go back to their rooms. What they really mean is that they want more sex.

Or in Lexi and Shilpa’s cases, they actually want to sleep.

It starts raining on the way back to our rooms, forcing us to rush off, so I don’t have a chance to toss out another invitation to Nate. Texting him is out of the question. I’ve already extended the offer. I won’t do it again.

I’ve just changed into my nightshirt when there’s a knock at my door. I put my eye to the peephole. It’s Nate. I do a breath check before I throw the door open. It’s pouring. And he’s soaked.

“There’s a leak in my room,” he announces.

“You’re just here for the pussy.” It’s as much a reminder to myself as it is for him.

His expression remains flat. “Your bed is dry.”

I grab the front of his shirt and yank him inside. “For now.”