Page 15 of It’s Kind of a Bunny Story (Hey There, Hop Stuff #3)
Tossing his shorts onto a nearby rock, Linc closed the distance between us. “You think that’s funny, little rabbit?” His voice was rough and his eyes glinted with menace, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitching as he fought a smile.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I tried my best to appear serious. “Yeah, I kinda thought wolves would be bigger.”
Fletcher howled with laughter, while Copeland hurried to shift, and Linc stormed toward me. Leaping to my feet, I took off, dumping my borrowed clothes to the pebble-covered shore as I ran for the water.
“But don’t worry! It’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean that matters!” I tossed the words over my shoulder as I dove into the lake and swam as though my life depended on it… because maybe it did.
The shock of the cool mountain water had my chest tightening and sent chills racing over my skin. Popping to the surface, I gasped and sucked in a deep breath. Glancing toward the shore, I spotted my wolf shifters plunging into the water in pursuit.
Fletcher collapsed on the shore, holding his side as he continued to cackle. “Swim, Charlee! Swim! Don’t let them get you!”
Giving him a saucy salute, I paused just long enough to pack my lungs with air before disappearing beneath the surface. I wasn’t worried. Because unless the men were professional swimmers, they would struggle to catch me.
Opening my eyes, I kicked my legs and descended. The lake was pristine, reminding me of the beautiful water I’d seen in the travel magazines I’d occasionally found buried in the recycling bin outside one of the councilman’s houses.
Rolling to my side, I looked back to see Copeland and Linc trying to follow me.
They only made it about fifteen feet down before needing to resurface.
Reaching the bottom of the lake about twenty-five feet down, I let myself relax.
By concentrating on slowing my heartbeat, I could explore longer before needing to surface.
My mind quieted, and a sense of peace settled over me.
It had been far too long since I’d been able to swim, plus my muscles were still shaky from everything over the past weeks, so I was forced to kick my way upward far sooner than I wished.
I broke the surface about ten feet behind the pair of shouting wolf shifters.
“Don’t ever do that again! You could have drowned!” Copeland bellowed.
“Are you sure you’re a rabbit shifter and not a kraken?” Linc demanded, completely serious.
Treading water, I laughed and wiped the water from my eyes. “You saw my rabbit form, so you know what I am.”
“Impossible! I nearly drowned three times while trying to reach you on the bottom!” Copeland protested, swimming toward me.
“I think we should do a closer inspection and find out where she’s been hiding her gills,” Linc suggested, paddling beside Copeland.
There was a glint in his eye that told me exactly what type of inspection he was planning to carry out, but I didn’t plan to get caught. Not yet anyway…
“Fletcher!” I shouted at my mate, who lay sunbathing on the pebbled shore. “Did you know wolf shifters doggy paddle just like a puppy?” I was stirring the pot, but I was far too high on happiness to care.
He pushed up on his elbows and shook his head. “You are asking for trouble, Charlee.”
Eyeing the wolves as they power-paddled toward me, I grinned. “You guys are so cute! Such good boys!” I cooed, waiting for them to get closer.
“We’re going to do a different type of paddling when we catch you!” Linc promised with a teasing growl.
Right before the pair got close enough to grab me, I ducked beneath the water and swam away. We spent the next thirty minutes playing a game of cat-and-mouse, or rather, bunny-and-beast.
Growing bored of simply staying out of reach, I changed tactics. I popped up in front of Copeland, who tried to cover his scream of surprise with a curse.
“Charlee! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Nope! I just wanted to talk to you about your car insurance—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence before having to dart underwater to avoid him.
A handful of minutes later, I sneaked up behind Linc and pinched his adorable butt. He hadn’t been expecting to be attacked from below, and although it was muffled, there was no missing his shout. I pressed my lips together, struggling to keep from expelling my air in a fit of giggles.
While I would’ve happily stayed in the lake for several hours, my muscles trembled from the exertion.
Reluctantly, I headed toward shore. Within a minute, I could hear the splashing of the shifters as they raced after me.
The water was still over my head when an arm curled around my waist, yanking me backward against a hard chest.
“And where do you think you are going, naughty bunny?” Copeland asked, his lips brushing my ear.
“To shore?” It came out as more of a question than a statement. “My legs are tired,” I added, trying to elicit some pity and hopefully escape the consequences of my actions.
“We can’t have that.” Linc appeared in front of me. Since he was taller, the water circled around his abs. It dripped from his hair, running in rivulets down his shoulders and chest. “Let me help.”
Gripping my thighs, he gently pried my legs apart and stepped between them. I found myself suspended in the water between the pair.
“Relax. We’ve got you. You don’t need to do a thing,” Copeland purred, his tongue swirling against my neck.
Linc’s hands moved to cup my bare breasts. “I think we need to remind her how big wolves are.”
As if I could forget when Copeland’s hard length was literally grinding against my back, and the water was doing nothing to cool the heat of Linc’s erection where it was branding my stomach.
“I think we should,” Copeland agreed, his hands trailing over my skin, warming me despite the chill of the water.