Page 29 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls (Ivy Falls #3)

He patted his pockets and then held up his phone. Quickly his arm went around my shoulder. I expected him to take the picture, but he placed his lips against my cheek, giving me a warm kiss before the camera made a clicking sound.

The image of us smiling relaxed the chaotic beat of my heart. This place was full of old memories, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t make new ones too.

I kicked off my shoes, followed by my shorts and top.

‘Last one in is a rotten egg!’ I called as I sprinted to the water.

Once my toes hit the lake, I sucked in a breath and dove down.

I kicked and swam until my lungs protested and I came up for air.

Ford, only a few feet behind, did a perfect freestyle stroke toward me.

His cobalt eyes matched the color of the water.

Without his glasses, a cute little white tan line arched over the top of his nose.

‘Rotten egg.’ I splashed water in his direction.

‘You cheated!’

He dove down below me. I tried to swim away but he caught me around the waist and came up for air again. The smile he wore said he was forming a devious plan.

‘Climb on my back.’

‘Um, no. I’ll drown you.’

‘Bird, climb on.’

He hitched his thumb backward and I did as I was told. The guy was solid as a rock and swam like I was a guppy holding on.

‘Go along the shore and around the bend. I want to show you something,’ I said.

With solid strokes, he tugged me along. Once we moved around the outer corner of the shore, I let out a small whoop.

I slid off Ford’s back and swam to the shore. Once I was on the sand, I took a long leap and jumped onto a tire swing hanging from a thick tree. I used my momentum, swaying back and forth until I got high enough to launch my body up and out into the water, landing with a massive splash.

Ford gave me an amused look from the shore.

‘You try it,’ I called out.

I didn’t have to say it twice. He easily mounted the tire. With his strength and weight, it only took him a few swings before he sailed out across the water. The show-off didn’t do a cannonball like me but spread his arms wide and entered the water with barely a splash.

When he broke the surface, he swung his hair, water flailing out everywhere. He was gorgeous in his starched white doctor’s coat, but with water dripping off his full lips he was achingly beautiful.

He swam toward me and we treaded water for a few quiet moments. His pale blue eyes never left my face. He reached for my hand and towed me through the water to where the lake had no entry from the shore and was hidden by a patch of tall marsh grass.

‘What are we doing over here?’ I asked.

He planted his feet in a shallow part of the water.

Spun around and slid his hands around my waist. His eyes filled with a hunger.

That same need pulsed through me and I swung my legs up around his torso.

The thin material of my bikini pressed against the hard edge of him.

He waited again. Reminding me that I needed to tell him I was ready for this. Ready for him.

I gave a small nod and the kiss he pressed to my lips was gentle and sweet.

As he held me with one hand, his other went to my neck in that gentle caress.

I angled my head and took the kiss deeper and he let out a groan.

Said my name like a cherished vow. ‘You don’t know how many times I’ve dreamed about this. ’

I ran my finger down his chest, stopping at the line of dark hair that disappeared into the waistband of his board shorts. ‘Dreams? Really? How many times am I the star?’

He purposefully hitched me up like he wanted to see my reaction to the delicious friction. ‘All I can say is that sleeping is one of my favorite things to do these days.’

His stare went molten as he slid his hands beneath my ass and tugged me in, the hard line of him pressing against my stomach.

‘And what exactly do I do in these dreams?’

‘It’s more about what I do.’

‘Go on,’ I urged, heat filling my core.

‘I trace my fingers across your silky skin. Drag a line of kisses over your throat. Work my way to your collarbone.’ He spoke the words into being as he ran his mouth over me.

A few shuddering breaths escaped my lips and he pulled back.

‘If this is too much, you gotta tell me, Bird.’

I placed a hand against his cheek. The honesty and kindness in his eyes stripped away all the fear and worries I had about opening myself up again. The turmoil of my past floated away like a discarded leaf on the waves of the lake.

I moved my lips against the beautiful hollow of his throat. Ground my body against his. I nipped the corners of his mouth and he opened for me, the heat between us building.

My nails raked up and down his back and another sweet moan left his lips. I slid my teeth down his neck, loving the taste of salt on him. His hand moved to the front of my bikini. In slow strokes he ran a finger down my center. This time the air filled with my own moan.

‘What you do to me when you make that sound.’

I moved my hand to the outside of his shorts, eager to feel the hard length of him.

‘See,’ he mumbled into my neck.

He continued his slow stroke and I leaned into his touch, my breaths coming faster, a slow heat burning me from the inside out.

His kisses moved down my neck and I arched back.

He palmed one of my breasts and all I wanted was his mouth on me.

We continued to kiss, finding the perfect rhythm of give and take until the sounds of children’s voices near the swing broke our frenzy.

The wicked smile he unleashed made me want to climb him like Mount Everest.

‘Maybe we shouldn’t give the kids a show.’

‘True. Not a good choice for a respectable doctor.’

His eyes went electric. ‘What I was just thinking… What I want to do to you is anything but respectable.’

Heat filled every inch of my body and I tried not to overthink this moment.

That in a few weeks he’d be gone from my life.

We’d crossed over into something new now, and as much as those fears about what came next crept into my head, I let myself steep in this moment, holding on to him and leaning in for one more kiss.