Chapter 2

“Hey Pete!” With soapy rivulets streaming down his legs, Bobby stepped onto the patio while waving the man closer. Gleaming waters pooled around my husband’s feet. Everything about him was in hyper-focus as my mind struggled to process his voice. “Since you’re almost done, come on over and hop in. And have a cold one.”

“Thanks, Bobby. Are you sure?” From beyond the line of shrubs screening me, Pete’s tone was neutral. Utter calm, as if they were discussing the weather.

With my brows knitted, I glared up at Bobby while mouthing. “You said tits. One time. A quick flash.”

Instead of replying, he only grinned down at me as I drew my arms over my chest. After reaching into the cooler, he popped the top off a beer and held it out. Although the world was spinning ever faster, I locked onto a glittering droplet falling free of the bottle.

When the mower fell quiet, the silence was profound.

Every synapse focused on the rhythmic crunch of approaching footsteps. As my jaw shivered, not from the water, I tightened the grip over my boobs. When Pete appeared, his tall, toned frame clad only in shorts, he took the beer from Bobby with a smile. Every solid inch of him gleamed with sweat. And as Pete stood, my husband beneath his looming shadow, my chest froze. I’d not realized how impressive he was.

“Thanks, Bobby.” Pete then held the bottle towards me and saluted. “Hey there, uh, Lisa. Um, nice ... Nice, um, seeing you.”

It could’ve been a joke, except his glinting gray lasers narrowed, staring not at my covered chest, but deep into my eyes. Under that searing gaze, heat flooded my cheeks and my insides wobbled. When Bobby splashed into the water, I jolted, turning as he slid closer. While gulping his beer, the forceful motion of Pete’s neck muscles mesmerized me. After setting the bottle on the edge of the pool, Pete surged down the stairs, cutting through the water with powerful strides.

“Dang, I sure wish I’d gotten a pool,” Pete said with a grin between huffing sighs, before his rippling tanned pecs dipped beneath the blue surface.

When my husband glided into my back, I leaned into him, letting his hands roam my ribs. As Pete paddled closer, Bobby tugged on my elbows. Despite my head twisting to glare at him, he only grinned, pulling my arms to my sides. In a blur, the world whirled as time slowed. In slow motion, I returned to Pete, whose gaze descended to inspect my bare chest. The chest my naughty husband presented to him, as if I were a gift.

At any second, I expected a comment from Pete. Some kind of reaction. Anything at all. Instead, he said nothing. Only one eyebrow lifted a millimeter as I stood in my husband’s arms, topless in the suddenly far warmer waters. Under his stony gaze, despite the heat flashing across my frame, my teeth chattered as I shook.

When Bobby’s palms swept onto my hips, my entire body tensed. As much as I tried to turn to him, Pete’s eyes—gorgeous, gray, glimmering—held me spellbound. And the world swam around me, blurring. I couldn’t move. Even though I knew what Bobby was about to do, I didn’t want to move. At my sides, my hands stayed frozen.

It wasn’t fight or flight. There was no fear. Instead, a strange calm descended over me when cool water rushed over the heated flesh between my legs. With a laugh, my husband swam backwards. From his fist, my bottoms dangled.

Even then, Pete remained motionless. With his feet planted on the bottom, he only shifted his gaze lower. Inch by meandering inch, those lasers swept downward, all the way down, before wandering upwards to meet my gaze. It could’ve been seconds, or a thousand years. Time was irrelevant.

At any point, I could have covered myself. And I should’ve. Instead, with Bobby’s slurred laughter in the distance, my arms remained motionless. Shudder after shudder slithered through me, sending little waves rippling across the surface.

For every long second of another thousand years, Pete simply stared into my eyes. There was no expression on his face. Even the eyebrow had returned to position. When he moved, I jolted at the sudden motion, but he glided backwards, heading for the steps.

“I, uh, better be leaving now, Bobby. Before something stupid happens we all regret.” He climbed the steps from the pool, his muscled, sun-kissed back to us. “But, um, thanks for the beer and the dip.” After a brief hesitation, he turned for his home. “And appreciate the, um, show, Lisa.”

The entire world locked up. Oh, it wasn’t his words that had my heartbeat pounding so loud his voice was muffled. Nope. Instead, highlighted by his skintight soaking shorts, was an immense mast. As he swaggered from sight, it jutted, straining against the material.

When Bobby came up behind me, I was trembling. It was a full five seconds before I turned to face him. Wide, his eyes met mine; he’d glimpsed it, too. Wow! No words passed between us, but at last we understood the source of his late wife’s ear-piercing passionate cries.

And then the bubble popped. With a growl, I punched him—hard—on the chest.

“You fucking bastard!” Heat raced up my face to sear the tips of my ears. “You said tits only. Quick flash. What the hell, Bobby?”

“Oh, come on.” With a shit-eating grin, he surged backwards, dodging my next punch. “You didn’t even move. You loved it, baby.”

“Don’t you baby me!” After lurching forward, I struck him with a glancing blow and paddled after him. “You’re sick, Bobby. You know that? Teasing is one thing, but that...”

“What?” Bobby avoided my onrush and swept around behind me. “So, he saw all of you. Once. You’re my wife. He’s gone. You’ll probably be nothing but a pleasant dream for him tonight. What’s the harm?”

“Harm?” When I lurched for him, plowing my jiggling chest through the waves, Bobby leaped aside with a quick splash to my face. After sputtering, I spat out, “he’s our neighbor, Bobby. Not some fantasy in your sick head.”

“You’re gorgeous and mine, Lisa.” When he splashed me again, I ducked beneath the surface and shoved off like a rocket for him. Just as I was about to grab him, he spun from my clenching fingers. I surged upwards into the sunlight. With a chuckle, he added. “I enjoy showing you off. You know that.”

“He’s our neighbor, Bobby,” I repeated while shielding my face from his next wet barrage and back-pedaling. “Now every time he sees me, he’s always ... Always going to be seeing me like that.”

“Hmm, like I get to see you every day.” With a leering grin, he beckoned me with both hands. “Come here, baby.”