Hidden Away (KGI #3)(30)

After a while, Garrett tugged at her hand and pulled her closer. He flipped and treaded water beside her while she continued to float on her back. “Having fun?”

She put her feet down and realized she couldn’t touch bottom. She grabbed a hold of his arm and righted herself until she was keeping above the water along with him. “Yeah. Thanks. I am. It’s ... peaceful out here.”

“We’re pretty far from the shore now. Think you’ll be able to make it back?”

She glanced up and gasped as she realized how far they’d drifted from the beach. She swam decently enough, but that was a long way back.

He nudged her cheek with a wet knuckle. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I didn’t mention it to make you frown. All you have to do is hang on to my shoulder and float. I’ll do all the work.”

Just like he’d been doing all along. Always helping her. Always shouldering the effort.

“Come on,” he said. “Grab hold. I’m hungry.”

She laughed. “We can’t have that. Clearly you’re in danger of starving to death with that body.”

“You like my body?”

The devilish glint in his eyes was nearly her undoing. The man was incorrigible. And his family thought he was an “uptight bastard?” It didn’t compute. Maybe his family didn’t understand him, or maybe they were the uptight ones. She’d never met a man as easygoing and understanding as Garrett.

She rolled her eyes at his fishing. “You know you have a great body.”

“You’ve been checking me out,” he said smugly.

“Duh,” she muttered under her breath.

He took her hand and slid it over a solid wall of muscle until her fingers were hooked over his shoulder. Damn but the man felt good.

“Hang on. Here we go.”

With a kick he was off. She attempted to help for a while until she realized her flailing about was actually hindering him, not helping. So she concentrated on staying afloat and was content to go along for the ride.

When he had them close enough to the shore that he could stand, he stopped swimming and began wading forward while she still grasped his shoulder. He tentatively slid his fingers over the top of her hand and then reached back in a gesture for her to give him her other hand.

She kicked until she was behind him and no longer beside him and gave him her other hand. He pulled until her arms were looped around his neck and she was hugged up against his back. Then he continued forward, pulling them both effortlessly through the water.

The shallower the water got, the higher he rose from the water and the higher she had to reach. He stopped when he was a little over waist deep, patted her hands to show her she should still hold on and then he reached back to grasp her behind the knees. He hoisted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to forge ahead.

Okay, so she could totally stand right now, but she was enjoying the piggyback ride way too much to point out that she could make it on her own. She was wrapped around his hard body, and his big hands burned her thighs where he had hold above her knees.

He trudged out of the water and onto the sand, and still, he made no effort to put her down. He started down the beach toward her cottage. She rested her chin atop his head and sighed in contentment. She almost wished he’d slow down just to make the ride last longer. But all too soon he reached her deck and he turned so he could deposit her on the bottom step.

“Thanks,” she said lightly.

“Not a problem. Now you don’t have sand all over you.”

She glanced down at the sand caked on his feet and legs. “Wait right here. I’ll get some water to rinse you off.”

She hurried inside and filled a pitcher of water and then went back out where he was now sitting in one of the lawn chairs. He dutifully raised each foot for her to rinse and then plopped them back down onto the deck.

“After all that discussion about towels, I left mine back on the beach,” he said.

She blinked. A towel had been the last thing on her mind. “That’s okay. I’ll run in and get us one. If you can wait just a few minutes, I’ll go ahead and change before I come back out.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said lazily as he stretched his arms over his head like he was seeking the sun. He tucked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, and for a long moment she was riveted to just how beautiful the man was. She was utterly fascinated by him. The idea that man with such hard edges and scarred body—clearly the body of a warrior—could also be so gentle and understanding simply astounded her.

Forcing herself away, she let herself into the house and hurried for her bedroom, where she stripped out of her suit. With a grimace, she glanced down to see that sand had accumulated in some interesting places.

She ducked into the bathroom, turned on the shower and stepped underneath the chilly spray. Shivering the whole time, she quickly rinsed the sand off and decided while she was at it, she’d wash her hair.

Fifteen minutes later and feeling guilty for leaving Garrett for so long, she walked back onto the deck, towel in hand, to see him exactly as she’d left him. Kicked back in the chair, head back, eyes closed and looking completely relaxed.

“Sorry I took so long,” she said. “I had sand everywhere so I showered.”

He cracked one eye open and stared at her. “Yeah, sand in the sensitive parts is a bitch. It can cause some chafing issues.”