Bartered (The Encounter #1)(30)

“I did tell you I have a weakness for beautiful, catty, sharp women, with eyes so blue they sometimes turned purple, who’s also unafraid to speak her mind and constantly likes to push my limits.”

Her smile was pure beauty. I wished she’d do so more often. I’d give her whatever she wanted when she looked at me that way—serene and impressionable.

The catty and feisty attitude turned me on like a raging lunatic, yet this, too, had the power to drive my lust to epic proportions. One way or the other, I wanted her with a passion. Like a flip of a switch, so did my objective.

“You know, you could further thank me by swimming with me.”

Rolling her eyes, she feigned an exasperated sigh. “All right, but I’m leaving my underwear on.” She sharpened her eyes at me, as if in warning of some sort.

I’ll take whatever she’d throw at me.

“Whatever you feel comfortable in.” I was a rabid dog with an unfathomable hunger that only burned for one particular person. It was as if my nature and my senses came together when with her.

Pulling the zipper down on the side of her chest, she eyed me warily. “It’s weird that I feel shy doing this even though you’ve seen me naked before.”

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath, awaiting the striptease, but her hesitation made me concede to giving her a little space. Emphasis on little. “I’ll pretend like I’m a gentleman and go in first.”

Walking into the water until it was around my hips, I dove into the dark sea before I came up for air and swam farther out. The water was cool, a refreshing change for my heated body. The summer heat was crucial earlier today, and in those times, a dip in the sea was mandatory.

Taking a gulping breath, I spun around towards the beach as I pedaled to stay afloat. The beach was empty. Where had she gone?

“Isobel?” I called out, keeping still as I tried to adjust my eyesight. I was about a little over a kilometer out in the sea; therefore, my vision wasn’t as clear as I’d hoped. “Isobel!” I bellowed again, but this time, I heard a small reply.

“I’m right over here.” Her voice was a great distance away. “Where are you?”

Scouring the dark sea as I swam with slight, silvery rays of the moon to lighten my sight, there was still a vast area that was shaded, and I desperately needed to make sure of where she was.

“Stay where you are and keep talk—”

She made a startling yelp, almost stopping my heart. “Oh, f*uk! Something touched my leg!” She made an alarming screech. “Hugo, something’s out there!”

“Don’t move.” I swam towards her, following the echo of her voice. “I’m coming.”

“Hugo, please hurry!” she screamed, but this time with pure terror. “I just saw a fin! Oh my God, I saw a bloody fin! I’m going to die. I’m going to die!” She kept chanting that she was dying.

Her alarmed voice sent a chill all over my body, making me feel truly frightened for the first time in over a decade. The small splashes of water done by her panicky arms made me halt for a second as I noticed the dorsal fin slicing briskly about her before it disappeared again.

Then, I barked out a laugh as I reached for her, wrapping my arms around her as I held her close. “Relax. It’s only a dolphin.” I kissed her forehead as relief spread all over me. “The Rissos dolphin feeds at night, and they have a long dorsal fin, so I guess it’s easy to assume it’s a shark circling about you for its next meal.”

“That’s not funny. I truly, really was frightened.” She sobbed, a little frazzled.

Pauvre bébé. (Poor baby.) She looked so scared she had tears in her eyes. Wiping them away, I kissed her nose while trying to reassure her. “Even if it were a shark, you can’t blame it for wanting to have a taste; you’re quite a delectable treat,” I teased, watching as the fright slowly ebbed away from her eyes.

She lightly tapped my chest before resting her head against it. “I almost had a heart attack. Be nice.” Then she pulled her head back, taking a peek at me. “Since when did you know so much about dolphins anyway?”

“I swim a lot at night during the summer months.”

“This is actually nice,” she murmured, as she unknowingly sought for more warmth from my chest. “But do you mind if we’re closer to the shore? I don’t like being all the way out here in the open. It’s like baiting ourselves to be eaten alive for the next hungry predator that happens to be nearby.”

“I’m a predator, and I’m famished.” Her breasts were squished against me, and it was getting increasingly difficult to resist her by the second.

“In a different circumstance, I would’ve quivered, but now’s not the time to put the moves on me.” She swam away, heading towards the beach while I followed closely behind, needing to draw more of this drug from her.

Once she felt safe from the “predators,” as she’d put it, she tilted her head back, staring into the sky above, while my eyes centered on the two creamy orbs before me.

“So… I make you quiver,” I asked, wanting to delve more into that detail. “Tell me more about it.”

“You don’t let up, do you?”

“Your admission just took me by surprise.”

Her long hair floated around her while her breasts thrust forward. She reminded me of a siren. La belle sirène.