But instead of continuing down the hall, she grabbed her bikini from where it was hanging on the line and quickly put it on. She needed to cool down, distract herself, work off this steam so she could finally get some sleep.
She tiptoed out of the hostel, guided by the blue glow of the pool and the halo of garden lights. Doing something was infinitely better than lying in bed driving herself crazy. She just needed to take her mind off—
She stopped in her tracks.
She wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been tempted by the hostel beds that night. There was someone else swimming in the pool. Someone with cobalt blue shorts, a strong back, and sun-lightened hair.
Her stomach nearly flopped out of her body, all the electricity she’d been trying to hold back zinging straight to her chest.
She thought about sneaking back inside and just, she didn’t know, sitting up all night in some corner in the hostel where she’d never be found. But it was too late—he had come up for air and seen her standing there.
And in the instant when his eyes met hers, Julia knew that no matter what she told herself was the right thing to do, she would never forgive herself if she didn’t get into that pool.
Blake had lost count of how many laps he’d done without pause, pounding at the water like each stroke was taking him somewhere and not ferrying him in circles, which was exactly how his life felt.
It had been so good. So good. She’d wanted it; she’d wanted him. She’d lifted her lips to his and closed her eyes and smiled like she was somewhere far away and taking him with her, and he’d felt like whatever they were doing was right. The way he’d wanted that kiss—it wasn’t like the other one-night stands he’d had, where things fell into place and progressed from there. He wanted this in a way that he’d forgotten he was capable of.
Sure, it wasn’t great timing and there had been a car full of people waiting for them, plus more people in the hostel, and their separate rooms. But they’d figure out how to give everyone the slip and find somewhere to themselves. In a dark corner of the garden they could have done anything. It didn’t have to be a big deal.
But when he’d turned around after tipping the driver, she’d immediately looked away. Then she gave some big elaborate yawn, when she’d seemed more than awake just moments ago. Okay, fine, so it was a little awkward, but Julia darted off to bed so fast that afterward, Chris demanded to know what the hell he’d said to her in the car.
“Nothing,” he’d said, a little defensively.
“Well that’s where you made your mistake,” Chris said. “The two of you going off—I thought you were going to make your move!”
“You didn’t even pash her?” Jamie echoed.
It would have been worse to tell them the truth—that he did go in for a kiss and she went from yes, please to not on your life in the amount of time it took to slam the car door.
Was he really that bad?
He was so sullen the rest of the evening, Chris accused everyone of being no fun and stalked off to bed early herself, Jamie and Lukas trailing behind. Blake knew there was no way he could sleep, so he’d grabbed his trunks and gone straight for the pool. He’d been banging out laps ever since, and it was only when he saw a shadow flicker in the doorway to the hostel that he looked up and realized his heart was hammering from more than swimming.
It was obvious who was standing there, but it didn’t make any sense. Nobody claimed they were exhausted and then got up in the middle of the night to go swimming alone. Not even this girl.
But there she was. She was just standing there, not moving toward him or away, so he pulled himself out of the pool and approached.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.
“Me neither.”
“I didn’t think anyone would be out here.”
“I guess we both had the same idea.”
She hovered between the hostel and the garden as though caught, unsure which way to turn. Blake wanted to tell her to go back inside if she wasn’t interested. But her hair was falling in long, dark streaks down her back and the sleek cut of her bikini barely concealed those two maddeningly alert nubs he wanted to flick with his teeth. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what he wanted from his last few hours in Brazil before a bus whisked him away.
But he didn’t know her, and obviously he had no idea what she wanted. As far as he could tell, she didn’t know what she wanted, either.
At least not yet.
“What time is your bus tomorrow?” she asked.
“Nine a.m.”
He waited to see how she would react. But if she thought anything about it, she didn’t even blink. That certainty and calm had descended to shield her like a fortress of steel. He wanted to crack it open and see what was underneath. Run his tongue over the pieces she was hiding. Drink in who she really was.
Then she flushed, even though he hadn’t said a word. Whatever she was thinking, he hoped it was good.
“Does that bother you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, I just—”
“Then let’s not worry about it.”
“I feel like I should explain,” she started, but this time he was the one who said no.
“I don’t want to spend the time we have left talking.” He took a step toward her and under the garden lights he could see the pink deepen across her face.
“You don’t even know me,” Julia said demurely. But when Blake extended a hand, she took it. Her soft skin against his palm—was that all it took to make his breath catch?
“I never got to finish giving you that birthday present I’d had in mind,” he whispered in her ear, brushing her hair over her shoulder as he leaned in.
The bulge was growing in his shorts, and the thin bathing suit material did nothing to hide it. Her eyes strayed downward and lingered over the knob straining below the waistband. Then they lifted to meet his face. Goddamn, she was beautiful. Her thin mouth stayed set in a line, betraying nothing.
But her rich, smoky eyes looking up at him? There was definite hunger there. She was hard to read, but not her eyes. They gave everything away.
She stepped toward the pool, tall and lithe against him, and he wanted to kiss her right then. But still he hesitated, prolonging the moment to make sure she wanted it as much as he did. His desire was obvious, and if she moved another inch closer, she would feel it press against her thigh. She knew what he wanted and this time she hadn’t backed away. But he could sense her nervousness, some kind of conflict brewing below the surface of what she let him see.
Blake knew all signs pointed to yes, but he didn’t want it to just be yes. He wanted more than that. He wanted her enthusiasm to build until everything in her was screaming for him. Until there was no fucking way she could contain herself anymore.
He liked to be in control, but he didn’t just want to take her. He wanted to be taken, too.
Without thinking, Blake turned and jumped into the water, intentionally splashing Julia where she stood.
“Come on in,” he called when he came up for air, treading water and swinging his head to get his hair out of his eyes. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Mmm, I see that,” she responded, and then bit her lip as though trying to take back what she’d said.
Her surprise at her own boldness made him want her more. “I think you should feel it for yourself instead of looking.”
As he looked up at her, he wondered if maybe he’d pushed too far. She was still waiting, still holding back from jumping in the pool—from jumping into whatever was going to happen with him. She looked down at him, obviously aware of how he was running his eyes all over her.
“I like looking,” she surprised him by saying, low and breathy and so quiet he almost didn’t hear.
Oh.