Chapter 4

4

I wake exhausted, head foggy, muscles sore. I grab a towel, shove my feet in my sneakers, and head out the door like I do every morning. My attention is glued to the path as I carefully pick my way around the rocks, careful not to twist an ankle as I make my way to the beach. I don't see Henry until he’s jogging across the sand toward me. His torso is gloriously bare, thick muscles shifting with every step, his skin burnished by the morning light.

"Morning, Isla." The baritone of his voice slides over me like whiskey, lodging deep in my core.

He stops several feet away, blue eyes sparkling, a shy smile pulling at his lips, dark hair falling in gentle waves over his forehead. I squeeze my hands into tight fists, resisting the urge to reach out and run my fingers through it.

"Morning," I mumble, realizing I didn't look in the mirror before leaving the house. I wipe underneath my eyes, hoping yesterday's mascara hasn't turned me into a raccoon.

"You came down here for a swim?" he asks, eyeing my towel. I nod. "It has to be freezing." He shivers at the thought, goosebumps racing over his skin .

"It is," I say, looking away from him so my eyes don't wander places they shouldn't.

"Why, then?"

"Try it every morning for a week. You'll never go back, trust me."

"Deal," he says, grinning.

"Wait–" That is not what I meant. I sigh and follow him toward the water. I should have kept my stupid mouth shut.

I drop my sweats in a heap on the sand, hesitating for a second.

"What are you waiting for?" Henry calls, testing the water with his toes.

I grimace. "I usually swim naked. I didn't bring a change of clothes, and it'll be freezing walking back up with wet clothes on."

Henry steps away from the water, turns his back on me, and drops his shorts to the sand. He looks over his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Your turn. I won't look till you're all the way in the water." He keeps his back to me as he walks into the waves. I can’t tear my eyes away as the rounded globes of his backside disappear below the surface. I swallow hard. Holy fuck. I drop my bra and underwear and jog into the water, dropping down once I reach my waist, so the water covers my breasts.

"You can turn around now." Henry turns toward me, powerful muscles bunching from the cold. I laugh as his teeth start chattering.

"Shut up," he chuckles, splashing me. "How are you not freezing?"

"I come from tough stock. My mom always said we’re the type made for surviving long winters, not running."

"You sure about that? You look pretty damn fit to me."

I laugh. "Thanks to the hours I spend at the gym every day."

"Gym, huh?"

"Yeah, you don't look like you'd be familiar...they usually have weights you lift to build muscle," I say, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

He rolls his eyes at me. "There's a gym near here? I searched online yesterday but couldn't find anything close."

"It's a private gym only open to our community, so it's not listed. You and your brothers are welcome to work out anytime. "

"If you'll tell me where it is, I'll check it out this morning," he says, dipping down so he's at eye level with me. "How much is it?"

"It's free. I'll take you there if you'd like. I'm going anyway."

"What do you mean free?"

"My brother, brothers-in-law, and I opened it years ago. We've expanded it over time to accommodate everyone. It’s a way to give back to the community that has done so much for us."

He dunks his head under, blowing water from his lips as he comes back up. His eyelashes clump together, highlighting the depths of his ocean-blue eyes. "I have to admit that I'm envious of your way of life here. Time moves slower than it does in the States. Everyone is so incredibly kind. Back home, it seems like everyone is too busy struggling to survive to care about their neighbors."

"That can't be a healthy way to live." I can't imagine my life without the community that has supported me since I was a baby.

“It’s not,” he says, his teeth chattering.

“Fuck, you must be freezing!” My gaze hangs on his purple-tinged lips for a second too long. I pull my hair over my shoulders and stand. It plasters to my skin, shielding my breasts. Henry stays low in the water, his eyes hooded. “You ready to go?” I ask him, my heart pounding in my chest.

“I’ll stay in if it means I get to spend more time with you.”

I laugh, ignoring the butterflies fluttering in my stomach. “You'll freeze to death.”

“It would be worth it, Isla.” He pushes his hair out of his face, droplets cascading over his nose and cheeks. “I always wondered how sailors could be lured to their deaths by a siren's call. I understand it now.” He pushes up, water lapping at the V of his abdominal muscles. Heat pools in my belly. He takes a step toward me and reaches out, running the back of his fingers over my cheek. His thumb sweeps down over my chin, catching on my bottom lip, pulling slightly. My knees buckle, and he catches me easily, one arm behind my back, drawing me onto my tiptoes, my nipples pebbling against his chest. I barely breathe, not sure if I want to break the spell or if I want to climb him like a motherfucking tree. He holds my gaze for a few more seconds before shaking his head like he's trying to wake up from a dream. His whole body trembles as he releases me, whether from desire or cold, I’ll probably never know. He raises one eyebrow and then turns his back, waiting for me to leave the water and get dressed.

I try, but I can’t get my feet to move anywhere but closer to him. I suck in a ragged breath, and he looks over his shoulder at me, his gaze dropping to my lips before bouncing back up. “Isla, I need you to go get dressed. This tension is testing my limits. You're supposed to hate me, remember?”

"You're really fucking hard to hate." My heart pounds in my chest as I press my hand to his shoulder, muscles rippling under my touch. Turning him toward me, I sweep my fingers over his throat, watching in fascination as his Adam's apple bobs. I run my hand over the ridge of his pecs, biting my lip when he jerks as I pass over his nipple.

“Isla,” he growls, catching my hand in his before I can continue my exploration. A full-body shiver goes through him, and I notice he’s clenching his jaw so his teeth don’t chatter.

“God, I’m sorry. You’re freezing. Come on.” I pull his hand and walk toward the beach. “I won’t look if you don’t look.”

“What if I want to look?” he asks, keeping his eyes on my face as we step out of the water.

I laugh. “Do you want me to look at you right now? You were just in freezing cold water.”

He grimaces. “Good point. Don’t you dare look at me.” He runs toward his clothes, leaving me laughing in the arctic wind.

As much as I want to, I don’t look until he gives the okay. I really shouldn’t have encouraged him to swim. He only had his shorts and T-shirt, which are now stuck to his wet skin. He looks colder than he did before we got out of the water.

“Come on,” I call, jogging toward the path. I make sure he’s following me, worried about the blue tinge to his skin. When we get to the cottage, I grab his hand and lead him inside. “You’re not getting out of my sight until I’m sure you’re not going to die of hypothermia.”

“I’m fine,” he scuffs, a violent shiver wracking his body .

God, he looks big in here. His head almost hits the ceiling. I blow out a breath, trying to focus. I motion for him to follow me into the bathroom, cranking the shower handle and turning toward him. He dwarfs me in the tiny space, making me feel small. Delicate. Feminine. I drag my gaze up along the column of his throat, taking in the strong lines of his jaw, the dimple in his chin. We stare at each other, steam billowing between us, making it seem like a dream.

I turn to leave, but he grabs my hand and pulls me toward him. I stop myself from careening into him with a hand on his chest. “I will not have you dying of hypothermia because of a morning skinny dip. Get in the shower, Henry.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he whispers, his voice husky. Sexy. Sensual. I slam the bathroom door as I leave and head straight back outside, desperately needing the cold air to blow away the needy bitch that had taken over my body.

I almost trip over Dylan’s feet as I rush out the door. “E-Everything okay?” He stammers, looking into the cottage like something will burst through the doorway and attack us.

“Fine,” I bite out, fanning my shirt away from my body.

He points to the laptop cradled in his arms. “I thought we could go over numbers sometime today and maybe even procedure if you have the time.”

“What time is it?” I ask, completely turned upside down. This morning could have been thirty minutes or eight hours.

Dylan pulls his phone from his pocket. “Almost 9:30.”

Fuck. I normally finish up at the gym right about now. “Meet me at the pub in an hour?”

"Do you want to drive together?”

“Are you going to stay the whole night?” I ask, realizing I have no clue how this arrangement will work now that I’m not the one taking the bar over.

“Are you?”

I sigh. “I guess we probably have a lot more to talk about than numbers and procedure, don’t we?” Henry chooses that very inopportune moment to appear in the doorway, a very small towel the only thing covering him. My gaze dips below the hem of his towel, taking in the perfection of his thighs. Fucking hell. I clear my throat. “This is NOT what it looks like,” I tell Dylan, taking a step away from Henry.

“Of course not,” Dylan says, pressing his lips into a hard line. I panic, thinking he's disappointed, but then I see the wink he throws Henry. What the hell?

“I’ll meet you up at the house in an hour,” I tell Dylan, watching him walk up the path until he’s almost at the house before I spin around to give Henry a verbal lashing.

“I thought we were going to the gym,” Henry asks before I can start my lecture. He's holding the towel loosely, and I'm having a tough time not focusing on how it dips–

"Isla?"

My gaze snaps up to his, and I clear my throat. “Can I get a rain check?”

“Sure. Speaking of the pub, what's the slowest time of the day?”

“Around three, usually.”

“Perfect. I have a meeting at the visa office in an hour, but if I get done early, maybe the four of us can hammer out this agreement today. I want to make sure we’re all happy with it.”

“Fine. Now please go get dressed.”

“Anything for you, my prickly pear.” He turns and saunters into the cottage. I watch slack-jawed as his muscles shift with every step, and fuck if I don’t want to trace them with my fingertips. With my tongue. With my teeth. This summer is going to kill me.