Chapter 33


    33


    VANESSA


    When Vienna brought me out here today, I underestimated hermitment to making sure I let loose


    and have fun. She pulled me into a game of beer pong against Fallon and Serena, talked me into


    partnering up with Alec for chicken fights in the water against her and Chase, and has replenished my


    beer every time it started to get low. I’m not a big drinker but I’m rolling on a solid buzz at this point, and


    I can tell that my girl Vee is past her threshold by the way she’s ssy- eyed and hanging off Chase.


    Having endured more than enough of their PDA, I announce that I’m going swimming, kicking off my


    flip-flops and shorts and heading for the water’s edge. This ce is aplete contrast to the hot


    springs by the lodge- while that water is always piping hot, this water seems to be perpetually cold. It


    stings my skin like tiny needle points as I wade into the pool, my breath catching from the shock in


    temperature change. I flop backwards once I’m waist-deep, spreading my arms and legs and floating


    on top of the water, releasing a breathy sigh of satisfaction.


    This is the life. The sun is hot, the water’s cold, and my body’s rxed from the copious amount of


    alcohol running through my bloodstream. My eyes slide closed as I float, losing myself in the moment


    and allowing my sluggish mind to go nk.


    My peaceful rxation doesn’tst long. I’m floating along, minding my own business, when I suddenly


    feel an arm wind around my waist, pulling my body down into the water. My eyes snap open, limbs


    thrashing as my mind struggles to catch up to what’s happening. My head stays above water, but my


    body’s yanked backwards against a hard chest.


    “You’ve been avoiding me,” a low voice rumbles in my ear, eliciting a tingle of excitement at the


    realization of who it is that has ahold of me. Callum’s strong, tattooed forearm tightens around my


    middle, the hard ridge of his erection riding against the crack of my ass. Either that whole cold water


    causing shrinkage thing is a lie, or it’s bigger than I remember. 2


    Great, now I’m thinking about his dick.


    Cal’s lips tickle my ear as he speaks again in a throaty murmur. “Remember thest time we went


    swimming?”


    A shiver runs through me, and I’m not sure if it’s from the cold water or the memory that question


    ignites. How could I forget the first time he brought me to a toe-curling orgasm without even taking my


    underwear off?


    I don’t need a mirror to know my face is crimson. I wriggle free from his grip, feet finding the rocky


    bottom of the swimming hole. Water sshes as I spin around to face him.


    Callum’s turquoise eyes are ssy, azy grin spread across his lips. He looks… different. More


    rxed than usual. “You’ve been drinking,” I think aloud.


    He runs his tongue over his teeth, nodding in affirmation.


    I arch a brow. “What happened to always keeping a clear head?”


    Callum’s handsnd on my waist, fingers tightening and tugging me closer. Cool water sloshes


    between our upper bodies from the force of the movement. “Like that’s possible around you these


    days,” he growls, his carefree smile dissolving into a tight frown. “You and Miles…”


    “Are over,” I supply.


    His eyes spark in delight, lips tipping into a smug smirk. Cal always keeps his emotions. so buttoned


    up- it’s strange to see them y out on his face so inly. Hell, if I knew booze was all it took for him to


    wear his emotions on his sleeve, I probably would’ve encouraged him to drink more often.


    Another shiver runs through me as Callum’s hands slide down to my hips. His devious gaze and the


    flex of his fingertips against my flesh are more than enough to convey his wicked intentions. “So…” he


    drawls suggestively.


    This man’s touch is doing crazy things to me right now, but somehow, even through the fog of my beer


    buzz, I find the wherewithal to press my palms against his chest and push back to maintain some


    semnce of distance between us. “We still have things to figure out.”


    Even as I say it, I know I don’t want to talk about all that right now. It’s not the time or ce. I just want


    to enjoy feeling of being close to someone else- to be touched by the only person who can do it without


    giving me the overwhelming urge to squirm away.


    I shut down after Callum left, but now that he’s back, it’s like parts of me are slowlying back online.


    Like I’m finally remembering how to be myself again.


    He narrows his eyes on me, a dangerous smirk still dancing across his lips. “Vee said you’re going to


    make me work for it.


    I can’t help but crack a smile of my own in return. Of course my bestie has already delivered a warning.


    If I know her, and I do, I’ll bet it also came with a threat to cause bodily harm if he screws up again.


    “Damn right I am,” I reply, wetting my lips with my tongue.


    His eyes track the movement, a hungry spark ring in them. He suddenly spins me around by the


    hips, locking an arm around my waist and yanking me back into his chest again. I shudder a gasp at


    the sudden movement, the warmth of his firm chest leeching into my back.


    “I like a challenge,” Cal rasps, his other handnding t on my belly. “Maybe I should start making it


    up to you right now …” His hand glides down my stomach beneath the surface of the water, my breath


    hitching.


    “Callum!” I hiss, squirming in his grasp. He’s got me locked in tightly, though, and my fight is futile. His


    fingertips brush the top edge of my bikini bottoms, my eyes flying wide as they wriggle beneath the


    fabric. I’m suddenly all too aware of the number of people in the water around us, my throat tightening


    in a strange mixture of panic and excitement.


    “Shhh,” he whispers in my ear, walking us backwards through the water until his back collides with the


    rock face on the rear edge of the pool.


    The waterps against our shoulders, our bodies hidden beneath the surface, but I still feel like I’m on


    full disy right now. If I


    wasn’t a little buzzed, I would’ve put a stop to this as soon as he grabbed for me. If he wasn’t a little


    drunk, I doubt he would be this bold, especially given everything we’ve gone throughtely. We’ve been


    walking on eggshells around one another, but the alcohol has lowered our inhibitions just enough to


    have us both making questionable decisions.


    “Do you want me to stop?” Callum rumbles in my ear, his fingers delving further into my bikini bottoms.


    They’re so close to my clit that I’m suddenly panting with need.


    Logically, I should say yes. I should tell him to stop. I should say we need to have a real conversation


    and figure our shit out before this goes any farther. I should point out the number of people around, and


    how it’s entirely inappropriate for him to have his hand down my pants in front of an audience. But I


    haven’t been touched like this in months, and every ‘should’ dies on my tongue before it can even form.


    I’m hot and bothered, wound up in a way that can only be relieved by the man at my back. I squirm


    against him as he awaits my response, seeking friction that he’s refusing to give me until I answer.


    My cheeks grow hotter as I whisper, “No.”


    It’s all the invitation he needs. He sinks his hand fully into my bikini bottoms, fingers. immediately


    finding my clit, and I have to bite down on my lower lip to stop from screaming out at the sudden jolt of


    pleasure. All my nerves fire to life, desire coiling tightly in my belly and aching for release.


    “Can you be quiet, baby?” Callum asks, his voice gravelly as he continues torturing me with the


    methodic strumming of his fingers. “Or are you gonna let everyone hear how you scream for me?” 4


    Goddamnit, he knows what effect his dirty talk has on me. Heat floods between my legs, and I’m


    already so close toing undone that I can barely think, barely breathe.


    He rocks his hips against me slowly, grinding his throbbing hard-on against my ass more insistently as


    he reaches down lower to sink a thick digit inside my pussy. I gasp at the intrusion, mping my mouth


    shut hastily and darting my gaze around in rm. Somehow, nobody seems to have noticed us tucked


    away at the edge of the swimming hole, pressed together so closely that not even the water can slip


    between our bodies.


    He begins thrusting his finger inside me with the same rhythm of his hips punching against my


    backside, my breath hissing out between my teeth in short, frantic bursts. I’m biting my lip so hard to


    hold back my moans that tears spring to my eyes, the metallic tinge of blood coating my tongue.


    Four months. That’s how long it’s been since someone has touched me like this. I wish I could savor it,


    make itst to make up for all those lonely nights, but four months without it has my body on a hair


    trigger, ready tobust.


    He knows my body better than anyone else, just like I know his. We spent weeks exploring and


    memorizing each other, tangled up in and consumed by one another. He knows my tells, knows how


    close I am. He can feel it.


    “Go on,” Cal coaxes, pushing another finger inside to stretch me wider while the pad of his thumb rubs


    my clit relentlessly. Let go, babe. I wanna feel you shatter.” 4


    Yup, that’ll do it. 1


    Maybe it’s because it has been so long, or maybe it’s just because it’s him. Either way, the coil in my


    belly snaps, my body jerking


    as an intense orgasm washes over ing like a tsunami. Callum holds my hips tightly in ce as they


    buck, my body jerking, ripples forming around us in the water. It takes everything in me to hold back my


    scream, only a small whimper escaping as I squeeze my eyes closed and ride out the waves of my


    climax.


    “Good girl,” he rumbles in my ear, and I never thought I had a praise kink, but damnit if that doesn’t


    spark something in me that sends another wave of pleasure crashing through my


    I’m breathless when I finallye back down, blinking my eyes open to the harsh afternoon sunlight.


    Callum’s arms are still wound securely around me as I go boneless in his grasp, dragging gulps of


    fresh air into my lungs.


    “Fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, nipping my earlobe with his teeth.


    Holy crap.


    I can’t believe I just did that.


    Realityes crashing back in, and my head jerks from side to side as I look around


    wildly, panicked that someone could’ve just watched mee undone beneath Cal’s fingers.


    I can’t even describe the relief that washes through me at the realization that nobody’s looking this way.


    We haven’t drawn any attention to ourselves. Maybe we were really that discreet, or maybe everyone’s


    just too lost in their own conversations and games. Either way, they’re all oblivious to the fact that I just


    got off right in front of them.


    My cheeks burn with embarrassment as that sinks in and I twist around in Callum’s arms until I’m


    facing him, resting my hands on his broad shoulders. I’m still buzzy and a little lightheaded, a nervous


    giggle bubbling up my throat and escaping through my lips.


    In stark contrast, Cal’s gaze is scorching and intense, transfixed on my mouth. “I want to kiss you so


    fucking bad right now,” he


    murmurs.


    Well, if we just did all that, what’s a sneaky little kiss? I dive forward, mming my lips against his.


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    And that’s when I feel it.


    The jolt.


    The re.


    The spark.


    It’s just like it was yesterday,sting a fraction of a second, a flutter of a heartbeat.


    Like a fment igniting in the dark space inside that was left when the bond was ripped away, only for


    the briefest instant.


    If I doubted it before, I can’t deny it this time – nor can I ignore the way he flinches back, his blue-green


    eyes widening.


    Maybe it’s an echo of what used to be there between us. An aftershock. Or maybe it’s something else.


    … something more.