Hit & Run Bride (Hit & Run Bride Contemporary Romance Series) by Nana Malone, Misty Evans Page B

she asked as her foot touched the bottom. Her gaze was locked on his. Fear was definitely reflected in her eyes.
    “Only to a few people.”
    “So I’m special?”
    She was special all right. “Why are you so scared of the water, Becca?”
    Her eyes shifted away from his. “I—I’m not scared. Just not used to the water yet, I guess.”
    So that’s how she wanted to play it. He’d give it a rest. “The best way to get used to it is to jump in. How about those bubbles?”
    They worked for longer than sixty seconds on bubbles, mostly because once she got started, she kept at it. She liked the accomplishment. “Awesome job. Now, let’s get you on your back.”
    That sounded dirty. He glanced at her face and saw a sly grin lift one corner. “I meant to float. I think we, er, you , should try floating. Then we’ll progress to gliding.”
    For most of his students, floating came easy. As easy as blowing bubbles.
    “I’m going to help you lie back in the water.” He placed one hand between her shoulder blades and the other on her lower back. “Lie back. My hands will support you. Nice and easy…”
    She did as instructed, her feet rising to the surface. Her eyes were wide, but she smiled. “I’m floating! I’m really doing it!”
    And then her butt dropped like a weight.
    She flailed her arms, hitting Liam in the face as she torqued her body and rolled right off his supporting hands. She face-planted into the water, splashing him and going under.
    He hauled her up by the waist. She gasped and coughed and spit pool water everywhere.
    “You’re okay. I’ve got you.” He held her against him. “I’m right here.”
    She hiccupped and coughed some more, then balled up her fists and smacked them into his chest. “Why does it have to be so hard?”
    It was hard. Everything, in fact, was hard beneath the water at that moment. He forced his mind off what was happening below his waist. “That was my fault. I should have had a better grip on you.”
    She raised her face, water dripping from her curls, and relaxed her fingers against his pecs. “I’m not an idiot. I panicked. That’s not your fault. It’s mine.” She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “Again.”
    He had to admire the fact she was taking responsibility. “Let’s say we both could have done better.”
    Her fingers splayed across his skin, and he had to shift his lower half back a little to be sure she didn’t come into contact with his erection. Maybe if he got her talking, he could put her at ease again. “So what do you do for a living, Becca?”
    “I’m a project analyst at Dive, the swim line for Elite Sports. I pretty much make sure all the initiatives get put into production. But I’m the internal face. I have an account manager that handles client interface and getting our designs into stores. It’s better that way.”
    “Why?” He maneuvered her into a floating position again.
    “I tend to be too honest with clients and don’t bullshit them like a salesperson has to.” She shrugged. “They like a little more handholding.” She giggled. “Make that a lot of handholding.”
    He understood that concept. As she leaned back into his arms, he carefully avoided her butt and slid his right hand down to the back of her thigh. “We’re going to do this a little differently this time. I’m not trying to feel you up, but you need some buoyancy on your lower half.”
    She giggled again. “It’s fine. I know what you’re doing.”
    He looked down into her face and held her in the float position. “Elite Sports is a big company. How long have you been there?”
    He kept her talking about her job, and before they both knew it, she was floating. She was talking about her friend, Vanessa, and some prank she had pulled on the Tribots—whoever they were—and Liam slowly let go.
    She continued to float, all on her own, as she confessed to her secret addiction to chocolate and some reality TV series he’d never watched but overheard