KAIA
The drive took almost three hours. I spent most of it staring out the window with my headphones in, pretending the music was loud enough to drown out the sound of Kane’s voice every time he spoke to Mom in the front seat.
The resort was smaller than I expected. White buildings, palm trees, a private stretch of beach, and a long rectangular pool that sat quiet under the late afternoon sun. The water was clear and still. No one else was using it.
Our room was on the second floor. One door. Two beds pushed against opposite walls with a narrow gap between them. A small bathroom. A sliding glass door that looked out over the pool.
Mom dropped her bag on the bed closest to the window and stretched her arms over her head.
“This is perfect,” she said. “I’m going to go sort out some details with the front desk and make a few calls. You two should use the daylight. Kane, start the lessons now before it gets dark.”
I opened my mouth to protest. She was already pulling the door open.
“Don’t argue, Kaia. You’re learning. I’ll be back...”
The door clicked shut behind her.
Silence filled the room.
Kane looked at me. He had changed into dark swim shorts on the drive and nothing else. The same body I had watched under the water that morning. Broad chest. Hard stomach.
The faint line of hair that disappeared under the waistband. He grabbed two towels from the bathroom and tossed one onto my bed.
“Change. Meet me down there in five.”
I didn’t answer. He left.
I stood alone in the quiet room with my heart already beating too fast. The black bikini was still crumpled at the bottom of my bag. I pulled it out.
The top was two thin triangles held by strings. The bottoms sat low on my hips. I put it on anyway.
When I looked in the mirror my reflection stared back with tight nipples and a face that already looked flushed.
I grabbed the towel and went downstairs.
Kane was already in the shallow end, water up to his waist. The sun hit the surface and threw light across his shoulders.
He watched me walk the whole way to the edge of the pool. His eyes moved down the length of me, then back up…before his expression settled into something unreadable.
“Get in.”
The water was cooler than I expected. It slid up my calves, my thighs, my stomach. I stopped when it reached my chest. Kane moved toward me without a word. The water barely disturbed around him.
“We’re starting with floating,” he said. “On your back. Arms out. Trust the water.”
“I know how to float.”
“Then show me.”
I leaned back. The second my feet left the bottom his hand was under my upper back, the other under the back of my thighs.
His skin was warmer than the water. I felt every point of contact like it had been lit on fire. My body wanted to sink into the touch but I forced my muscles to stay stiff.
“Relax,” he said quietly. “You’re fighting it.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. Breathe.”
I dragged air into my lungs. His hand on my back shifted higher, fingers spreading just beneath my shoulder blades.
The other hand stayed under my thighs, close enough that his thumb brushed the underside of one cheek when the water moved. Heat pulsed between my legs.
I stared at the sky and tried not to think about the shower. Tried not to think about the thick length of him I had watched disappear into my mom. Tried not to wonder if he was hard right now under the water.
He moved me slowly in a circle, keeping me afloat.
“Good. Now kick. Small movements.”
I kicked. The motion made my body rock against his hands. Every small wave pressed me closer for a second before the water took me again. His breathing stayed even. Mine did not.
After a few minutes he let me stand. The water came to just under my breasts. The thin black triangles of my top clung to me, nipples clearly outlined. Kane’s eyes dropped for half a second before he looked away and pointed to the deeper end.
“Now we move. I’ll stay beside you. When you get tired, you reach for me. Not the wall.”
We started across the pool. I swam poorly on purpose at first, just to feel him close. When my arms got tired I stopped and turned toward him.
He was right there. Chest almost touching mine. Water dripping from his jaw.
“I need a second,” I said.
His hand settled on my waist to keep me steady. The other stayed free at his side. I could feel the heat of his palm through the water. My stomach clenched.
The memory of his voice saying my name rolled through me again and my insides tightened so hard I almost made a sound.
I looked up at him. His face was close. A drop of water ran from his temple down to the corner of his mouth.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured.
“The water’s cold.”
He stepped closer, his large frame effortlessly breaking the current and blocking the chill of the breeze. "Or are you still scared of the deep end?"
His hand on my waist flexed, fingers pressing into the soft skin just above my hipbone—a steadying, immovable anchor. "You don't need to be afraid. I'm right here," he said, his voice dropping into a low, reassuring register. "I've got you. I won't let you slip, Kaia. There is absolutely zero chance I’d ever let anything happen to you."
The absolute certainty in his tone left no room for panic. My breasts rose and fell with every breath, almost brushing his chest. I could smell the chlorine on his skin mixed with something warmer, darker, that was just him.
I shifted my weight, trying to find my footing, when a sudden, sharp tug at the nape of my neck sent a jolt of real panic through me. The thin knot of my bikini top must have caught on the heavy metal of his watch band.
Snap.
The string slipped entirely. The tiny triangle of black fabric covering my left breast immediately slacked, shifting dangerously low. One more ripple of water, and the edge of my nipple would be completely exposed.
Pure instinct told me to grab it. My hand twitched upward under the water, perfectly capable of catching the string before it fell any further.
But my fingers froze.
Instead, I allowed the gentle push of the pool to drift my body half an inch closer to his. The cool water slid between us, a stark, shivering contrast to the burning heat radiating from his chest. My heart was pounding furiously against my ribs—
“Kane…” I breathed out, trembling with a perfectly crafted mix of vulnerability and helplessness. “My string came undone. Can you… fix it for me?”
Kane’s eyes dropped to the loose string, then to the way the fabric had moved. Something dark flickered across his face.
He moved behind me without a word. The water shifted and lapped higher against my ribs as his body closed the small space. I felt the solid wall of his chest almost against my back, the heat of him cutting through the cooler water. Every small movement sent soft ripples outward.
His fingers found the loose strings. They brushed the bare skin between my shoulder blades, slow because of the water, the touch sliding instead of catching. I stopped breathing. My body wanted to push back into him. I allowed it, enough that my ass brushed the front of his shorts.
His knuckles grazed my spine again. The water moved around us in soft, lazy ripples. I could feel the heat of his chest almost against my back, the solid wall of him close enough that every small shift brought us nearer. The water made everything slower, heavier, more deliberate.
I wanted his hands lower.
I wanted them on me the way they had been on her.
He finished tying the knot at the nape of my neck, but he didn't step back. "Let me make sure it's secure," he murmured, his breath brushing my wet shoulder. "We wouldn't want another accident in the water."
Under the guise of checking the fit, his hand left the string and slid down my side. Under the water, his large palm cupped my breast right over the thin, wet triangle.
He adjusted the edge of the fabric with a slow, deliberate pressure. His hand was scorching hot, the pool water making the nylon cling even tighter between his rough skin and mine.
As he pressed firmly against me to 'test the tension,' my nipple betrayed me, instantly tightening into a hard peak against his palm.