Sunshine Kisses

‘Shit, Abby,’ Erik said with a smirk. ‘This is what you’re into?’

‘Oh, shut up,’ she snapped, trying to keep every shred of embarrassment out of her voice. ‘I have to read a wide spread of romances to ensure my research accurately reflects the vastness of the genre.’

‘Well, something sure is widespread.’ His smirk widened as he glanced back down at the page and cleared his throat. ‘“All the blood in his body shot downwards as he tapped his thick, erect c—”’

‘Can we do literally anything else?’ That warmth was spreading to her neck and chest.

It was just from embarrassment.

Mostly.

And definitely not at all because she was imagining Erik’s rich voice reading the rest of that scene, where the billionaire playboy fantasised about tying his pretty little assistant to his bed and—

‘Really, Abigail. Consuming pornography on Good Friday?’ Erik tutted. ‘When you should be abstaining from all sexual thoughts?’

If that was the case, he was going to need to get further away from her. Because sitting on her bed, hair a mess, in a fitted white t-shirt, talking about the filth in the book he was holding, was not a sight likely to inspire purity of the mind.

Thankfully, she’d always paid attention in Religious Education.

‘That’s not a real rule and you know it,’ Abby said, rolling her eyes to break the decidedly more real tension building in her stomach. ‘Besides, I just watched you demolish a slice of beef lasagna and wash it down with two glasses of wine, so are you sure you want to talk about which one of us isn’t following the rules?’

‘Oh, I’m very good at following rules, Sunshine.’ His voice dropped even lower. ‘But sometimes it’s worth it to break them.’

Heat continued to flood Abby’s body. She knew her gauge for normal friend behaviour was off where Erik was concerned, but this…this was flirting. Right? She wasn’t imagining it. She couldn’t be.

Erik smirked again. ‘You wanted to do something else? I have an idea.’

Chapter 10

R U Mine? – Arctic Monkeys

‘I

can’t believe they put heating in the pool.’ Abby sighed happily, floating through the pleasant water on her back. In her periphery, she could see her hair undulating on top of the water, fanned out like a golden halo.

Erik chuckled, gliding towards her. ‘I can’t believe we used to swim in an unheated pool in March. One year it was still snowing. And here we were. Swimming in Arctic waters.’

‘At least we always had it to ourselves.’

‘The heating hasn’t changed that.’

Abby glanced around. She hadn’t paused to take in her surroundings when they’d entered, but it was true. Despite the hotel being at capacity for the holiday weekend, the cavernous hall housing the large pool was empty.

While she appreciated the warm water slipping luxuriously over her sensitised skin, she’d been counting on the cold to shock her body back into submission. To calm the heat flooding every inch of her nervous system. When Erik had suggested a swim, it had seemed like a safe option. Water had always helped clear her head before.

But it only had so much power.

Her gaze fell on Erik and dragged across his body. She’d spent the last few days marvelling at the newly developed lines of his arms, but she hadn’t been prepared for his torso. The last time she’d seen his bare chest had been after a year 13 athletics meet. He’d dragged his shirt off and collapsed in an exhausted heap next to her after a particularly gruelling cross-country event. Even then, she’d had to work to keep her eyes off him. He’d been gangly, his body sprouting upwards far more quickly than it had expanded outwards, but lean muscle had already been forming. When he’d pulled her in for a sweaty hug, she hadn’t known what to do with her hands, sure that if she started touching him she wouldn’t stop.

And now… Abby’s mouth had gone dry when Erik undressed to dive in, exposing a glorious stomach with lightly defined abs and two sharp lines disappearing into his swimming trunks.

Those lines deserved sonnets written in their honour.

When she brought her eyes back to his, amusement sparked in the sea of grey. Yeah. He’d definitely noticed her checking him out. So she did the mature thing: she turned away quickly, kicking until she reached the edge of the pool.

Erik followed, matching her pace lap after lap. They’d always done it as a warm-up exercise, trying to acclimate their bodies to the icy water. While not necessary in those soothing temperatures, she appreciated the exertion. It helped keep her mind off how much of Erik’s skin she could see. Although…she thought she’d noticed him cast a lingering look as she had removed her dress. Maybe she wasn’t the only one using the exercise as a distraction.

‘Abby!’ A friendly voice echoed through the room.