Free Avoiding Intimacy by K. A. Linde Page A

said, clutching her hand around his neck for dear life.
    No way was he going to do this. It would be a complete dick move, but she was already losing her balance. She wasn’t even sure how she was still out of the water. The only thing holding her up was her hand around his neck, one foot pressed into the edge of the pool, and his hand gripping her wrist.
    “Okay,” he said with a smirk.
    Just then, his foot came out of nowhere and knocked her leg away from the edge of the pool, and she fell feet first toward the water. She grappled for support, any kind of support, holding onto his neck for dear life. She managed to pull him into the water with her or maybe he did it of his own accord. She wasn’t sure.
    Right before her feet hit the bottom, her head about to submerge, John jerked upward on the hand he was holding and grabbed her by the waist. He had effectively kept her hair from getting wet, but now, she found herself completely pressed against his chest. Holy shit that!
    That chest! He was totally ripped. Where do those muscles come from? She needed to check out more swimmers!
    “You asshole!” she cried as he slowly eased her feet to the floor.
    She stood on her tiptoes to keep her head above water and looked up at his laughing face. He is beautiful! His smile was all straight white teeth. He had little crinkle lines around his eyes and dimples at the corners of his mouth. She loved his mouth. It was the perfect shade of pink on a plump bottom lip and shapely upper lip.
    She was too drunk for this!
    “I said I wouldn’t get your hair wet,”
    he said as he slowly released her.
    She splashed water into his too cute face before reaching out for the ledge again.
    “Hey, don’t be mad.” He reached out for her again, yanking her back into the pool as she tried to climb out.
    “You threw me in the pool like a little kid!” she reminded him.
    Her mind was on his hand that was gripping her waist, trying to keep her in the pool. Her body was betraying her, and she wished she hadn’t had that last martini…or the one before that…or the tequila shots. Because, damn, did that feel nice.
    “You were acting like a little kid,” he said as she looked up into his chiseled face.
    She bit on her bottom lip and tried not to let her features betray her as much as her body was. His gaze flickered to her lips and back to her eyes, and she knew that she wasn’t hiding anything.
    Any other person . Any other situation .
    Any other person . Any other situation.
    But not this situation.
    She covered her mouth with a pretend cough and broke out of his embrace. “I guess we both were,” she admitted. “I’m going to need to shower before we go out.”
    He stifled a laugh. “Me, too.”
    Her eyes darted to his quickly and saw his meaning. She probably should have blushed or giggled or something equally girly, but all she did was smile, a slow devious smile. Her eyes flickered down to the water and then back into his hungry hazel eyes. He was making this difficult.
    “You should probably do that then. I need to get out of these wet clothes.”
    “You should,” he said, clearing his throat as he watched her pull herself out of the water, “probably do that then.”
    “Oh, I will,” she said, winking at him as she dripped across the concrete floor back to the changing area.
    As soon as the door closed behind her, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. What the fuck was she doing?

CHAPTER 5
PRESENT
    “This place is a dream,” Brigitte said, finishing her fourth flute of Champagne since Chyna had ventured into their midst.
    “It’s an opera house,” Chyna said nonchalantly.
    “I’m not an idiot!” Brigitte cried.
    “Stop treating me like one. Stupid American.” The last bit was muttered under her breath.
    “She didn’t have to say you were an idiot, Bridge,” Ravenna responded cattily.
    Even though the woman was bitchy, she still stuck up for Chyna. Chyna wasn’t sure why, but it