Free Touching Paradise by Cleo Peitsche

for anything but a good time, and he was certainly able to provide that.  
    Monroe was holding her hand out, waiting for him to take it. Poor thing was overwhelmed but so very brave. She clung to him as he led her to the water. This time, instead of immediately wrapping her in an embrace, he let her set the pace. She chose to face him, and soon her curvy body was pressed up against his. He looked down at his charge. She was shivering, taking in shallow breaths.
    “You should learn to trust yourself, too,” he said. “I wish you were here longer. I mean in the Caribbean.” Teaching her to trust the water would bring him so much pleasure.  
    And there were other things that they could explore, as well. Things to bring another kind of joy and trust.
    He forced the titillating thoughts out of his mind. He needed to be perfectly attuned to her every thought. He could feel her tension in the way the water moved. Such little things were like a flashing road map to her state of mind. If she panicked again, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to convince her to give it another shot. For starters, the rest of his tricks were more likely to send her screaming away than to entice her back into his arms.
    He swam them toward the middle of the lake, keeping his movements as steady and imperceptible as possible. Monroe had her eyes squeezed tightly closed, her dark lashes like ink on her sculpted cheekbones.  
    “Open your eyes.”
    He had to smile as she raised her eyebrows first. He felt the muscle tremors. She wanted to do it, but she was afraid.
    “Look at me,” he said.
    With a halting little sigh, she managed that, anchoring her gaze as if doing so would keep her afloat. She took in sharp little breaths, but she was much calmer than before, and eventually she managed a tight smile.
    “I’m such a dork,” she said.
    “Thank you for being a dork.”  
    Her smile almost turned genuine. “You were right, again,” she said. “I would have kicked myself later.”
    “That’s twice in one day.”
    “Don’t let it go to your head.”
    “Never.” He turned her in his arms, moving slowly so she wouldn’t freak out, then he stretched back in the water. To his surprise, she was rather relaxed, and she floated easily.
    “You’re doing very well,” he said.
    She was quiet, and he could feel her body adjusting. This was what he’d been after. Water was transformative for him, literally, but he knew it held incredible power over non-shifters as well.
    “I think I’m ok,” she said.
    “You want to try turning over?”
    “Not really.” But she did it anyway, her movements measured. Her smooth calves and thighs brushed up against his legs, and her chest pressed into his. “I’m really ok. Having you here, I’m relaxed. You’re magic or something.”
    He nodded, then caught her face in his hands. She stiffened a little, and her pulse rate shot high. She smelled delicious, of fertile female, and fear, and sexual excitement. The combination made his cock swell, the shaft pushing away the elastic waistband of his swimsuit.
    She deserved this kiss.  
    Who was he kidding? He wanted it every bit as much as she did.  
    Her beautiful eyes fluttered closed as he tasted her lips, salty from the ocean. His ocean. A little moan escaped her throat, and he pressed his tongue between her slightly parted lips.
    She was pushing herself against him, her hands sliding up his arms, one hand tentatively touching his hip, the other flat on his chest, right over his scar. Her leg brushed over his erection, then pressed down on him.
    What had started as a small, feminine moan was building in intensity. It made his cock throb. All of his senses were stretched to their limits, trying to breathe her in, taste her, smell her, feel her. He interrupted the kiss to pull back and study his catch. Her lips were slightly swollen and trembled almost imperceptibly. She was gorgeous. So alive. So real, not pretending to be anything other than what she was.