Page 224 of Rush

Still, we don’t speak.

Then, without warning, he yanks my arm, pulling me across the water, tucking me into his side.

The cold still clings to our hair, but everything else melts away.

“So,” he murmurs against my temple. “Did you miss me?”

I close my eyes, rest my head on his shoulder.

“Maybe.”

The water sloshes softly as I shift beside him, my legs float up, brushing his under the surface. His arm rests behind me, fingers trailing lightly along my shoulder.

He glances down at me, eyes soft but steady. “Why won’t you be honest with me?”

I shrug. “Because teasing you is half the fun—and I only teasepretty boys.”

He barks a laugh.

I sigh. “Because you’re really fucking important to me. And I don’t even think I’m ready to be honest with myself.”

Not after everything. Not after my heart was hurt and is only now starting to be pieced back together.

I hope that’s enough.

His body tenses, just slightly. Enough for me to feel it. His hand stills on my skin.

He tilts his head toward me, voice low. “You can’t keep saying things like that to me.”

I blink up at him. “Why not?”

“Because,” he says, his jaw tightening. “I’m trying really fucking hard to give you what you want. To stick to the terms of the arrangement we made.”

I sit up a little, water dripping down my arms.

“I wanted to give you the time you needed to figure things out after him. But you make it hard when you look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

He meets my gaze. No hesitation. No smirk.

“Like I mean more to you than you care to admit.”

The steam curls around us, thick and silent.

I don’t answer. Because I can’t lie. Not when he’s looking at me like that.

I wade closer and circle my arms around him, straddling his lap in the hot water.

“Broderick,” I breathe, my lips brushing the corner of his mouth. I kiss him softly—just once—then pull back to meet his eyes.

“I care about you,” I whisper. “More than I can even put into words.”

Broderick’s breath catches, his body tightening as my words sink in between us.

My heart hums in my chest touching my nose to his, I close my eyes.

“But I’m scared,” I whisper, the underlying confession feeling like it might crack me in half if his hands weren’t steadying me under the water, resting on my hips.