Page 56 of Worth Every Penny
Dare I wear it? Will it even mean anything to Nico?
I quickly get changed. It still fits; I do a lot of running, and my body shape hasn’t really changed since I was in my teens.
When I walk back out, Nico and Jack are still in the water. Nico breaks his conversation to follow my movement along the side of the pool. My bare feet hit the hot stone with each step, and I hope to God this bikini looks as good as I think it does. I’m nearly naked and warm summer air scatters over my skin like the gentle brush of Nico’s attention.
I drop to the sun lounger, lie back and close my eyes, listening to the noise of Nico and Jack chatting. Their deep voices and laughter float across the surface of the pool, mingling with the lapping water.
My sun lounger dips. Someone’s sitting on the end. My heart tremors in the hope it’s Nico, but I didn’t hear anyone get out of the pool.
It can’t be him.
I open my eyes and my heart plunges. Curtis is sitting next to my feet in his tiny Speedos. The back of my neck prickles and I glance over at the table where Mum was sitting, only to see she’s disappeared. I scramble to sit up, pulling my legs away from Curtis.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” he says, nodding at the house.
“Yes. We’re very lucky.”
He stares at me, and I really don’t like the look in his eye as he drags his gaze up and down my body. My skin is crawling.
Where the fuck is mum?
“Bet Debbie looked just like you when she was young,” he continues. “You’re a beauty. Great body too. But you know that, don’t you?”
“Erm…”
“Otherwise you wouldn’t have put on that bikini and laid yourself out like this.” A little oily laugh swills out his mouth. “But you know what they say. If you’ve got it, flaunt it, right?” He gestures to his own body, puffing out his chest. Revulsion swirls in my stomach. His hand flails in the air until he brings it down, rests it on my shin, and strokes his thumb up and down.
My body goes rigid. “Please take your hand off me.”
Curtis laughs as he lifts his hand. “Ooh, sorry. I’ve always been touchy-feely, me. It’s my love language.” He squeezes my big toe.
“It’s not mine.” I pull my feet out of reach, tucking them beneath me. “You can keep your hands to yourself.”
“Ooh. Prickly little thing, aren’t you?”
A shadow falls across the lounger, and Curtis shifts backward, looking up.
“Everything all right over here?” Nico’s voice is firm and powerful, and Curtis almost cowers.
Nico steps closer to me and rests his hand on my shoulder. It’s a small gesture, but so protective, so dominant, that I feel completely safe. It’s such a primal sensation that desire whips through my body from the point of contact.
“I was just saying what a great place this is,” Curtis stammers, standing up and stepping away from my lounger and pointing back at the house.
Nico lets out a low, rumbling sound that’s close to a growl. There’s a force emanating from him; a silent threat. It’s invisible, but most definitely real. He looks at me. “Is that what was going on?”
My eyes flick to Curtis, unsure what to say, but it’s enough of a reaction that Nico’s focus shifts to Curtis, who freezes, half-hunkering under the weight of Nico’s ferocious glare.
“Touch her like that again and I’ll hit you so hard your teeth will meet your brain.” Nico’s voice is full of menace; he means every word. It’s fucking terrifying. Even I cower a little, but in response, Nico’s large, warm hand gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. It’s totally at odds with the violence in his tone, and a knot of tightly coiled fear deep inside me releases slowly.
Curtis frantically nods and shuffles backward. “I’ll…umm… I’ll go and find Debbie.”
Nico nods, pool water dripping down his bare chest, every muscle on his torso shimmering in the sunlight. “You do that.”
Curtis scampers off towards the house in his tiny red trunks, and only then am I able to breathe again.
Nico lifts his hand from my shoulder, and I immediately want the touch of this large, protective man against my skin again.
“You okay?” His voice is deep and gentle now. Warmth spreads through my torso, sinking low in my hips, nestlingbetween my thighs. I’ve never had a man who’s not my brother defend me so overtly.