“Okay. So, how did you get us in here after closing?”

I couldn’t look away from those eyes if I tried. “I asked nicely. I like this game. Tongue ring?”

“The stud? Seventeenth birthday, and it hurt like a bitch, but it was worth it to see the look on my father’s face.” He grinned and flicked it across his teeth again.

Heaven help me, my entire body clenched, and a stab of pure want slammed through me, pulsing low and deep in my belly.

“Fear of the water?”

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry despite being surrounded by water. I skimmed my palm along the surface, enjoying the sensation of balancing between two mediums. “I fell into a lake when I was little. It felt like forever until Pey—” I stammered and took a breath. “Peyton saw me and pulled me out, but I never went in again.”

His tattoo rippled on his arm as he held out his hand. “Come here.” There were letters mixed in with the tribal work. C2G? What did that mean?

My heart skipped, and I placed my hand above it out of habit. I took the step that separated us, keeping count of the beats to make sure I stayed on rhythm. No heart attack tonight. He gently turned me around. “What are we doing?”

“Floating. Did you really waste your question on that?” He chuckled. “Lie back.”

I tensed. “What?”

His breath sent shivers down my neck. “Trust me, Paisley. I won’t let anything happen to you. Put your head on my shoulder.” He lowered himself shoulder-deep into the water. “Close your eyes and relax.”

I inhaled a shaky breath and then gave myself over to trusting him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Good. Now palms to the sky.”

“We’re inside.”

“Yes, smarty, we are. Palms up.”

I stretched my arms out like I’d seen done many times and turned my palms up to the ceiling. I was more aware of his heartbeat than my own, the way his chest rose evenly with every breath. “Feet up.”

My eyes flew open. “Can we just do this part for the day?”

He shook his head, his chin rubbing across the top of my hair. “Close your eyes. Ask me another question.” His hands drifted along my back until they rested at the center of my waist, supporting what little weight I had in the water.

With his hands on me, it was easier to close my eyes and try to forget I was in a giant tub of death. “Your tattoos. How many?”

He sucked in his breath. “Five individual pieces.”

“Do they all mean something? I mean, they’re beautiful on you, I’m just wondering if they’re art or…something more?” I relaxed, focusing on his hands and keeping my own facing up. It was strangely comfortable to be so intimate with someone I barely knew.

It was stranger feeling as if I already knew him so intimately.

“They all symbolize something to me.”

The water swished around my head as he lowered us a little more, but the usual panic didn’t set in. “Which one is your favorite?”

“Isn’t it my turn?” I heard his smile.

“Sure.”

“What’s your favorite part of being in a relationship?”

“That’s an odd question.” I almost jerked, but his hands kept me steady.

“It’s mine to ask.”

I sighed. “Right. Quid pro quo. Well, I guess I love the ease. I know what his reaction will be to most things, so everything is just…comfortable. Effortless. He knows my worst qualities and doesn’t run screaming, and he knows my past because he was there for it.” He knows I could drop dead at any moment. “What about you?”

He tensed. “I don’t know. I’ve never really had a functional relationship.”

“Ever?”

“Ever. I’ve seen it, though, with my friends.” He took a deep breath, raising and lowering my head slightly. “I think I admire the connection between them. They have this…pull, an utter drive to be close to each other, like even a breath separating them is too much.”

An ache resonated from my heart that had nothing to do with my condition. “That’s what you want.”

Four heartbeats passed. “Yes, eventually. I’ve seen love burn someone to the ground, and I’ve seen it make sense of the ridiculous. I won’t settle for less than that kind of fire.”

That was the most irrational thing I’d ever heard, and something in my soul seemed to flicker awake and take notice. “Steady doesn’t do it for you? You’d rather chance destruction?”

“If it’s between being numb the rest of my life or burning exquisitely for even a moment, I’ll take the burn. The best things in life are worth the burn, the risk.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat like he hadn’t just altered my world. Was I burning? On fire with Will?

“Open your eyes, Paisley.”

I did, feeling weightless. “Jagger!”

He laughed, still behind me, my head on his shoulder, but the rest of me was floating. I jerked in fear, sinking immediately. He drew me against him, bringing me vertical before I could go under. I turned around, suddenly all too aware of how personal our conversation had been. How inappropriate when I thought of how Will might feel about it.

I moved out of his arms and pushed through a weak smile. “That was amazing.” That need to get away was almost as powerful as the one screaming to get closer. Could he feel this insane tension, or was I losing my mind?