I breathe hard. Shit. God, I want…

I want…

He squeezes me, pulling me hard against his wet chest, and he doesn’t talk. This is a secret.

My nipples pebble, the hard, little points poking through my swimsuit top, and I rub my middle finger over my clit in small, slow circles. Gripping the rock by my head, I imagine him at my back, and I shake my head, trying to picture anyone else.

It could be anyone.

But it’s the same hard, sun-kissed body pressing into me, his rough fingers against my soft flesh, and I’m so wet and hot, and so…

Empty.

I rub faster, gasping and whimpering, all alone in the cave, but I need something more. Something I can’t give myself.

Something solid inside me and my mouth on him and his eyes looking down at a body he wants to touch but can’t and taking me in his possessive hands with his lustful eyes and making my heart pound in my chest.

He hates my father but wants me.

My clit pulses as I feel the orgasm crest, and I want him to make me scream and come and feel everything I’m tired of not feeling. I want to be breathless.

Fuck me.

Fuck me.

“No!” someone suddenly shouts. “Stop!”

I pop my eyes open, pulling my hand out of my bottoms. The pulse between my thighs rages as the orgasm aches and fades away.

“No, I said…” But her voice lowers to a mumble, and I dart my eyes around, looking for anyone.

Who is that?

God, if anyone saw…

I twist my neck, taking in the empty cavern and no other bodies in the pool or by the waterfall.

“Ugh!” a woman cries out, and I hear a shuffle as I back away.

No one else was on the beach when we came, and I didn’t notice anyone else show up. Who…?

But just as I push myself back in the water, getting ready to bolt, a figure emerges from the darkness, and I freeze as a young woman steps out of some tunnel or adjoining cave.

She sees me and stops.

Cici Diggins. The woman from the pharmacy who was a little too interested in who I was. She must’ve arrived while I was fishing. She wears a blue bikini, her long, dark hair wet and spilling around her, and I spot a trickle of blood coming out of one of her nostrils.

I narrow my eyes. Why is she bleed—

She walks past me, above on the ledge, and dives back into the water, disappearing beyond the waterfall.

What the hell? Who hit her?

Just then, I hear pebbles shuffle, and I turn back around in time to see Kaleb walk out of the same tunnel she just came from.

The water shimmers across his dark eyes as they meet mine, and he steps forward, dropping into the water and sinking waist deep, dressed only his jeans.

He stalks toward me, and I back up toward the waterfall, unblinking.

Did he hit her? I scan his face and body, seeing no marks of self-defense.

The room is dark, and it’s just us, his hard eyes zoning in on me the closer he gets, and my heart leaps into my throat.

But then… he just walks right past me. Diving under the waterfall, he disappears, too, and the fear of what I’d been doing to myself under the water with them right in here is thankfully overshadowed by what the hell was just going on in that tunnel.

What was she arguing with him about? He didn’t do that to her, did he?

And how the hell do you argue with someone who doesn’t speak? How does that work?

I head out of the cave, swimming under the water and back out to the middle of the pond. My uncle loads up the truck in the distance, Noah helping him, and I watch the guys working, my cheeks warming at the memory of my fantasy. I never actually put a face to him in the dream, but I know who it was.

It’s okay.

Everyone has thoughts. Everyone touches themselves. A therapist would say I’m seeking an outlet to cope with my troubles. That’s what this is, and better this than drugs or alcohol.

The breeze causes the water to ripple, and I dip my lips in, wetting them as I watch the guys load the truck.

It did feel good, though. The feel of him at my back, his smell around me, the thought of his bed covered in that scent…

“Tiernan, come on!” Noah yells over at me.

I blink, looking up at him. He climbs on his bike.

“They’re having a pop-up race in Gent,” he calls out. “Let’s go!”

A pop-up race?

Kaleb throws his leg over the other bike, while Jake climbs into the truck, and I quickly nod, swimming for shore.

Not sure what a pop-up race is, but it sounds noisy. And crowded.

Two things I typically hate, but maybe Jake isn’t right this time. Maybe a nice, non-familial distraction away from the peak is exactly what I need, after all.

Pretty sure the three best-looking guys in town live under my roof, but we’re going to Gent, is it? Whole new babe pool, as Noah would say.

“What’s a pop-up race?”

Jake glances over at me as he pulls through the crowd and veers toward a clearing on the left.

Green hills rise up on both sides in front of me as the sun slowly slips behind, and the smoke from the bonfire stings my eyes. Firecrackers, remnants from the 4th of July probably, pop in the distance, and I inhale the scent of barbecue.

“A good opportunity to network,” he replies. “It’s almost the off season. It’s just a bunch of racers, vendors, and sponsors getting in some last, good practice and making some money.”

The truck bobs over the terrain of grass and dirt, and he finally hits the brake, putting the truck in Park.

“What will I do here?” I ask him.

“Keep your butt under our tent, that’s what.”

He hops out, and I follow him to the back as he pulls the tailgate down.

I frown but help him start to unload. Noah comes speeding up with Kaleb behind him, and I look away, taking the other end of the pop-up tent for Jake.

How did Cici get a bloody nose? I need to talk to Jake about that. I’m living with Kaleb, and Jake doesn’t know how aggressive he got with me the other night. What if there’s more he doesn’t know?

I look over my shoulder at Kaleb again, his jeans now mostly dry and a black T-shirt on. He pulls off his helmet and hangs it on the handlebar, ignoring the people calling to him and walking over to take a beer from the cooler.

He doesn’t look at me before he turns around and disappears into the crowd.

“Tiernan.”

I turn my attention back to my uncle and continue walking.

It only takes the two of us twenty minutes—no choice, because the boys ran off—before we have all the swag, gear, posters, and display set up. Jake positions the guys’ motorbikes on either end of the table, and I dig out the Bluetooth speaker we had while fishing and sync it to my phone, starting a playlist.

Ratt’s “Nobody Rides for Free” pops on, and he laughs under his breath, tossing me a smile. Fitting, I guess.

Pushing my rolled sleeves up, I grab some decals off the table and stand in front of the tent, handing them out to passersby. Jake glances at me, and I offer a half-smile as he heads over to talk to a couple looking at one of the bikes.

I’m not sure why, but I kind of feel bad that Kaleb and Noah make him fight for every inch of help. I’m not one to take a parent’s side, but Jake going through what he went through to get here and build all this, he deserves a family.