With a soft chuckle, he tossed his jeans aside and sprinted toward the shore in nothing but his boxers. The sand felt cold beneath my feet as I hurried after him, my heart racing.

Without warning, Blake dove in. A gasp tore from my lips as he disappeared beneath the surface. Then, a second later, he popped up, shaking his hair out like some kind of golden retriever.

“Cold?” I called out, arms wrapped around myself.

“Come find out.”

I hesitated for only a heartbeat before lunging forward.

The water hit me like a shockwave—freezing and breath-stealing. I surfaced with a sharp gasp, my lungs protesting as I shoved my hair back and glanced over to find Blake laughing at my expense.

“Told you,” he said, swimming closer.

“You didn’t tell me shit,” I gritted out, teeth chattering.

He was right in front of me now, so close that the water between us barely existed.

“What?” he murmured, voice softer now. “Regretting it?”

I shook my head, my breath coming faster. “No.”

For a moment, neither of us moved.

The waves lapped gently around us, the only sound between us the distant hush of the tide and the quiet pull of our breathing. The moonlight traced the angles of his face, catching on the droplets sliding down his skin and illuminating the way his hair glistened like spun gold.

Blake’s face hardened. “You’re shaking.”

I was.

From the cold, maybe. From something else, definitely.

His fingers brushed my arm—light, barely there, but I felt it everywhere. It was enough to make my breath stutter, enough to make me hyperaware of the space between us—too little and somehow still too much.

“I’m fine,” I said, though my body betrayed me, a tremor rippling through me.

“Yeah?” His lips curved, not quite a smile, more like something thoughtful. Calculating. His thumb drifted lower, just enough to brush the bare skin of my hip before retreating, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” My voice was quieter now, breathless in a way I hadn’t meant for it to be.

I swallowed hard, feeling my heart hammer against my ribs.

I wasn’t sure of anything right now.

Blake’s eyes held mine, the amusement in them fading into something quieter, something I couldn’t name. The waves curled around us, and every instinct screamed at me to lean in.

“You’re staring,” I whispered, my voice barely above the sound of the ocean.

“So are you,” he murmured back.

A quiet, nervous laugh escaped my lips. He wasn’t wrong.

His fingers brushed against my hip again, this time lingering, testing. The warmth of his touch sent a shiver up my spine that had nothing to do with the cold. I knew I should have pulled back, should have made a joke or done something to break the spell of this moment before it swallowed me whole.