He hoisted me in his arms, pulling my chest flush with his, and stepped backward.

“Rafe?” I shrieked.

Deeper. He was taking us deeper.

His mouth claimed mine, hushing my objections. At some point I stopped fighting altogether, too caught up in the skill he used in fucking my mouth with his wicked tongue. We kissed for years in those few seconds, until we parted in the midst of heavy breathing that seemed so loud, it was difficult not to imagine our desire echoing off the mountains.

“Are you scared now?”

“No,” I said, only now realizing how the lake rose to my shoulders. One slight dip, and we’d go under.

But he held me tight in his embrace, effectively trapping me without the use of even my arms, and I’d never felt safer or more treasured. I gazed at him in awe, in wonder, certain I’d burst with this feeling…whatever this feeling was.

Love was too weak a word and did nothing to encapsulate the degrees of our bond. I loved him, I did, but I needed him. The stark realization made my blood sizzle. As crazy as it sounded, my life and my soul were connected to his.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in a whisper that teased my lips.

I blinked several times, trying to hold back my tears even though I wasn’t supposed to. These tears I didn’t want to shed. They were drops of…God…drops of sick happiness because no one in their right mind should rejoice at experiencing such an all-consuming possession.

“Nothing,” I said, blinking the salty drops down my cheeks for him to eat up. “Nothing at all. I’m just so fucking…”

“Happy?” The word rumbled from his mouth with a groan. Grabbing my ass in his strong, capable hands, he hiked me up, his arms straining with the incredible strength he exerted in keeping me from tipping backward. I wound my legs around his waist and gripped him with my thighs.

“Baby,” he said, grunting as he plunged into me, “I’m gonna fuck some more happiness into every piece of you, right in this fucking water.” He bit my lower lip, tugged on it, and let it go. “This water can’t touch the bravery in you.”

I could hardly believe I was in the lake with him, and I wasn’t scared. He gripped my hips and pulled me onto his cock over and over again. Not scared at all.

Delirious. I was delirious as I tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and lost myself to his thrusting cock, to the sway of the water around our interlocked bodies, to him dragging his tongue down my throat. How we got to the shore with him on his back, his hands guiding me as I rode him, I didn’t know. Floating in a headspace that transcended time, I gave myself over to it.