Royally Bounded

Chapter 139

Clara

I sat at the edge of the swimming pool, watching Hayden swim from my side to the other end. I splashed my feet in the water as my eyes glued to his back muscles. Water stuck to his skin, and his damp hair pushed back at his forehead. I was starting to question if he was a real person. His perfection was out of the world.

He came to stop in front of me, slotting me in between his arms.

"Swim," he came to stop in front of me, slotting me in between his arms. He wanted to pull me into the pool.

"No," I instantly declined and pushed away from him. "You know I can't swim. I'm going to drown in the pool."

I screamed when he grabbed me by the waist. I locked my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist. I clung onto him as tight as I could since I didn't want to fall into the water.

"Hayden," I complained. "Let me back on the edge. I don't want to drown."

"I'm not going to let you drown," he assured confidently.

His firm hand pressed to my mid-back, and he slowly let me down. I was still holding onto him, afraid that the water would reach above my head, but I realized that we were at the shallow end when my feet touched the bottom.

"You scared me," I pouted, dipping my head down.

"When have I ever lied to you?" He questioned.

A small smile grew on my lips, and I raised my head to look at him. I leaned in to press a kiss onto his lips. He wanted to kiss me back, but I splashed him with water instead. He shut his eyes briefly in response, his hand wiping away the water on his face.

"You are so fucking dead," he gritted his teeth.

I started shrieking and ran away from him. He caught me with an arm, circling around my waist as he nibbled on my ear. I laughed as I tried to fight through his hold, but I always found myself remaining in his arms. The sense of assurance was found no where but him.

He twirled me around, having a soft smile on his face. I was going to hook my arms around his neck until he splashed back water to my face. I let out a offended scoff and stared at him. His lips twitched at my reaction.

"You are so dead," I screamed.

I chased after him, and we splashed water at each other. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. When we were done, we climbed out to get ready for lunch outside in the backyard. Hayden immediately wrapped his towel over me, and we interlaced hands, heading inside our home.

"Are you going to teach me how to swim soon?" I tilted my head to look at him.

"You want to learn how to swim?" He quirked his brow.

I nodded my head in response. "Ever since that accident with Damien, I realized learning how to swim is a good skill. At least, if anyone is in danger, I can save someone or myself from drowning."

"I'm always going to save you."

We stopped at our steps, and I turned to face him, standing on my toes as I pressed a soft kiss on his lips again. I hooked my arms around his neck.

"I know, but it's a skill that's good for me to learn. You're not always going to be beside me if something happens. It's better to be safe than sorry," I softened my voice. "Plus, I should take advantage of having a great swimming teacher."

He did a small nod, and I smiled back before we walked to our room to change. We settled in the backyard, waiting for Violet and Rueben to serve us lunch. Hayden and I sat across from each other as I took a sip of my coffee.