Rapture

Chapter XVII

The sun is setting.

North and I have discarded every bit of our clothes to swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls. It's a little colder than I'd like, but it also feels very freeing in a way.

North is a great swimmer, can open his eyes and use both hands to swim. He stays underwater for long periods of time, sometimes circling me like a sea beast before nudging at my ankles.

I giggle, try my best to swim away from him, but I can only do so much with my limited ability. My legs easily grow tired with the effort it takes to keep myself afloat, so instead of hanging around the edge of the pool, North will hold me to him and let my body rest.

I watch him now, gliding through the water below me easily, predator-like in his movements. He's made for the sea, it's his element.

I giggle as he turns toward me, attempt to float my way in the other direction, but it's just as useless as all my attempts before. He swims right through the gap between my legs, naked skin brushing against mine before circling back around to surface.

He aligns his body to mine, leaving no room between us as he comes up for air, wide chest expanding to take in the oxygen he's deprived himself of.

I laugh again as he shakes his head around, much like a dog would to get the water off of him. I circle my arms around his waist and relax my legs, sighing when I immediately feel better.

His hand slides down my side to hold me by the curve of my bum. I tiredly hold onto him as he leans back, swims backwards to bring us to shore.

I frown. "You're so crazy, how do you do that?"

He shrugs. "Easy."

When he offers no other explanation, I give him a tame glare.

He leans his head back and laughs, breathily since he's keeping us both afloat. "Your muscles feel a little better?"

I wiggle around in his grip, test them. "I suppose . . . I am tired, though."

He simply nods, letting me go to push himself up onto the side of the pool, next to the path. I hang on to the side until he's ready to help me.

He guides my hands to his thighs, then leans completely down to place his own at my hips, lifting me and placing me on his lap with my knees on either side of his hips.

I roll my eyes, fighting the slight blush I can feel crawling up my neck. "North," I complain.

"What?" His expression is mock innocent—he's toying with me.

I fight the urge to smile, secretly love when he plays around with me. I feel close to him like this. "You know what," I mumble, shift so my hips are a little farther away from my captain's, my skin slippery against his.

He gives a cocky grin, wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer so that there's no discernable space between us.

This makes me flush harder, our members pressing together with the closeness.

I shiver. "Stop that, you're doing it on purpose . . ." I accuse.

He gives a sinister smile, but concedes, letting me shuffle away a little. He leans in, presses his lips against the very center of my chest, drags them softly along my skin until I'm sure he can feel my heartbeat.

I fiddle with his wet hair in the meantime—the water's made it all so dark it almost looks black now. His hair has grown since the first day I met him, much like I'm sure mine has. His now reaches the bottom of his chest, whereas before it only just passed his shoulders.