An eventful night

There, in the whirlpool tub, Dave was sitting with his head leaned back and the steam making beads of sweat form on his face and upper shoulders. The massage jets were on and the bubbles formed made the surface of the water look foamy. I couldn't see anything below the surface of the water, I thought with regret. Then I felt embarrassed at intruding on his privacy and I turned around, with one last look at his closed eyes.

'You can come join me. I'm wearing my swim trunks,' he said, stopping me in my tracks.

On cue, my heart beat accelerated and I turned, still plagued by indecision. It was something to be in a pool with someone, and something else to be in a tub, even if, as he said, he was wearing his swimwear. But what did I have to lose? Here, at least, I would get to spend quality time with him.

With a timid smile, I advanced towards him and then I froze. I didn't have any swimwear with me!

'I don't have any swimsuit,' I said with regret.

'I know.'

He knew and yet he was inviting me to join him? Color filled my cheeks as I realized the implications. He wanted me to skinny dip. Was I that daring? As it is he had already seen me half-naked.

'You can wear your underwear instead,' he said. 'I'll close my eyes.'

It was very appealing to give in. In the foamy water, apart from my bra straps, nothing would be visible.

'Close your eyes,' I warned. I made sure that his eyes were closed and then I started taking my clothes off. Even though he was not looking at me, I was still self-conscious and undressed in a rush, throwing my clothes in a pile on the floor. Then I went to step in the warm water taking care not to slip. As soon as I was seated, I said,

'You can open your eyes now.'I was still quite tensed and he could see that.

'Relax, I won't bite you. Unless you invite me to.'

My eyes opened wide and I remembered how it had felt when he had bitten me when I had invited him to do so in the forest.

'Ash, close your eyes and enjoy the soak. This is what you came for, right? Unless you had other plans,' he asked, looking at me with a half-smile. That was enough to make me close my eyes tight, and I heard him chuckle. After a few minutes, I tried to peek at him and I saw that even he had his eyes closed. I did the same.

The sensations caused by the massage jets were heightened by my nervous state and I could feel the water caressing my nipples into peaks through the thin and wet fabric of my bra. The fabric pressing against my skin increased my awareness of being so close to Dave and I could feel the familiar ache building between my thighs. My mouth opened in a silent gasp and I opened my eyes to see Dave staring at me. His eyes had darkened, making the green turn almost brown. A bead of sweat rolled gently off his temple and I followed its trail from his cheek to the side of his neck and then finally into the water.

The tension was so thick that I could almost feel it. I saw Dave swallow and his Adam apple bobbed up and down. He lifted his chest out of the water and the water sluiced down the fine spattering of hairs that narrowed down to a vee shape, but the water covered the rest. With just one step he was next to me and I watched and waited for his next move with bated breath. As he lowered his face down until it was almost level with mine, I froze and my lips half-opened. As his head completely shadowed the light, I closed my eyes... and the shrill ring of his phone broke through the silence.

Dave bit back a curse and rose. Suddenly he bent again and pressed his lips against mine, but before I could enjoy the feel of his lips, he had already lifted his head and turned around. He strode out of the water in a single step and I gasped as I stared at his naked bum. He had been naked the whole time, I thought with shock and I didn't even know.

As I stared at his back and buttocks, he quickly walked out of the bathroom, catching a towel on the way and rubbing his back. He disappeared within seconds, but I was still finding it hard to breathe as I thought of the way his glute muscles had flexed when he was walking.

I let my head fall into my hands and wondered what might have happened if his phone hadn't rang. This kept me busy for the next few minutes, until the water started feeling cold and I came out of the tub. I put on the bathrobe without drying myself with a towel and picking my pile of clothes, I rushed to my bedroom. After closing the door, I leaned against it weakly and stayed that way until the wetness of my underwear on my skin reminded me that I had to change.

The sound of a door closing informed me that Dave must have got dressed and was probably on his way down. That propelled me into moving quickly as it came to my mind that I hadn't shared what I had learned from Claudia and Nana. Maybe he would have information to give me concerning the transient lockets.

Wearing the same pants and shirt, I packed my soiled clothes into one of the bags they had come in. Then after checking that the coast was clear, I rushed down the stairs into the kitchen to meet Martha.

'You came to do your laundry, Miss Ash? Come, I'll take you,' she said and I followed her. She showed me how to activate the machine and I put my clothes in it to be soaked and washed.

'When it's dry, I'll send it to your room,' and I nodded gratefully. If I was planning on staying longer, I would need to go out and do some shopping. I wondered when I would be able to cash out the money from the insurance as I couldn't keep relying on Caludia and Dave's generosity, I thought with a pinch to my heart. For a while, I had almost forgotten about my lack of a house or wardrobe.

Afterwards, I went back to the office, hoping that Dave would be there, but it was empty. I pulled a chair and got down to a new favorite activity, spying on Estena. She was busy applying nail polish and was buffing her nails. She had already laid out an outfit on the bed next to her. Zooming in, I saw that it was a silky material, cut into three tiny triangles.

'It's so small, it can't be what she plans to wear for dinner. I think she plans to seduce Dave tonight,' I thought aloud. I saw her pull her phone and she dialled a number.

'Where did you put the Rufies?' she whispered in her phone. I then saw her stand and rustle through her suitcase before finally pulling out a small transparent bag with a few pills.

I had heard this name earlier, but I couldn't recall where. Estena looked happy when she cut the call, so it must be something important. Humming a tune, she took her bathrobe and I saw her step in the adjoining bathroom. Apparently she was already getting ready for dinner. I didn't know why but I had the impression that she had planned something big.