“Sweet mother of god.”

Damn. Had she just said that out loud?

It had all been fine. The semi-awkward walk to the edge of the lake. The nervous chatter spewing from her mouth as they both bent to take off their shoes. Even the shrill giggle she let out as he gripped the hem of her shirt. She was a little tipsy, after all, and it was a hot summer night. Surely all that could be forgiven, if not easily forgotten.

What she’d likely never live down was her gasped prayer as he tugged the t-shirt over his head.

Sweet mother of god? Is that what savvy, no-longer-college-students said when confronted with a naked male torso? She was pretty sure not. And what made it worse was the fact that she was a nursing student. She’d seen more than her fair share of torsos during clinicals.

But not like this.

Never like this.

His golden skin gleamed in the new moon light as each new inch of his rock-hard, god-like body was revealed. Thick, round shoulders, perfect biceps, but it was the defined muscles of his chest and abs that had her palms going slick with sweat.

“Am I bleeding?”

She blinked, dragging her gaze from the narrow trail of hair that led from his belly button to the low-slung waist of his jeans to peer up at him.

“W-what?”

“You…ah, you said something a second ago but I couldn’t quite hear what it was because my shirt was covering my ears. I was wondering if I’d cut myself or had some gnarly bruise from the crash or something.”

She swayed on her feet as relief rushed over her in a wave. He’d unknowingly offered her a sweet reprieve and she clutched at it like a dying woman to a life preserver. “Yes! I mean, no. That’s what I was saying.” She pressed a hand to her heated cheek. “You look totally fine now that I can see…it all. Thank god you weren’t seriously hurt.”

“Yeah. Could've been a lot worse. I feel pretty good now, though.” He tossed his shucked t-shirt onto the sand and then reached for his zipper. She could see his lips still moving, but heard nothing as the blood rushed to her ears.

Was he getting totally naked? What this seriously happening right now?

She shot her gaze to the sky and scanned for constellations. “Oh, look. It’s Orion’s Belt.” But the talk of belts only made her even more hyper-aware of the sound of his zipper sliding down.

“Yeah, cool. Hey, Tawny…I’m planning to leave my boxers on, in case you were worried,” Luke said, a hint of a smile in his voice.

He had clearly seen right through her and she considered just calling it a day and making a sprint for it. Instead, though, her mind shot to tomorrow and the next day and the next…

Filling out job applications, updating her resume, buying an interview suit, setting up her student loan payment schedule. Resolved, she lifted a hand to her shorts and nodded.

“Worried?” she snorted. “No way. And yeah, me too. Except, uh, not boxers. Mine are…girl underwear. But it will be just like wearing a swimsuit,” she reasoned, more to herself than to Luke.

He was busy folding his jeans and setting them on top of his t-shirt, as she yanked down her shorts and kicked them aside, heart pounding wildly.

Raucous laughter broke out from afar and they both wheeled around to look in the direction of the bonfire.

The sounds of a strumming guitar filled the air followed by a chorus of voices.

“Looks like a sing along. I think they’re all feeling pretty good up there,” Luke said with a crooked grin. “We can just cool off quick and go back up if you want…”

But it was the “or not” that hung like a wish from his declaration that had her freezing like a deer in the headlights.

She knew she was attracted to him. And she knew that he had said she was pretty…so what if he’d sustained a blow to the head just prior? But it was only right this second that she realized he might be as attracted to her as she was to him.

Holy shit.

“Last one in is a rotten egg,” she blurted, too flustered to reply to his actual question. Then, she turned tail and sprinted for the lake.

The cool water hit her overheated skin and she let out a gasp of relief. She didn’t stop until it covered her ribcage and her feet sank into the soft lake mud.

“Damn, you’re fast,” Luke said with a laugh. She turned to see him a couple yards away, his white teeth gleaming. “Second race I lost today to a cheater.”

The novelty and delight of being in the water with a sexy guy in the moonlight worked in tandem with the beers she’d had and her nerves settled some. She didn’t resist the sudden urge to tease him back.

“Cheater? I hardly think that’s accurate. I told you we were racing at least a half a second before I started to run. Not my fault you’re slow.”

“Slow?” he demanded, his dark eyes gleaming with laughter a second before he dove beneath the water.

Her pulse hammered wildly as she searched the inky surface of the lake for some sign of him. Was he going to grab her? Dunk her? Pretend to be a gator and tickle her leg?

Despite the fact that she knew there were no gators in this particular lake, she couldn’t deny the sizzle of fear mixed with anticipation that skittered through her.

He popped up through the surface scant inches away, spraying her with water as it sluiced down his face.

“Ah!” she cried out on a laugh as she reeled backward and splashed him. “I was hoping to keep my hair dry,” she said, lifting a hand to see if that was a lost cause.

It was.

For a split second, she wondered if the mascara that Suzette had insisted upon was streaming down her face. But then, she caught sight of Luke’s heated gaze trailing over her mouth down to her neck to rest on the swell of her modest breasts, she realized that she didn’t care.

One night of fun was right in her grasp. All she had to do was reach out and take it.

Like he’d read her thoughts, Luke closed the gap between them, his knee brushing the inside of her thigh beneath the water.

“I’m not saying I’m glad I lost the race,” he murmured, reaching out to swipe a lock of wet hair sticking to her lips away gently with the tip of his index finger, “but I gotta admit, Doc, you sure were a pretty sight to wake up to.”

The water rippled around them as she shuffled a little closer still, her breath suspended in her chest.

He dipped his head towards hers, moving slowly enough for her to stop him if she wanted to. But, god, she so didn’t want to.

His mouth touched hers and he groaned, resting a hand on her hip, slipping just the very tip of his tongue between her lips. She melted into him, her legs instantly going weak at the riot of sensations rushing through her.

Now, his rock hard body was lined up with hers, hip to hip, and it was all she could do not to press closer.

What the hell was she thinking? She barely knew this guy. Not to mention, he was an Anderson. Trouble with a capital T. But no matter what excuse her brain tried to supply, her body shot it down. She wanted Luke and she wanted him bad. And the fact that she barely knew him was even better, wasn’t it? There was no chance this was going anywhere. He was a bad boy, she was a good girl. After tonight, she’d probably never see him again. But still, the fact that she had never felt this way before, not even about her high school boyfriend Greg. Not even about her college boyfriend Dan.

Not even about Jason Momoa?

Terrified her.

She found herself wishing she had taken a shot from the flask for a little bit of…What was it they called it? Liquid courage? Instead, she worked up some of the natural kind and it gave her just enough balls to lean even closer.

Her arms curled around his neck of their own accord and she whimpered as the motion pressed her chest against his, making her nipples spike with need.

She pulled away and stepped back in an effort to break away from his atmosphere of hotness that seemed to be rattling her brain into mush. She needed just one second to think.

“You look like you’re deep in thought,” Luke murmured, shooting a slow, crooked, half-grin her way.

Wondering if the cops are going to come and arrest you, because those dimples should be illegal, she almost shot back.

Instead, that last bit of resistance evaporated under the heat of him and the words tumbled from her mouth like something from a bad dream.

“Do you want to, um, do…sex with me?"

He stared back at her, his face a mask of confusion for an instant. Then, the half-grin faded and his jaw went tense.

“Well, I don't think I've ever heard it phrased that way, darlin', but if you're asking what I think you are?" He dipped low and pressed a kiss to her jawline, sending a shiver through her whole body. "Then the answer is, fuck yeah I do."

The real Tawny balked. She should think this through. She should get out of the water, sit down and weigh the pros and potential consequences. She should--

But before the real Tawny could finish that sentence, fake Tawny…Wild, crazy, fun Tawny…Tawny who only got out once every few years or so, took the reins and lunged at him.

Their teeth clacked together as she mashed her mouth to his. To Luke's credit, he didn't let it faze him. He slid his arm around her waist and dove one hand into her damp hair, anchoring her closer. His mouth was so firm and warm, she couldn't get enough. Her lips parted and his tongue traced the tender flesh inside.

His low groan sent a lick of fire through her, landing straight between her thighs.

"You taste so damn good, girl,” he muttered against her mouth.

So did he. God, so did he. She'd been kissed dozens of times, but it had never felt like this. His tongue thrust into her mouth now, and she held on to his broad, wet shoulders for dear life. The blood rushed to her ears and suddenly the distant noise of the party faded away altogether. There was only her, and the gentle lap of the lake against the shore...and Luke.

So much Luke.

He angled his muscled chest against hers, supporting the small of her back as he lowered her into the sand. His body felt so right against hers. Hard where she was soft, firm where she was pliable...they fit like two pieces of a sensual puzzle.

His hand slid from her lower back up and around, trailing gently over her waist and then higher, to rest on her rib cage. Just beneath her breast, directly over her frantically beating heart.

Should she tell him?

Fear rose up, at that thought, warring with desire. If she told him, he might want to stop, and this was her night. The one time she could let loose before real life began and she was back to the same old Tawny.

Responsible Tawny.

Smart Tawny.

Eye to the future Tawny.

Right now, all she wanted was this. She jammed a mental sock into real Tawny's mouth and shoved her into a closet, locking it with a click. Then, she summoned her courage, laced her fingers with Luke’s and slid his up to cover her breast.

He groaned low in his throat, pressing his hips against her, his fingers flexing to cup her full breast more tightly. Her nipple peaked against his palm and fireworks shot through her.

So good...it all felt so good.

Her hand slid away from his and he took advantage of that freedom, plucking at her hard nipple gently, rubbing the pad of his thumb over it again and again until she wanted to scream.

He must have sensed her need for more as he impatiently tugged the neckline of her tank top lower, sending the soft mound of flesh plumping over the top of the fabric.

Luke tore his lips from hers to stare down, his heated gaze lit by the moonlight. "No bra," he ground out, his jaw clenching as he took her in. "Jesus Christ. So fucking beautiful."

Beautiful.

The word sent a flood of warmth through her and she gave him a trembling smile. "Thank you."

He shook his head. "No. Thank you." She barely heard it, though, because a second later, his mouth was on her, covering her nipple, batting it with his tongue, sucking gently until she wrapped her fists in his dark hair.

"Oh, god, Luke. That feels..."

Her hips arched helplessly, in search of something more. Something deeper. A second later, like a mind reader, he was there. Sliding a muscled thigh between hers, grinding it against the place that needed him so badly.

She whimpered and bit down on her lip, hard.

Something was happening. Something delicious and hot and aching. Stretching and building as he sucked and she rocked. Her hips fluttered faster, rolling against him as the pressure built higher and higher.

"Luke?" she muttered, her whole body tensing as he shifted and thrust the length of his thick, rock-hard erection between the cradle of her thighs.

He barely paused, releasing her nipple for a fleeting instant, just long enough to reply, "Yeah?"

"S-something is happening. I--" She broke off as his teeth closed over the aching tip of her breast and she bucked against him. "Oh my god. I think--"

"Don't fucking think," he growled against her breast, his hips now thrusting in earnest.

All rational thought fled and her body went into autopilot, knowing what it needed. Sensing it, shimmering before her, just out of reach. She rocked harder against him, grinding her pelvis against his, riding that hard, hot length for all she was worth.

"Ah, girl, you are killing me right now," he groaned, pulling back despite her cry of protest. But her misery was cut short as his hand took the place of his hips. He cupped her core, grinding his palm against her, whispering low words of encouragement. "Can you come like this? Come for me, darlin'. I wanna see it. Those gorgeous tits in the moonlight. Those eyes. "

She didn't know if it was his words or his magic hands but one second she was running toward the finish line and then suddenly, she was there. A cry broke from her lips as she shook and jerked against his hand, pleasure so intense it rocked her to the core exploding inside her.

She gasped into his mouth as he eased her back, baring her breasts to him in the moonlight.

“I wish I had a fucking camera right now. You look like a mermaid,” he whispered, trailing a reverent finger down the length of her neck to the gentle swell of her breast.

She swallowed hard and forced a shaky smile. “If I do, then you look like Poseidon. All those muscles and that face.”

“You like my face?” he asked, his eyes still swirling with a mysterious heat that, for some reason, she suspected he was keeping under a tight rein right now.

“I do,” she said, feeling exposed by her honesty but refusing to back down. This wasn’t her anyway.

This was Night Swimming Tawny.

Moonlight Tawny.

And she wasn’t wasting another second of it second-guessing herself.

* * *

Luke stared down at the girl in his arms and had to squeeze his eyes closed to get a grip.

So fucking hot. So god damned responsive.

He tugged his cock free from its confines and groaned even at the touch of his own hand. Thank god she'd come once already. He didn't want to break his three-time rule, but he was lucky if he got her to two at this point. Already, he could feel the hot liquid pooling in his balls, drawing them up tight, ready to launch.

The water lapped at his waist and he said a mental prayer for patience as he leaned closer and cupped her pussy again, this time, shoving the wet scrap of underwear to the side. He'd never been so hard in his fucking life, and they'd barely done anything besides grind each other like teenagers.

He was pretty sure once he was buried deep inside her, his head was going to blow off.

He wondered idly if this was a bi-product of his near-death experience. The tail end of an adrenaline rush followed by a potential mild concussion making everything feel just a little hotter. Sexier. Needy and on edge.

He nipped sharply at her bottom lip, groaning at the fullness of it between his teeth. Then he slid one finger into her tight, waiting heat.

He let his eyes close and light exploded behind the lids even as blood rushed to his ears, making himself almost dizzy with want. Her channel was slick and hot in comparison to the cool water, but it was the grip around his finger that had his balls aching. So tight. He couldn't help but imagine what that would feel like on his swollen cock. He drew his finger out slowly and slid back in with one, steady thrust. Her hips fluttered in time with his movements and she began to gasp against his mouth.

He traced the shape of her mouth as he worked her, in and out, caressing her sensitive clit every time he withdrew. This was good. Already, she was trembling again, her muscles tensing in a telltale sign that made his cock pulse in response. She was going to come again. And this time, he wanted to feel it when she was wrapped around him.

He slid his hand away and gripped her hips, lifting her petite body up until her legs naturally wrapped around his waist. He pulled his mouth away and held her gaze as he grasped his shaft and lined up his aching head with her slit.

"You're so tight, Tawny. I'm going to take it real slow, okay?" he murmured softly. She nodded, her eyes bright with excitement and something he couldn't quite place.

He pressed in about an inch, sucking in steadying lungs full of balmy night air. Already, she felt amazing. So soft and sweet and perfect, gripping him, holding him tight. He inched in further and swallowed hard as she closed over him like a fist.

"Fuck," he muttered, his brain firing off in a thousand directions as he willed himself not to come. But she was bouncing again, those perfect breasts exactly the size of his hands jiggling with every motion. Those rounded hips writhing against him, pushing him a little deeper with each motion. That catchy little sound she was making in the back of her throat as he pushed deeper.

And then something snapped inside him. He could no more stop himself from thrusting than he could stop a runaway train. His hips snapped forward, and they were fucking. Hard, fast, frantic. His cock pounding in and out, hot liquid snaking up his length, ready to spurt deep inside her. It was only then that he realized she'd stopped moving for a minute there, maybe shocked by his shift in gear or maybe—

Holy shit. Virgin.

Tawny was a fucking virgin.

He tried to reconnect his brain to his body…to slow his pace…to pull away, get his head together, but then she was moving again, gasping into his mouth, shaking, twitching--

"Jesus, ah!" she whimpered against his mouth, stiffening and crying out.

Her already tight column went even tighter, clutching at him, milking him, over and over until he pulled his mouth away and muttered her name under his breath as he exploded. His muscles quaked, the ecstasy rolling over him in waves as he spurted deep inside her.

Good…so god damned good. His brain was still offline as they held one another under the moonlight, their harsh breathing in sync, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that he’d forgotten something…