“You want to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked, not exactly surprising her that he’d realized that something was wrong, but she’d kind of been hoping that he’d just assumed that she was upset about Malcolm.

“No,” she said, rolling over onto her side, facing away from him and hoping that he’d just take the hint and go away.

“I know that you’re not upset about that prick, so tell me what’s going on?” he asked just as she registered the feel of his fingertips tracing a line down her neck, leaving a path of goose bumps behind.

“He wasn’t a prick,” she admitted with a grumble.

Malcolm had been a nice guy, sweet, kind, considerate and had apparently been falling in love with her, something that she’d warned him against. Unfortunately he hadn’t listened. While she’d been hoping for something casual to pass the time, he’d been imagining a life together filled with children, puppies and a white picket fence.

“Maybe not, but he wasn’t the right guy for you,” he said softly as he continued caressing her cheek.

Hating the way that she reacted to him, she reached up and brushed away his touch. “I’m tired, Darrin,” she said, pointedly closing her eyes, hoping that he’d just leave her alone so that she could continue to wallow in self-pity.

“I see,” he murmured.

“Good. Then go away.”

“I will...just as soon as you complete the dare I just gave you,” he murmured, sounding thoughtful as she lay there, frowning and wondering what he was talking about.

“You didn’t dare me,” she pointed out as she rolled over onto her back.

“I didn’t dare you to go skinny dipping?” he asked, sounding thoughtful as she immediately sat up and headed for the tent flaps, all while praying that she made it in time before he could dare her to take a dip in the ice cold lake that she’d been avoiding since they’d arrived earlier this afternoon.

She’d just managed to grab hold of the zipper standing between her and freedom when the large bastard sealed her fate with four simple words, “I double dare you.”

*-*-*-*

“You. Bastard!”

“How’s the water?” he asked, shooting her a smile and a wink as he threw another log on the fire.

“I hate you!” she hissed as she continued to slowly make her way into the ice-cold lake as he took his time setting up their mini camp.

“You love me and you know it,” he reminded her as he walked over to the fallen log and grabbed the rolled up sleeping bag that he’d hidden earlier.

“Hate! I hate you!” she snapped around chattering teeth.

“That’s just the freezing cold water talking, sweetheart,” he said as he rolled out the sleeping bag in front of the roaring fire.

“No, this is,” she bit out, sounding triumphant and letting him know that he was about to get a taste of his own medicine, but he’d been expecting it. “I double dare you to get your ass in here.”

“I see,” he muttered, making sure to sound appropriately put out as he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his clothes.

“I hope you freeze your balls off, you sick bastard!” she hissed through a clenched jaw as he tossed his boxers aside and stepped into the cold lake.

“Shit,” he hissed as he forced himself to keep going, wishing that he’d come up with something else to help take her mind off that asshole.

“This was a dumb dare,” she muttered as he joined her.

He chuckled as he reached for her, pleased when she wrapped her arms around him and held on, most likely trying to steal the last of his body heat, but at the moment he didn’t care. “I’d imagined this going a little bit differently,” he admitted, deciding that telling her that he’d actually planned a romantic midnight picnic for two by the lake probably wouldn’t be in his best interest, not when the admission would cause her to shove him away and storm off.

“You lose your dare privileges for two weeks for this bullshit,” she announced as she wrapped her legs around him and tightened her hold around his shoulders.

“Fine,” he said, deciding not to argue, not when she was in his arms like this.

“And you’re doing my laundry for a month after this,” she informed him as she buried her face against his shoulder.

“Will it count if I drop it off at a Laundromat?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder before he could stop himself.

“It depends,” she mumbled against his shoulder.

“On what?” he asked, closing his eyes as he prayed for control.

“On whether or not you’re willing to splurge for the good softener,” she mumbled, making him chuckle as he tightened his arms around her.

“You’re a greedy little thing,” he said distractedly as he moved back in the water, needing to do something to take his mind off of just how good it felt to have her in his arms like this.

“You already knew this,” she muttered as she reached up and gently trailed her fingers through his hair.

He sighed heavily as he kissed her shoulder. “True,” he agreed, closing his eyes as he moved through the water, enjoying the fact that he could hold her like this without worrying about some prick trying to come between them.

This time he wasn’t going to wait for the right time to tell her how he felt. This time he was going to tell her that he loved her before some other asshole could come into the picture and force him to wait again. He couldn’t stomach the idea of sitting back and watching as some other asshole held her when he knew with every fiber of his being that he was supposed to be the one holding her in his arms. He swallowed hard, dreading her reaction even as excitement tore through him.