Goddess Legacy: Goddess Series Book 1 (24 page)

No, she had no willpower at all.

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning, she showered and ate breakfast before she took her time getting ready. She didn’t want to be sitting around waiting for him to arrive, so there was no point in hurrying. Though she couldn’t stop thinking about Adin, the night had helped her brain learn to function again. She left her hair down since it’d be getting wet anyway, and put on a little waterproof makeup. She painted her toenails to match her bronze swimsuit and sandals. She put on a pair of jean shorts and a white, sheer top with exposed sides so that her bikini top could be seen. She threw her sunglasses in her hair, and she was ready. Mentally and physically.

Adin showed up promptly at eleven o’clock. When she opened the door, his eyes popped, and he gasped. He definitely liked what he saw. He put his hand on the doorjamb as he tried to compose himself, but he seemed to be at a loss for words. At least she hadn’t been the only one lately to lose the ability to control mental functions. She held back her smirk of triumph.

Legacy wasn’t too distracted by his reaction to her outfit not to notice how he looked. He had on his swimming trunks with a fitted t-shirt. Adin may not be a god like River was going to be, but he sure did look like one.

Neither of them said much on the way to Adin’s house, but they both smiled a lot. Oh yeah, they’d definitely rounded a new corner in their relationship.

When they got to his house, she helped set up for the party.

“So who all’s going to be here?” she asked as she put out some of the food.

“Just some friends.”

“Do you have any family coming over?”

“Nope. My mom’s spending the day shopping with my grandma. She left after making all the side dishes.”

“So what’s the occasion?” The Fourth was over, and it wasn’t like it was his birthday.

“This is the first Saturday we were all able to get together. Several of the guys are going away to school, so this is like their farewell.”

“I see.”

They finished setting up just as Adin’s guests started to arrive. She stayed by his side as he introduced her—as his girlfriend, sweet!—to all his friends. She recognized the ones from school, but many of his friends didn’t go to their school, and most of them brought dates. They all seemed very nice. Of course, several of the guys were rowdy, but she expected as much.

Adin left the front door open so new guests could come right in, and they headed for the backyard, which was full of people whose names she didn’t remember. Even though most of the ladies came as dates, there were a few single girls. Legacy stayed by Adin as he cooked the burgers and hot dogs. Sure, she didn’t really know anyone, but she also didn’t want any of the single girls to get any ideas. Adin was
her
boyfriend. Boyfriend? Did she just giggle?

“Well, look who’s here,” Adin said, and Legacy turned toward the backdoor, where she saw Calli walking out.

“Calli? What are you doing here?” As she asked, she saw Zach walking out behind her.

“Adin invited us.”

She turned to Adin, and he was smiling. “I said friends were coming. Your friends are my friends,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

She reached up and stroked his arm and smiled. He was treating her as if they were a real couple. She knew how she felt about him, but getting all these reinforced signals from him felt good.

Zach walked over to chat with Adin, and she walked over to Calli and hugged her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I didn’t have a chance. Adin talked to Zach while we were in the restroom last night. Then after the fireworks show, you were too
tongue-tied
to speak.”

They walked over to one of the side tables and visited while Zach helped Adin finish cooking. A couple of Adin’s friends who came in late walked over and struck up a conversation with Legacy and Calli. She thought it was really nice of them to try and include them with the rest of the crowd since they obviously didn’t know anyone else besides the two guys manning the grill.

Until the tenor of the conversation changed and Legacy realized they were being hit on. She was too shocked to put a stop to it, so Calli was the one to break it to them.

“You two seem like really nice guys, but we already have boyfriends.” She tried to let them down easy.

“Nobody said anything about boyfriends,” the muscular one said.

The girls were speechless at the change in his tone.

“Besides,” the taller one added, “even if you really do have boyfriends, they’re not here right now. I know just about everyone here, so I’d know if either of you were already taken.”

He was obviously mistaken, but she didn’t know how to correct him. She was still too shocked to speak.

“I think you’d like to take a swim with me,” the muscular one said as he took hold of Legacy’s arm and tried pulling her out of her chair.

Her shock wore off, and she turned to glare at him. She found her voice now. “You’re wrong, asshole,” she snapped, yanking her arm back.

Out of nowhere, Adin was at her side.

“What’s going on, Dave?” he asked the one who’d grabbed her. From the look in his eyes, he was about to knock out this Dave guy. Legacy was surprised he was showing this much control. She, on the other hand, wanted to deck the jerk.

“Take it easy, Adin. Mike and I were just trying to make new friends,” Dave said. Mike must be the tall one. From the look Adin shot him, Mike was going to be kissing the concrete with Dave…without Legacy’s help.

“Yeah,” Mike agreed, touching Calli’s shoulder.

Zach pushed him off her.

“What’s your problem, dude?” Mike puffed out his chest like a freaking caveman, but compared to Zach, Zach could definitely take him.

Legacy couldn’t let this get out of hand, so she needed to bust up the testosterone fest. She jumped up out of her seat to try and do just that, but Adin shoved her behind his back.

“Wait,” she said to Adin, and looked over at Dave and Mike from behind the safety of Adin’s back. “We haven’t been properly introduced,” she said quickly to the two idiots. “I’m Legacy, Adin’s girlfriend.” Mike and Dave immediately relaxed their stances and looked at Adin apologetically. “And this is my best friend, Calli, and her boyfriend, Zach.”

Dave and Mike tried to mumble apologies to Adin, but he just shook his head at them, not wanting to hear it. He turned around to look at her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m completely fine. That wasn’t the first time I’ve been hit on by some self-centered punk.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and then kissed her briefly.

“It’s not your fault.”

Adin mumbled something unintelligible and then scanned his backyard. Seeking out Mike and Dave, she supposed. She grabbed his face and turned his head back in her direction to distract him from seeking out a fight.

“Is it time to eat?”

Adin sighed. “Yes.”

“Good. I’m starving.”

He walked her over to the table on the covered patio and fixed her plate. Calli and Zach ate with them. Everyone else was eating, swimming, or throwing a football around. When they finished eating, Calli and Zach jumped in the pool, and they immediately started kissing each other. She was delighted to see Calli so happy.

Legacy stayed out of the pool to help Adin clean up some of the mess. As the time passed, though, she noticed Adin wasn’t making a move to the pool. She realized a little late that the reason was probably related to her having to take off her clothes and walking around in a bikini in front of all his friends—two friends in particular. She wasn’t going to let Dave or Mike ruin her fun.

“It’s really hot,” she said, leaning toward Adin and moving her shirt back-and-forth like she was fanning herself.

He smiled crookedly at her, but didn’t say anything.

“I think I need to jump in your pool so I can cool off.”

“I need to throw out the potato salad. It’s been sitting out awhile, so it’s probably not any good. I have some more in the refrigerator we can bring out.”

“Nobody’s eating right now. It can wait.”

“It’ll just take a minute.”

Ugh. This wasn’t working. She’d just have to be direct.

“Well, okay. You can join me when you get finished,” she said as she stood up and started to take off her top.

Adin stood up and took both her hands into his, stopping her from removing her clothes. He didn’t say anything—his panicked eyes revealed his concern. She stared back at him and then slipped her hands out of his. He just stood there watching her, so she grabbed the sides of his shirt instead, and with a smile on her face, she started pulling it up. He finally relaxed a little and pulled off his shirt for her.

She rubbed her hand on his bare chest, and he smiled.

“I think this is my favorite outfit that I’ve seen you in,” she joked. Seriously, he was stunning…absolutely gorgeous…but she was trying to stay focused on lifting him out of his mood.

Adin laughed lightly and then sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I need to chill. I was just really bothered by—”

“Stop,” she whispered, shaking her head. “The best way for you to chill is by jumping in a nice cool swimming pool.”

He laughed louder at her corny joke. “Okay. But let’s get some sunscreen on first.”

Adin grabbed the bottle, but she took it out of his hand and squirted some in her own palm this time. Then she started to rub the lotion on him. He squirmed at first, and she wasn’t sure what to make of that. But she continued to rub the lotion all over his chest, back, and shoulders, trying not to think about what she was actually doing.

Then she took off her clothes before he could protest again and left them in the chair she was sitting in. She could tell when Adin saw her in nothing but her bikini that he briefly considered dealing with the potato salad again, which she would be forced to assist with, so she acted quickly.

“Will you put some on my back?” she asked as she squirted some lotion in her palm again before handing it to him.

He hesitated, so she started rubbing the lotion she had in her hand onto her stomach and chest. She watched him while she rubbed the lotion on herself, but he was watching her hands.

“If you don’t want to put it on my back, I can ask Calli. If she’s busy, I’m sure I can find someone willing,” she teased as she stepped away from him, pretending to leave.

Adin grabbed her arm and smirked. “Turn around.”

She did, and he gently rubbed the lotion on her back and shoulders while she worked on her stomach. As Adin rubbed the lotion down her sides to her hips, she flinched, and he stopped, not moving his hands from her hips. He stepped up against her back and put his lips to her ear.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered.

“Er, nothing.” She shrugged and started rubbing the lotion on her stomach again.

“Legacy?”

“I’m, umm, I’m just ticklish.” Even though he did accidentally tickle her, having him rub lotion on her was not an unpleasant experience, to say the least. It was easier for her to rub lotion on him because she didn’t have to think about what she was doing, but it was impossible to ignore Adin rubbing it on her, feeling him touch her so gently. Especially when he grazed a ticklish spot.

“Oh.” Adin chuckled against her ear. “That’s need to know information.”

She shifted her weight, trying to distract herself because she knew there were a lot of people around them. But as she did, she heard his breathing spike, which did not help her.

She slid her hands from her stomach to on top of his at her sides and intertwined their fingers together. Then she pulled his hands around her stomach so his arms were wrapped around her. Adin leaned down and kissed her shoulder.

“I taste like lotion,” she warned.

“You taste like heaven,” he murmured.

Her heart raced, and she knew that she needed to do something fast before she tackled him right here, right now. She slipped her right hand from Adin’s and leaned over to grab the bottle. She squirted some lotion in his hand and slid out from his arms to take a seat next to him. She looked up at him while she squirted lotion into her own palm and then looked down to rub it onto her legs.

Adin took a seat and rubbed his lotion on his legs too. It took her longer to finish, but he obviously didn’t mind. His eyes lingered on her hands until she was done.

“Let’s go swimming,” she said eagerly. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out by the pool, and then she dove in.

By the time she swam to the shallow end, Adin was already there. If he looked stunning before, he was downright sexy now. His wet hair looked darker, and his eyes looked bluer than the water, which was glistening off his hard body. She stared in awe, partly because of his beauty and partly because he stared at her with the same awed expression.

“You beat me,” she teased.

“I cheated.” He shrugged, smiling.

He reached out and pulled her up to him, and they made their way to the deeper water. She put her arms around his neck and pulled herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Gods, he felt so good against her. He put his hands on her back and looked up at her while she stared down at him.

“See this isn’t
so
bad,” she said with a hint of a smile.

Adin laughed while he rubbed his hands up and down her back.

“I’m glad to see you two finally in here,” she heard Calli say from behind her.

Adin turned them to the side so that they both could see Calli and Zach. Those two were standing side-by-side with their arms around each other.

Adin slid his hands down, thinking Legacy was going to unwind herself. He was wrong. She squeezed her arms around his neck, and he put his hands back where they belonged.

“We were busy.” Not entirely true, but she didn’t need to go into the real reason why they hadn’t been in the pool.

Adin let out a short laugh, but didn’t correct her.

“We’re going to leave soon. We have plans for tonight, and I need to get ready,” Calli said.

“Oh, okay. Well, thanks for coming,” she said.

Adin slipped one hand off her back and stretched out his arm toward Zach, hand fisted. “Thanks for coming, man.”