Chapter 96

Chapter 96
John's POV

I woke up the next morning with Cindy's angry face burned into my mind. The pillow beside me was damp with sweat, and my chest felt like someone had wrapped chains around it. Every breath hurt because all I could think about was the way she'd looked at me - like I'd betrayed everything she'd ever trusted me with.
The sun was already blazing through my window, but I felt cold inside. I needed to clear my head, needed to figure out how to fix the mess I'd made. Swimming always helped me think, so I pulled on my shorts and headed outside.
But as I walked toward the pool, I froze completely.
Someone was already in the water, cutting through it with smooth, powerful strokes. My heart stopped when I realized those graceful movements, that familiar rhythm, belonged to Cindy.
She was swimming toward the edge now, her body moving like liquid silk through the crystal-clear water. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but watch as she reached the pool's edge and gripped the sides.
Then she lifted herself out of the water, and I swear my soul left my body.
Her hair had grown longer since I'd first found her, and now it hung in wet, dark waves past her shoulders, framing her face like silk curtains. Water cascaded down her neck, following the elegant line of her throat, and I found myself swallowing hard.
But it was what she was wearing that made my knees nearly buckle.
A lace bikini. White lace that had gone nearly transparent when wet, clinging to every curve of her body like it was painted on. The delicate fabric barely covered her breasts, and I could see the outline of everything underneath. The bottoms sat low on her hips, held together by thin strings that looked like they might snap if I breathed too hard.
My mouth went completely dry. My hands started shaking. And between my legs, I felt myself getting hard so fast it was almost painful.
Water droplets rolled down her flat stomach, following paths that made my eyes trace every inch of her golden skin. Her legs looked impossibly long and smooth, and when she turned slightly, I caught sight of the curve of her ass barely covered by that scrap of lace.
I couldn't think. Couldn't form words. All I could do was stare at this goddess who had emerged from my pool like some kind of fantasy come to life.
Then she saw me.
Our eyes locked, and the air between us instantly became electric. Her lips parted slightly in surprise, and I watched a flush spread across her cheeks. But she didn't look away. Instead, her gaze traveled down my bare chest, and I saw her pupils dilate.
"Good morning," I managed to rasp out, my voice so rough it sounded like I'd been swallowing gravel.
"Morning," she whispered back, and the breathless quality of her voice made heat shoot straight to my groin.
I forced myself to take a step closer, even though being near her when she looked like this felt dangerous. Like I might lose control and do something that would ruin everything between us.
Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and I couldn't help but notice how the movement made the lace fabric stretch and shift across her breasts. A drop of water fell from her hair onto her collarbone, and I wanted to lean forward and lick it off.
"You're up early," I said, settling onto a lounge chair because standing was becoming impossible. My eyes kept drifting to where the wet bikini bottom clung to her hips.
"I couldn't sleep," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. The movement pushed her breasts together, creating a valley of cleavage that made my mouth water. "Too much on my mind."
I could see goosebumps rising on her wet skin, and every protective instinct I had screamed at me to warm her up. But the way I wanted to warm her up would probably get us both in trouble.
"The pool is nice in the morning," I said, my voice still rough. "Peaceful."
She nodded, but I could see something brewing in those beautiful eyes. They were darker than usual, more intense, and there was a vulnerability there that made my chest ache.
"John," she said, and the way she said my name - soft and uncertain - made me want to pull her into my arms. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything," I said, meaning it completely.
She took a deep breath that made the lace stretch across her chest, and I had to grip the arms of the chair to keep from reaching for her.
"Why, when you saw me at the club that night, did you act like you didn't know me?"
The question hit me like a physical blow. I'd been dreading this moment, but seeing the pain flash across her face made me realize I couldn't hide from the truth anymore.
"I did it because I needed that debt document from Big Jim," I said, forcing myself to meet her eyes. "If I had acted eager to see you, he would never have let me pay off your father's debt. He would have used you as leverage against me, made your situation even worse."
Her eyes widened, and I watched her face cycle through confusion, understanding, and something that might have been relief.
"There's more," I said, standing up because I needed her to understand everything. "So much more you don't know."
I moved closer to her, close enough that I could smell the chlorine in her hair mixed with something uniquely her - something sweet and intoxicating.
"I was in a coma for three months after what happened in Italy," I said, watching her face carefully. "When I woke up, I'd lost my memories. For eleven months, I didn't even know who I was, let alone remember you."
Her hand flew to her mouth, and I saw tears starting to gather in her eyes.
"I only got my memories back in the eleventh month," I continued, my voice getting rougher with emotion. "And the second I remembered you, remembered what you meant to me, I started looking for you. I never abandoned you, Cindy. I would never abandon you."
"John," she whispered, and I could hear her voice breaking.
"Bianca saved my life," I said quickly, needing her to understand. "That deal in Italy was a trap set by my father's enemies. I thought I was being careful, but they nearly killed me."
I reached for a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, trying to ignore how soft her skin felt under my fingers. But I needed her to see, needed her to understand what I'd been through.
"Let me show you," I said, turning my back.
I heard her sharp intake of breath, saw her eyes widen as she took in the map of scars across my chest and stomach. Some were long and jagged from knives, others were small and round from bullets. There were burn marks, too, from cigarettes and other tools of torture.
"This is what happened to me," I said quietly, running my finger along the worst scar - a jagged line that ran from my shoulder to my ribs. "They kept me alive just long enough to try to get information out of me. I spent months fighting for my life, then months not even knowing who I was."
Cindy's face had gone completely pale, and tears were streaming down her cheeks now. Her hand was still pressed to her mouth, and I could see her whole body trembling.
"But as soon as I remembered you," I said, stepping even closer, "as soon as I remembered how much you meant to me, I came for you. I would have torn the world apart to find you."
"Oh God, John," she sobbed, and then she was throwing herself into my arms.
The feeling of her wet, nearly naked body pressing against my bare chest was like being struck by lightning. Every nerve ending in my body came alive at once. Her breasts pressed against me, separated only by that thin, wet lace, and I could feel her heart beating frantically against mine.
"I'm so sorry," she cried into my shoulder, her tears mixing with the pool water still on my skin. "I'm sorry for being so difficult, for blaming you for everything. I just needed someone to blame for how I ended up, and you were there, and I didn't mean to be so harsh."
I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight against me. She felt so perfect, so right in my arms, like she was made to be there.
"You have nothing to apologize for," I said into her hair, breathing in her scent. "You survived something terrible. You're allowed to be angry."
"But not at you," she whispered. "Never at you. You saved me."
"I won't let anyone hurt you ever again," I promised, tightening my arms around her. "I swear to you, Cindy. Never again."
She pulled back from the hug, and when she looked up at me, everything changed.
Her eyes were dark and intense, filled with something that made my heart stop beating. Her lips were parted, and I could feel her breath against my chest. The towel had fallen away from her shoulders, and she was pressed against me with nothing but that tiny bikini between us.
The air around us felt charged, electric with tension that had been building for months. I could see desire flickering in her eyes, could feel the way her breathing had changed.
"Cindy," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
And then she kissed me.
It wasn't gentle or tentative. It was desperate and hungry, like she'd been dying for this moment. Her lips crashed against mine with a passion that made stars explode behind my eyelids. I kissed her back just as fiercely, my hands tangling in her wet hair.
She tasted like chlorine and something sweet, something that was purely her. Her body molded against mine perfectly, and I could feel every curve, every inch of her soft, warm skin. The bikini was so thin I could feel everything underneath it.
My hands roamed her back, feeling the smooth skin and the way she shivered under my touch. She made a small, needy sound against my lips, and it drove me absolutely wild.
I pushed her back against the pool wall, never breaking the kiss. Her legs wrapped around my waist instinctively, and I groaned at the feeling of her so close, so perfect against me. The lace of her bikini bottom was the only thing separating us now.
"John," she breathed against my lips, and the way she said my name - needy and desperate - made something primal wake up inside me.
I kissed her neck, tasting the chlorine and the sweetness of her skin. She arched against me, her fingers digging into my shoulders hard enough to leave marks.
We kissed again, and this time it was even more desperate, more consuming. All the anger, all the misunderstandings, all the pain of the past months poured into that kiss. It was like we were trying to make up for all the lost time, all the words we should have said.
Her hands roamed my chest, tracing the scars she'd just seen, and everywhere she touched felt like it was on fire. I could feel her heart beating frantically against mine, could feel the way she was trembling with need.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing like we'd just run a marathon. Cindy's lips were swollen from kissing, her eyes dark with desire. Her hair was wild from my hands, and there were red marks on her neck from my mouth.
"We should probably go inside," I said, though moving away from her was the last thing I wanted to do.
"Yeah," she agreed breathlessly, but neither of us moved. We just stood there, holding each other, trying to process the intensity of what had just happened between us.
The sun was warm on our skin, but the heat between us was so much hotter. For the first time in months, everything felt right. Cindy was in my arms, she knew the truth, and she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
Whatever happened next, I knew this moment had changed everything between us forever.