Bride of the Moso Prince by Lucy Yam

speed.
    “Listen to me.” She heard his voice behind her, “It’s not safe to swim here.”
    She did butterfly strokes and got ahead of him. But he followed closely.
    “Fine, if you insist. We’ll swim together.” She heard him say.
    For a long time they swam side by side. Sharon heard her own breathing besides the splashing of water. Once or twice his hand brushed against her thigh and her heart raced. He swam closer and closer, threatening her with his masculine presence. She did her best to keep a distance from him. While hating him for messing up her peaceful time, she couldn’t help but appreciate how well he swam. His rhythmic movements were quite a sight, and his bronze arms glistering with gold specks were strangely arousing. She found herself swimming on one side only so she could enjoy the spectacle of his body. How graceful and powerful at the same time. Then she found out that he had maneuvered her into heading back to the bay. Enraged, she ducked under him to escape but was caught by the leg. Under the water he dragged her back with one hand and then held her waist with another. Tugging her under his arm, he swam back. “Let me go!” she struggled but it was futile. She was not more than a chicken flapping its wings in the paws of a tiger. “I’ll go back to the shore, I promise!”
    But he wouldn’t release her until they reached the shore and rolled onto the soft sands. 
    “And you were calling me a mule. You’re the one who needs to be roped and pulled.”
    He said as soon as he let go of her.
                  “You didn’t have to do that!” Sharon shouted angrily.
    “Didn’t have to do that? The lake can be tricky for someone who isn’t familiar with it. There are water snakes and rocks, and you could get tangled by the algae.”
    “That’s it? The way you reacted. I thought there were water spirits,” she taunted.
    There was a fierce look in his eyes, but soon it disappeared. “Yes, that too. And they tend to snatch Han women with long slim legs.” He said that in a husky voice while caressing her legs with his narrowed, smoldering eyes.
    Sharon shivered at such a blatant allusion. “How dare you!”
    He laughed and continued to caress the rest of her body with that burning gaze. The setting sun sprinkled gold dusts on his muscular and brown chest, smooth without scary hair. In spite of anger, she longed to touch him. Then she felt weak and struggled to stand up. She picked up the towel and started to dry her body under those annoying eyes.
    “Haven’t you seen a woman in a swimsuit before?” she wiped her thighs roughly, trying to suppress the tingling waves under her skin.
    “No. Moso women don’t swim.” He stood up next to her. “But I must say, that’s a great outfit to attract a man’s eyes. It makes me wonder what’s not shown.”
    She darted a furious look at him.
    He only laughed while standing up and said in a husky voice, “Especially when what’s not hiding is so beautiful.”
    Without warning he pulled her to him. Gazing down on her lips while she struggled to break away. He touched her lips with his thumb and smiling, he took a strand of hair on her cheek and tucked it under her ear. Then his finger slid down, to her neck and slowly to the curve of her breast. He gave her nipple a gentle rob through the thin fabric of the swimsuit and sent a shudder through the center of her belly. She gasped and frowned, her eyes burned with desire. As if that was a signal of consent, he pressed his lips on hers with an urgency that frightened her.
    Nobul was frightened too, by the overwhelming urge that possessed him. He had never wanted someone so badly, at least not someone he had just met. He tried to make sense of his own reckless behavior but it was hard to think, while his body was taking control of his mind. It must have been the chase in the water. She was a superb swimmer and she was as beautiful as a mermaid. He had simply wanted to catch that