Chapter 300

After a few kisses, Nicholas excused himself to change into his own swim trunks. I opted to stay behind, knowing if I went with him, we would be thoroughly distracted for so long that our absence would definitely be noticed.

No, it was better that we parted for now.

I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. The green swimsuit Nicholas had picked out for me was tasteful. It did show off my curves, but in a classy kind of way. My midriff and back were exposed, but not so much so that I felt naked, like I did when I was wearing the bikini.

Nicholas had good taste.

Comfortable, I headed downstairs and out onto the deck, looking for everyone else. I found them out on the sand, near where a volleyball net had been erected. Nathan was directing the camera crew nearby, setting them up for the best shots.

Veronica spotted me and waved me over. She had on a one-piece swimsuit with a halter top, covered in polka dots. Her hair was up in a loose bun.

“The teams have already been picked,” she said. “Do you know how to play?”

“A little?” I hadn’t played any team sports since my days at the academy.

“Good,” Veronica said. “Because I’ve never played before in my life.”

We waited a few minutes until Nicholas joined us. My thoughts fizzled out when I spotted him. His shorts were low on his hips and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, revealing miles of hard muscle. I could have stared at him for hours, drooling. Veronica elbowed me after a few seconds.

Bridget, who I had only given a passing glance to before, bounded over to Nicholas as he descended from the deck. Her tiny two-piece bikini barely covered her bouncing breasts or her ass. It was as if she was wearing two tiny strips of fabric, not an actual outfit.

She held out her arms and spun around, giving Nicholas the full view. Nicholas politely kept his glance the other way.

Inside of me, my wolf snarled, though outwardly, I tried to keep myself contained. Beside me, Julian was less subtle, crossing his arms and frowning.

The teams were split with Veronica, Julian and I on one team, and Nicholas, Bridget, and Jessica on the other.

Putting me in a position of being able to stare at Nicholas’s bare chest through the mesh net was not a good idea, and I missed several of the early volleys that should have been easy. Even Veronica, who had never played the game before, was making more plays than me.

It was so bad, that after a particularly terrible miss, courtesy of the sun reflecting off the shine of sweat on Nicholas’s pecs, Julian came over to me and said, “Get your head off of Nicholas’s chest and into the game, please, Piper.”

I blushed fiercely. Of course, he would be the one to notice. Although, with the knowing look Veronica gave me, she probably noticed too.

I shook my head and focused. Julian was right. With the cameras watching, and showing the footage all across the kingdom, I couldn’t embarrass myself and my team, even if we were just playing for fun.

Plus, if Julian was still playing his best, even with the distraction of Bridget’s bare skin, then I could certainly do the same seeing Nicholas’s.

From then out, I treated Nicholas’s hotness like I couldn’t even see it and focused fully on the ball. And that was when I started to notice the obvious weakness on the other team.

Bridget, being so conscious of her image, focused only on where the cameras were and how to give herself the best angle in front of them. She smiled and posed. While she did make the occasional volley, she only did so when the ball was close enough that she wouldn’t have to exert herself.

If the save required her to dive for it, she adamantly refused.

Though Nicholas had no obvious outward reaction to her lack of commitment to the game, after her fifth time no making no effort, his muscles clearly tightened, likely in frustration.

Jessica, meanwhile, gave the game her best effort, but she didn’t have much skill. She wasn’t afraid to dive and get herself sandy, but often when she did so, she would miss the ball entirely.

To be fair, most of the volleys were between Nicholas and Julian. They were both so competitive, and played their absolute best. Eventually the rest of us shifted to the edges of the court, with those two doing most of the work.

I watched in awe at some of their moves. They dove and twisted and jumped, all while hitting the ball with expert precision.

One volley lasted so long, that I thought we might be here all night. No matter how much one tried to outdo the other, the other was always there to return the ball. I wondered how much werewolf strength they were tapping into, turning this friendly game into a fierce competition.

At each hit Julian made, I loudly cheered while Veronica clapped. At each return Nicholas made, Jessica cheered, while Bridget smiled at the camera.

But then, Bridget’s attention shifted toward Julian. Something dangerous sparkled in her eye. She was definitely up to something, but what? She wasn’t even really part of the play anymore. None of us were. Everything now was between Nicholas and Julian.

Yet, Bridget still stumbled forward, tripping over a possible divot in the sand. As she fell forward, she shouted, “Oops!”

Just like that her top fell down to her waist, exposing her two large breasts, nipples and all.

Nicholas, who hadn’t noticed, returned the ball as he had for the past ten minutes. In fact, the ball had been hit so near the net, that Nicholas jumped up, put all of his effort in his arms, and spiked the ball straight back over.

Julian, however, completely froze. His eyes were wide and locked on Bridget’s bare breasts.

The spiked ball, smashed straight into the top of his head. It bounced backwards, beyond the out of bounds line, where it bounced a few more times before rolling to a stop in the sand.

Julian was dazed, completely still for one long moment. Then he dropped.

“Julian!” I cried.

Veronica and I rushed toward him at once.

Meanwhile, Bridget adjusted her top. “How careless of me,” she said with a nervous giggle that I wasn’t entirely sure wasn’t put on.

Julian was face down in the sand, so Veronica and I rolled him over. When we did, he blinked awake.

“Did I die?” he asked.

“No,” Veronica said.

I held up three fingers and asked him to count them.

“Three,” he said.

“Are you seeing two of me?” I asked.

“No.”

He knew the date and his name, so he likely wasn’t suffering from a concussion. He’d have a hell of a bruise though.

“We should get him out of the sun,” Veronica said.

By now, Nicholas came over. “Are you alright?” He held his hand out for Julian and then helped him up. Julian wobbled a minute. Nicholas placed his hand on Julian’s shoulder. “What happened?”

“I, uh…” Julian rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d rather not say.”

No wonder. Shaking my head, I said, “I’ll go get you some ice,” and started to walk away.

Behind me I heard Bridget’s soft, melodic laughter. “I’m glad I didn’t cause permanent damage.”

Inside, my wolf growled. I might not have been sure if Bridget’s wardrobe malfunction had been an accident, but my wolf was very sure.

Bridget had flashed Julian on purpose.