Claim Me Captain! I'm Addicted to You!-Chapter 428: Steaming Hot Tub (2)

Vicky’s POV

My sister-in-law was apparently a psychic, or a menace, because inside one of the paper bags she bought were five swimsuits. All in my size. All brand new. All... tiny.

Not a single one-piece. Not even a mildly conservative two-piece. Every single bikini screamed: ’Hello, Oliver, please faint now.’

I swear, I’m going to strangle her when we get back.

But instead of planning her murder, I grabbed my phone and fired off a message.

"You little conniving traitor!" I attached a picture of the deadly lineup of bikinis.

Her reply came in two seconds.

[Hahaha!!! Enjoy!!! You’re welcome, luv yah!]

I groaned and rolled my eyes so hard it hurt.

Still, I picked the black string bikini, the least scandalous, which wasn’t saying much, and hurried into the bathroom.

Huge mistake!

String bikini meant:

It fit... yes.

But did it cover what I wanted covered? Absolutely not!

"Argh! Georgia!" I uttered as I looked at the mirror, and my eyes landed on my bosoms, which were screaming loudly.

I wrapped my arms around my torso, panicking, and rushed back out to grab the others so I could compare—

But the moment I stepped into the room... I forgot how to breathe.

Oliver was there. Back turned to me.

His good hand is trying and failing to remove the sling. His shoulders tense, shirt slightly pulled up on one side.

Then he turned.

And froze.

And blinked.

And absolutely malfunctioned.

I walked over to him. "Do you need help?"

"I... uh... yeah..." he stammered. "The adjuster... it’s tight, and I can’t reach..."

I forgot what I was wearing. I forgot the swimsuits. I forgot the entire planet. My thought was purely just to help him.

I walked straight to him, placed my hands gently on his arms, and guided him toward the bed.

"Sit," I said, somehow managing a steady voice even though my heart was doing backflips. "You’re too tall. I can’t reach the adjuster if you’re standing."

He sat.

Quiet.

Staring straight ahead like a man trying very, very hard to behave.

But the moment I reached for the adjuster of his sling, Oliver suddenly turned his face to the left, so sharply it was like he was dodging something.

Confused, I glanced down.

Then I saw it.

The bikini. My breasts. Directly in front of his face.

Dear universe, please take me now...

I yanked my arms back, mortified. Oh. My. God. What did I just do?!

Oliver cleared his throat, his voice slightly strained. "Uh... can you also help me change the waterproof cover on my stitches? I want to make sure water won’t get in when we use the hot tub."

Hot tub.

Right.

Great.

Let’s just add that to the list of situations I’m not mentally prepared for.

"S-Sure. No problem," I managed, hoping my voice didn’t betray the chaos inside me.

I slipped the sling over his head and started unbuttoning his shirt. He didn’t say a word. Just watched my hands, quiet and patient.

But when I reached the bottom and gently moved to slide the shirt off his shoulder, he suddenly caught my hand.

I gasped, startled.

He chuckled. "Why are you so serious that you get scared so easily?" he teased, eyes warm with amusement.

"I—I was just being careful not to hurt you! What were you thinking?" I shot back, flustered.

He smirked. "I’m just kidding."

Then his hand slid lightly along the side of my upper thigh, bare skin on bare skin, and shivers erupted across my whole body.

"I need to stand to remove the shirt completely," he murmured, looking up at me. "It’ll hurt less that way."

"Oh... right..." I whispered, stepping aside.

But he struggled with the left sleeve, wincing.

Without thinking, I stepped back in. Close. Too close.

"Here," I said softly, taking hold of the fabric.

His breath hitched. Mine did too.

I eased the shirt off his shoulder, careful with the stitches, and for a single suspended moment, we were both still, breathing the same charged air.

"The medical kit is in my suitcase, I’ll just get it," he said, already turning towards it.

I caught his wrist before he could take a single step. "I’ll get it. You lie down on the bed; it’ll be easier to change the dressing on your abdomen that way."

I moved quickly, wanting to get this done before my nerves betrayed me again. But when I turned back with the kit in my hands... he had a pillow over his lower half. Strategically placed. Very strategically.

A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it. Loud. Too loud. He glanced at me with that wounded-male dignity he tried so hard to protect.

I dropped onto the bed beside him and opened the medical kit, biting my lip to hold back another laugh.

"What is so funny?" Oliver demanded, exasperated. "I’m just a man staring at the woman he likes wearing the most seductive bikini he has ever seen in his entire life. Of course, my body is going to react. Don’t blame me or get any funny ideas in that head of yours."

That did it. I broke into uncontrollable laughter.

"I didn’t even say anything!" I raised my hands defensively. "And it’s not like I chose this bikini. Georgia forced this on me, remember?"

"I know," he groaned dramatically, dropping his head back. "Which is exactly why I’m dying here. Give this poor man a break. This is so hard for me."

But the moment he said the word ’hard,’ I lost all hope of keeping a straight face.

"Stop laughing at me!" he snapped playfully, sitting up and reaching to cover my mouth. I dodged him, big mistake, because my hand fell right on the thing he was trying desperately to hide.

Oh. My. God.

I snatched my hand back as if burned, but it didn’t matter. Damage done. My stupid hand already grabbed it and felt how hard he was down there before I could even stop my own body. My entire soul left my body.

His hand closed gently around my wrist, stopping the panicked retreat. He looked up at me with eyes so intense they made my breath falter.

"You’re making me lose my self-control... really, really bad," he murmured.

And for a moment, just one suspended heartbeat, my jaw dropped, I tried to say something, and miserably failed. I just sat there staring at him, brain lagging, and a heat slowly rising up inside me.