Chapter 41 In The Pool

• Braxton
• Julia looks divine in a beautiful white bathing suit. It is a one piece, but the center is cut out, so I can still see all of her beautiful curves. I’ve had the pool heated to ninety-seven degrees so that it is plenty warm enough, even though the spring air is a little cool. While the pool is large, we choose to stay in one area where it is only about five feet deep, sitting on a ledge I had built into the design for just this purpose. The waterfalls are on and add to the ambience of paradise. They cascade over carved rock, making a slight splash as they enter the pool. Julia watches them, smiling, likely remembering the natural waterfall we saw the day before. She smells of coconuts and vanilla, and I want to kiss her, to take her here in the pool, but I don’t think she will like that, even though I could assure her of our privacy. The servants wouldn’t dare snoop or try to watch us. I keep myself in check, though, only holding her hand beneath the water’s surface, letting her come to me.
• She’s been distracted today. Earlier, at the stables, she hardly enjoyed the horses at all. I thought she was beginning to come around at the gardens, but now, every once in a while, I see that far off expression in her eyes, like she is letting her deeper thoughts invade her happiness. I want to take all of that away from her, to assure her everything is going to be all right, but I can’t do that. As she reminded me earlier, she is still a married woman. And she is not married to me.