by Maree Green
Josh let his gaze roam over my wet suit. “You know it’s not really that cold, don’t you?”
I looked down at my summer wet suit. It was only lightweight. It had little capped sleeves, and the legs finished just above my knees. “Yeah, you don’t know how easily I feel the cold. Especially Californian water. My lips will be blue before we’re done.”
He laughed before looking down at my board and turning it around, inspecting it. “This is a good board. It’s yours?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s the one I used to use before we left.”
Josh looked back over the board, running his hands over it, checking for God knew what. I looked out at the ocean. I knew the sets weren’t that big, but I was still worried.
Putting my hands over my face, I groaned. “This is going to be bad.”
I heard a couple of the guys laugh behind me. I wanted to turn and glare at them, but I thought it was best if I just ignored them as much as possible.
Through my fingers, I saw Josh pass my board to someone, asking them to wax it for me, then I felt him circle my wrists with his hands and gently pull them away from my face. “It won’t be bad. I promise.”
I groaned again at his enthusiastic expression, earning a few more chuckles from behind.
“Come on.” He grabbed the now-waxed board and handed it back to me before picking up his own and leading the way to the water’s edge.
The second the water rushed over my feet, I gasped. “Oh my God! It’s freezing!”
Josh laughed, and, of course, so did the other guys. Yeah, I was happy to be the entertainment for the morning. “You’ll get used to it. It’s best to do it at a run. Come on.”
I watched him dart off, somehow appearing graceful as he skipped over the small waves, before throwing the board down and then himself on top of it.
Not giving myself time to fret, I followed, nowhere near as fast or graceful, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now.
The duck diving thing was something I’d never gotten, even when I was surfing almost every day, so, of course, I completely sucked at it. After a few failed attempts to get out past the breakers, Josh towed me out.
“You know, I might very well hate you after this,” I said, gazing out at the incoming waves.
“And you might just thank me too.”
“It’s looking doubtful,” I said, but the smile creeping onto my lips gave me away.
Josh appraised me for a while, then pursed his lips. “What do you remember? Do you need me to start at the beginning?”
I shook my head. “Theory-wise, I think I remember the basics. I just never got the hang of it well enough for it to be like riding a bike.”
He smiled. “Well, how about we ride one in together? Just remember, once you get going, snap up to your feet.”
I inhaled deeply, gathering strength, and nodded.
We paddled together when the next wave came rolling in toward us. It was only small, but that was all I wanted. As soon as the board gathered its momentum, I pushed up with my arms and launched myself onto my feet . . . and instantly overbalanced.
I came up to the surface, gasping, and reached for my board. Josh was immediately with me. He steadied the board for me, while I heaved myself back onto my stomach on it. Even though I couldn’t hear the other guys, I could tell they were still laughing at me. Just great.
“It’ll probably take you a few goes to get your balance back. You’ve got the right technique, though.”
I took his words as encouragement and added some of my own determination as we paddled back out.
The next five times resulted in much the same, although I seemed to last a little longer each time before I came to a watery end. I was panting a little as I paddled back out, but smiling just the same.
“Getting a bit tired?” Josh asked, smirking a little.
I thought about lying, but my body was sore. “My arms are aching.”
“We can go in any time you want.”
“I’ll have a couple more goes. You can stay out if you want. I can watch you.”
Josh grinned. He seemed to like that idea.
A wave swelled toward us. I started to paddle hard, trying to ignore the burning in my arms. As soon as the wave caught me, I jumped to my feet, keeping my knees bent and my arms out for balance. The water churned behind me, threatening to toss me off, but I bent my knees a little more and forced myself to stay standing.
As the wave’s volatility subsided, I straightened up a bit and cheered for myself, pumping my arms excitedly. I was so happy I didn’t lose my balance, I decided to stick my hands in the air in victory. “Yay! I did it!”
Whistles and cheering came from the beach, reminding me I had an audience, but this time I didn’t care. I did it!
Josh was already in the shallower parts, standing in waist-deep water, watching. When I came up beside him and looked down at him, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Without a thought about what I was doing, I jumped off my board and threw my arms around him in excitement.
It wasn’t until I felt Josh’s arms go around my waist that I realized just what I’d done. I pulled back, an apologetic look already on my face, but the second our eyes met, my excitement swiftly changed to something else entirely.
We stared at each other for exactly three heartbeats before Josh’s lips came down on mine.
Chapter 18
Josh
I was in so much trouble.
Olivia may have only been kissed twice in her life, but she obviously had some pretty wicked intuition.
After the first initial surprise, her body melted against me like warm chocolate. Her lips were so soft and full. One little taste was just not enough. It was an automatic reaction to pull her tighter against me, and when I did, her lips parted with a soft gasp.
I expected her to break away, to say it was just going too fast, but her hands only tightened on the back of my neck, pulling my lips back to hers. I needed to taste more of her.
Ever so gently, I bit down on her bottom lip, then soothed it with my tongue. She groaned, then one of her hands moved into my hair and clasped it tightly.
The waves crashed against us, but I was too lost in her kiss to care. I had known she’d taste like heaven, but I didn’t think she’d be able to make me forget my own name. I slid one of my hands around her waist, trailing my fingers over her ribs, up between her breasts, until I was cupping the side of her neck. Her head tilted back a fraction, like a glorious invitation for me to kiss and taste.
Whistles from the beach broke into my thoughts, and with an enormous amount of effort, I managed to pull my lips away from hers and break the kiss. Damn, I was glad we were outside in the water. If we were anywhere near a bed right now, or even a sofa, for that matter, I would be a goner.
Breaking the kiss was as far as I could force myself to get, though. Our bodies were still clutched together, and I could still feel her little pants of breath against my cheek. She shivered. “You’re cold. You should go up and have a hot shower.”
Good idea. I really needed her to go do that. Right now. And I would go have a cold one.
I looked down at her to see her cheeks tinged with pink, and I realized she was embarrassed the guys had just witnessed us kissing.
“Okay,” she said softly.
I helped her pull her board in and made sure she was right carrying it out of the water. She looked up at me shyly when we reached the sand, uncertainty written all over her face. How did I reassure her when I had no idea what I was doing? But I knew I had to do something. “Do you want to come back to my place when you’ve changed?”
Relief flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly followed by a slightly panicked look.
I smiled to lighten her worry. “Just to spend some time together. Maybe we could watch a movie or something?”
The smile she returned was everything I wished it wasn’t. The way it made my body react could very well make a liar out of me. “Okay. I’ll b
e as quick as I can.”
I watched her jog off toward the trail before forcing my legs into action and heading for the guys. I knew I was about to get a ribbing for kissing her, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to respond just yet. I knew I really needed to get my self-control on a tighter leash. The way Liv made me lose it could end up being very disastrous—in more ways than one.
I looked up to see varying emotions written on my friends’ faces. Daniel was scowling at me, clearly unimpressed, Lance looked disappointed, and Corey and Cain looked amused.
“What are you doing, man?” Lance asked, shaking his head.
I glared at him. “What?”
“Come on, man,” he said, giving me a you’re-not-that-stupid look. “If she checks out like you say she will, you know better than anyone that you can’t go playing that kind of game with her. She’s too innocent.”
My jaw tightened. I fucking knew she was too innocent. That was my biggest goddamn problem. Grabbing my towel, I started drying off my board shorts. “Just leave it alone, Lance.”
Corey stepped forward. “No, I think we need to talk about this now. We’re here to protect you, Josh. Getting involved like this is bad news.”
I rubbed the towel over my face, growling. “Fuck! I know that!” Taking a steadying breath, I met each of their gazes in turn. I knew they were only trying to make me see reason, but honestly, I thought I was already beyond that. “Look, I just want to spend time with her, okay? I’m not going to sleep with her.”
They all gave me a deadpan look, letting me know just how successful they thought that’d be.
“Josh,” Daniel started, “you know we’re only looking out for you. Why don’t you just wait for us to do a background check first, to make sure she checks out, then we can go from there?”
I threw my towel down on the sand. I’d already told them I was okay with the background check, if that was what they needed to do, but I knew she was legit. I’d seen the pictures for fuck’s sake. The fact that they didn’t trust my judgment was starting to piss me off.
I wanted to tell them to leave it alone. Again. But I also knew they wouldn’t stop giving her a hard time until they could trust her too, and I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable around them. I also didn’t want it to be either them or her. I wanted all of us to be able to hang out together. Olivia included.
“I already told you. You can do your fucking background check, but I’m telling you, she’s legit. I know I should stay the fuck away from her, but I just can’t, all right?” With that, I picked up my shit and stalked off to the house to shower before Liv came back.
After the talk with the guys, I no longer needed the cold shower to cool down, so I went straight for the heat before dressing in a pair of shorts and a tee.
Liv arrived fifteen minutes later. She was dressed in those amazing denim shorts she’d been wearing the day before, and a hoodie. Her hair was dry and fell down her back like soft, golden silk. Again, she wore no makeup, but she was still the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.
The guys were all hanging around the living room, and I knew it was because they either didn’t trust her, or they didn’t trust me. I could’ve told them to leave us alone. They were technically my employees, but they were also my friends. Plus, I really wanted them to get to know her.
She smiled widely when she stepped inside, holding out a bag for me to take. “I brought snacks.”
I took the offered bag from her and watched her slide past me before closing the door. She looked up at the guys all sitting around, saying a soft hello before blushing that beautiful color I was really starting to love.
I cleared my throat, hoping it would also clear my mind. “Would you like a tour?”
She glanced around the house. “Yes, please.”
Handing the bag to Lance, I grabbed her hand and started towing her from room to room. If you asked me later to recall the tour, I wouldn’t have been able to. I was too busy watching her and her reactions to everything she saw.
When we reached my bedroom, I had to stop myself from closing the door behind us. She walked over to the windows and looked out at the ocean. “Okay, you win. This view is mind-blowing,” she said, turning to give me a blinding smile.
The breath caught in my throat. Holy shit, I wanted her.
“So, are we going to watch one of your movies, then?” she said in a teasing tone.
What? Hell no.
I gave her a withering look. “I don’t think so. I can hardly stand to watch myself when I’m forced to go to the premiers.”
She laughed lightly, pulling her hoodie off to reveal a pale pink tank. The full swell of her breasts where the shirt pulled taut drew my gaze. Fuck me. Why’d she have to make this so fucking hard?
“But I wanted to see how good you were,” she said, a teasing glint in her eyes.
I narrowed my eyes at her, but my lips were still curled into a smile. “I’ve already shown you my best looks.”
“So you say. But what if they’re much better onscreen? I want to see the bad guy run away when he sees your angry face, and the pretty girl swoon when you look at her like you want to eat her for dessert.”
I could eat her for dessert. Right now. Oh God! Did I really have no control? She was still looking at me with that sexy, teasing smirk on her lips. Well, if she wanted teasing, she was going to get teasing. “Or we could just act out how the pretty girl swoons as I’m about to eat her for dessert.”
I took a step toward her, watching her eyes widen. Oh no. Wrong look. She was supposed to laugh, not look like she wanted to be eaten. I forced a smirk onto my lips with a twinkle in my eye that translated into play time. My intention was clear. I was going to pounce, and she should run.
She read me well. The second I darted forward, she squealed and dashed around my bed. I didn’t stop. And neither did she. She continued around the room and through the two-way closet, darting around the chair and side table as she went. I kept her just out of arm’s reach, prolonging the moment she would end up in my arms.
Wait. What? In my arms? I frowned internally. I thought this exercise was to prevent her ending up in my arms, not merely delaying it. What was I doing?
As she made a dash for the other side of the room again, I instinctively rushed after her, catching her by the bed. As my arms closed around her, she let out a high-pitched squeal and let her weight fall against me.
“Okay! You win!” she cried, her chest rising and falling heavily against my arms. “We won’t watch any of your movies if you don’t want to!”
Standing, she turned in my arms to look up at me, and it was like we were right back in the water again. Fuck my life. Her hands clung to my biceps, and her breath came in those adorable little pants she made when I kissed her, sending that same tingling need rushing through me again.
I looked down to see her suck that damn bottom lip of hers with a dazed but immensely sexy look in her eyes. “God. Why are you so irresistible?” I muttered. Stepping back, I grabbed her hand and moved toward the chaise lounge—away from the bed. “Come on. We need to talk.”
She blinked at me as I gently guided her down onto the chaise. Taking a seat on the coffee table in front of her, I tried to find the words that would put this whole situation into some form of comprehensive simplicity for her. And me.
“Liv, I’m really sorry I kissed you down on the beach. I shouldn’t have done that,” I said, hoping she would understand where I was coming from. “You’re just so damned adorable and gorgeous, I seem to forget myself whenever you’re around.”
Her eyes narrowed as she took in my words. She didn’t look surprised, or even upset, really. She was mostly unreadable.
I sighed. “Nothing can happen between us, Liv. I’m only here for the next four weeks, and then I’m gone. And I really don’t want to hurt you like that.”
Holding my breath, I watched a wariness creep into her gaze as she assessed me. As each second passed, her expression grew more and more clos
ed off, until she drew in a slow, deep breath and pushed herself to her feet.
I sat back, unsure of what she was doing, but then she was striding for the door. Blinking, I tried to get my head to focus and work out what she was doing, and more importantly, what I should be doing in response.
It wasn’t until I heard her footfalls on the stairs that I finally came to the conclusion that I had most likely just fucked up. And most probably in a major way.
Fuck. Jumping to my feet, I dashed after her.
Chapter 19
Olivia
Emotions were battling inside me like they were fighting out freaking World War III as I darted down the stairs from Josh’s room. Embarrassment swam somewhere amongst them, but anger was the one I was mostly comfortable with right now. It felt plausible and easy to work with.
As I breezed through the living room, I felt Josh’s friends pause, most likely watching me with confused expressions, but I didn’t take the time to acknowledge them in the slightest. I just needed to get out of there.
Bursting through the door to the deck, I made for the stairs down to the sand, and started along the beach, back home to Aunt Jenny’s. I made it as far as the other side of his house before he caught me.
“Liv, wait!”
I exhaled so heavily it was probably a borderline huff, and spun, trying to keep my cool.
“Jesus,” he said, running his hand through his hair. He looked completely uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Liv. I really didn’t mean to upset you. Honestly. I’m trying to do the opposite. I obviously suck at it, though.”
His flustering helped. So did his obvious discomfort.
“I’m serious, Liv. You have to help me out here. I don’t know what I said that upset you.”
I stared him down. “I’m not stupid, Josh. If you don’t want anything to happen between us, just say so. I know guys want girls who know what they’re doing—girls who have experience, so you can just say it. I’m not going to melt into a ball of sobbing snot.”
He recoiled, a little taken aback by my words. “Liv, that’s not what I meant at all. And you’re wrong. Guys don’t just want girls who know what they’re doing. To be honest with you, it’s your innocence that makes it virtually impossible for me to stay away from you.”