Sand Angel Page 0,6

a husband and a family. She didn’t need either. Her chin inched higher as she fought moisture filling her eyes.

Zoë attempted to jerk free but Josh didn’t let her go. He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Would it hurt too much to talk to him?”

Every muscle and tendon grew tight. She could almost hear the hard shell she’d erected around her begin to crack. “Josh—” her voice was a mere whisper, “—let me go.” Her jaws clenched so hard they ached with the pressure.

“Zoë?”

“Now,” she firmly demanded. She had to get away.

When he released her, a wave of relief almost swamped her. Her toes curled in her stiff boots, the discomfort enough to help her focus inwardly, gain the strength she needed.

It smarted, but she forced a smile she didn’t feel. “Nothing to say.” She walloped him on the chest with an open palm.

Before he could say anything else, she moved quickly toward her quad. Throwing one leg over the quad, she said, “Let’s ride,” before she crammed her helmet on her head. With both hands she raised the goggles that rested on the mouthpiece of her headgear to shield her eyes.

No one saw the first tear fall or the one that followed it.

She needed to escape. Needed to outrun Drew’s memory.

A twist of the key and the bike roared to life. The vibration between her thighs did nothing to quell the heat that simmered since she first saw Drew. It was like a flash flood as a million sensations seduced her. The achingly tender way he entered her body that first time, stealing her innocence as well as her heart. The repeat performances that had left her hungry to learn more, experience more. Each time more heated, more carnal.

And then the devastating loneliness.

Zoë didn’t wait for Josh as she popped the clutch and gassed it. All four tires dug into the sand, throwing it everywhere. A gust of warm air hit her in the face as she applied more fuel, tearing away from Gecko campground and Drew.

There was freedom in the wind. Speed was the only thing that fed her soul these days. But the Dunes were no place for stupid moves.

The quiet beauty of the ocean of sand lulled people into a false security. One minute the ground would be beneath her. The next she could be flying off a slip-face, a miniature cliff, soaring fifteen feet or higher in the air. The crashes weren’t a pretty sight.

Zoë knew never to ride alone or to venture farther than she could see. Well, one out of two wasn’t bad. Chalk her up as only half-stupid.

Adrenaline was like acid pumping through her veins as she approached an enormous dune cut by wind and weather. The tallest dunes were two hundred feet high and scared the shit out of newcomers.

But not Zoë, especially today.

That little hormone that stimulated her heart and increased her blood sugar, muscular strength and endurance was quickly pushing Drew to the back of her mind. All she saw was the challenge—the top of the mountain. The surface was smooth, no tire tracks announcing that anyone dared to approach it. That made it Zoë’s mountain. It dared her to conquer it. This was what she longed for—the challenge, the isolated bubble that surrounded her when she went into the zone. It was her mountain.

That was until an idiot crossed in front of her, making her swerve to avoid hitting him.

Concentration blown, she circled around, preparing herself for another approach when the same lame-dick passed in front of her again. Fit to be tied, she came to an abrupt stop. Pushing her goggles down upon the rim of her helmet, she tore her headgear off and placed it on the handlebars.

“I’ll kill the sonofabitch,” she mumbled beneath her breath as she stomped toward the rider idling his quad.

When she got within several feet of the rider, he pulled his goggles and helmet off.

Drew.

A gush of frustration pushed from her lungs. The damn man had changed clothes. Instead of the blue and white Fox ensemble, he now wore a matching yellow and black getup. Josh and Drew were the same size, muscular and six-two. She’d forgotten that Josh owned more ensembles than she did. It would be no hardship in sharing his clothes and boots with Drew.

Damn, he was sexy sitting on that bike.

The vibrant color was striking against his dark skin. She shook her head, pushing the thought away. She should have recognized Josh’s spare