Recipe for Temptation - Gina Gordon Page 0,36
thingies.” Her arms waved all over the place as she spoke, sending rivulets of water cascading down her face and neck. Pearls of water accumulated on her cleavage, and he wished he were close enough to bend down and lick them off her warm skin. “We got stuck in some weeds or vines or something. I don’t know…”
She was so fucking adorable. So adorable that just watching her tell the story made his insides flip-flop with happiness. Frustration grabbed hold of him. Why couldn’t her vacation be two weeks long? He hadn’t expected their time together to go beyond sex, to move past the alarming chemistry that had crackled between them for so long. But it had. And he was going to damn well enjoy it, because he’d miss this feeling when their fling came to an abrupt end.
He closed the distance between them, then cleared his throat and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop talking and look him in the eye.
“Forget about the damn lake house.”
She nodded. “Right. Okay.”
“It’s just you and me, no judgment. Just fun. If you fall, who gives a shit? I already fell about a million times. Did you think I was a loser?”
She laughed and shook her head.
“Exactly. Time for you to fall on your face.”
The laughter died. “But, Cole, I—”
In the distance, he saw it. A perfect wave for her to try.
“Paddle. Go! Paddle!”
She squealed and began to paddle, looking over her shoulder at him.
He waved his hand toward the beach, and she finally turned her head forward. “Jump up!” he yelled.
Her ass lifted, and then her feet slid down the board, and she rolled off into the waves.
She popped up through the water and rested her arms on her board.
“Again,” he yelled.
Again and again, she tried to ride a wave. Every time she fell. But she got right back up. Each time, staying on a little longer. At one point, she took off the sundress and threw it at him. When her bikini shifted and exposed her breasts, he’d have been more than happy to paddle over and put them back in place. With her back turned to the beach, of course.
As if he needed another Penn Foster image in his spank-bank. After the week so far, it was already overloaded.
Finally, she caught the perfect wave. She jumped up and steadied herself, both feet firmly planted on the board, her knees bent, arms out. Her cherry blossoms were more vivid when wet, the pink, brown, and white ink catching his attention. As it always did whenever she was naked.
She rode the wave like a pro. Then she wiped out.
He paddled closer to where she’d gone under, each wave pushing him closer to her.
Pride filled him each time she got back up on that board. Her family had her thinking she wasn’t good enough for pretty much anything. And that simply wasn’t true.
A few seconds passed, and Penn still hadn’t emerged. Another two seconds. Cole’s stomach dropped when bubbles of air reached the surface and burst.
She emerged just as he reached her, breathing in huge gulps of air.
“I did it,” she choked out. She continued to suck down breaths, but a tiny smile curved her lips.
Christ. She’d scared the shit out of him, but she was laughing hysterically. He couldn’t help but laugh along with her, and it eased away that fear.
“Did you see me?” she squealed. In her excitement, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “I totally rode that wave for like two seconds.”
He laughed against her neck and returned her tight hug. “I saw. You did it.”
She eased away, wiping the water from her eyes. “I literally feel like I could fight a giant right now.” There was no mistaking the pride and exhilaration in her eyes. “Like I could run a hundred miles.”
Adrenaline was coursing through her body. She was high on accomplishment. It was a new look on her. She was usually so confident that she downplayed her actions. But after knowing her for so many years, he was thrilled to see another facet to her personality. And it was just another check on the long list of things he admired about her, lusted after.
She’d wanted to try something new today, and they had. But this had been one long day of athletic foreplay that had gone on long enough.
“I know another way you can use up that energy.” He lifted one eyebrow in question, hoping his innuendo was heard loud and clear.
It never took Penn