Page 38 of The Best Wrong Move

“Oh, so that’s why you suggested it?” I nudge him on the arm, chuckling, but my fist slips off his slick skin. I might suck at surfing, but the proximity of Dom’s nearly naked body is making me feel committed to the sport. I could do this every day if I get to look at him, dripping all over and close enough to touch.

“Nah, that was just luck.” He grins. “I brought you out here so you could do what you came here to do.”

I flinch, remembering all the work I left undone back at the rental. “Write my script?”

“No, live your life. And forget about who’s watching.”

He reaches up to my face — my heart races in response.

But instead of pulling me in for a kiss, he pulls a long, slimy strand of seaweed off the top of my head.

Chapter 25

My lips are so desperate for him after last night that they practically ache when he’s bent this close to me. I shoot my eyes up toward the rentals to see if Rex has made it outside yet, which would give us both a reason to amp up the physical chemistry between us right now.

But the deck is still empty. Dammit, Rex. No luck.

“Let’s get you on another wave.” Dom hops to his feet. He reaches out a hand to help me and I grab it. Then he effortlessly pulls me up, wrapping both arms around me, quickly kissing the top of my head before bounding off toward the water again.

I look up at the townhouses, expecting to see Rex emerging now, but they still haven’t come outside, which means that quick kiss wasn’t just for show.

Or was it?

His back muscles ripple in and out as he moves, dripping with saltwater, making me want to mount him right here.

But another wave?

“Wait, what? No. I think I got the full experience on that one. My eyes are going to be stinging until next Sunday as it is. I’ll just watch you.”

There’s nothing else I’d rather be watching anyway.

He turns and makes a funny face at me, like he can’t believe I’d turn down another wave.

“But you’re already wet.”

I stifle a laugh.If he only knew.

“What does that have to do with surfing?” I squint at him, blinking innocently in the sun.

He laughs out loud, then holds his hand out toward me. “Come on, try another. Don’t give up before you get the hang of it.”

I stand where I am, weighing the pros and cons of getting another face full of saltwater, or exposing my nipples for a second time. Dom has seen me in my underwear, and now with my chest half-exposed. I eye the knot on his swim trunks, wondering when it’s going to be his turn to show me something new.

“Plus, you’ve gotten a feel for it now.” He’s somehow hotter when he wants something, with his brows curled together like that. It makes me want to fight him a little bit more.

I don’t budge.

“Get in the water!” His voice rises in volume. It’s a command, not a suggestion anymore, but he breaks into a loose grin. “Come on, Liv, you know you want to!”

He’s standing with his feet in the shallow end of the surf, a washboard of abs accented by the sun dipping lower behind him. “Get in the water, or I’m going to make you get in the water!” He takes a wider stance in the sand, like a bull about to charge a crimson flag.

Then he plants his feet and breaks into another ear-to-ear smile that nearly melts me on the spot. His skin’s practically shimmering in the sun. Dom bends at the waist and smacks the surf, sending a spray of water flying toward me.

I dodge it, then grab my board and race back at him, laughing.

I repeat his words in my head —Live your life, and forget about who’s watching.

He’s right. I might have come here in order to get away from everything back home. But now that I’m here, I know that I need to unleash myself from a lot more than that. Do whatever it takes to feel like myself again. Or maybe to feel like myself for the first real time. Free from New York. From strangers’ opinions. Free from Rex, even if he could appear behind me at any moment now.

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