Page 8 of The Game
Bloody hell, he wanted her!
‘Need a hand with that?’ She pointed to the tube of sunscreen now gripped too tightly in his hand as she deposited her beach bag next to his.
He loosened his hold, handed over the lotion and turned his back. ‘Do I get to repay the favour?’
She laughed and, a moment later, was massaging cream into his back. ‘I’m good. I sprayed some on at home.’
‘Well, that’s not fair.’
When she slapped his shoulder, indicating she was done, he turned to face her with one brow raised. ‘Spray-on sunscreen isn’t nearly as fun as the regular stuff.’
Smirking, she removed her hat and sunnies and threw them on top of her bag, then her shirt and shorts followed.
Damn!
‘Put your eyes back in your head, DoubleD. You can’t tell me you’ve never seen a woman in a bikini.’
She strode past him to the water’s edge, but his eyes stayed glued to her form and his feet had him following.
When he reached her side, she offered a smile but glanced over her shoulder. ‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’
‘Probably.’ Like his own name.
Her smile turned into a grin. ‘The board?’
‘What board?’
She rolled her eyes, nudged his shoulder, then waded into the shallows, her feet lifting to clear the tiny waves that rolled in.
Happy to keep his distance, he stayed put and noticed the moment she got too deep to stand, her head bobbing up and down as she trod water. For a few beats, she watched him watching her, but then she disappeared beneath the surface and, re-emerging a few metres further out, swam freestyle into deeper water.
If he wasn’t so terrified, and so bloody eager, to see what would happen if he swam after her, he’d be out there in a second. Instead, he scrubbed a hand over his face and turned to fetch the board. Paddling out to a depth that would be, he guessed, about mid-thigh on Alyssa, he waited for her to swim back in. She was slightly out of breath when she joined him.
‘God, that was refreshing!’
‘Glad to hear it.’ At least one of them wasn’t tied up in knots. ‘You ever paddled before?’
She stood, the top half of her body rising out of the water.
He clenched his teeth.
‘Nope, but keen to learn,’ she answered brightly. ‘Where do you want me?’
Dean groaned. Loudly.
Claiming he needed to cool off, he asked her to hold the board, then trudged deeper and dove beneath the surface. He powered through the water until the image of her, smiling up at him with water dripping over her chest, had faded.
Feeling much more level-headed and composed, he made his way back, only she wasn’t where he’d left her. She was on the board already, standing upright, although her stance was a bit awkward and would make her tire easily. With a few tips, she’d be moving through the water with grace.
He stood waist-deep, arms crossed, and studied her technique. ‘Impressive,’ he said when she got closer.
She beamed at him. ‘Thanks.’
‘All right, take a seat.’ He held the board steady, and she sat with both legs hanging off one side.
‘First things first.’ Reaching beneath the board, he found what he was looking for. Then, running a hand from the back of her calf to her ankle, and enjoying the look she gave him, he lifted her foot to the water’s surface. ‘Always wear the leg-rope.’
He strapped the cuff around her ankle, made sure it was secure, then gave her the rundown on safety. Next, he got her to stand and explained how to hold the paddle correctly.
