Page 39 of Sweet Temptation
“Yeah, asshole, you passed. Now go get my sister and treat her like the princess she deserves to be. I’ll see you guys back at the house later.”
That’s where he’s wrong. Lexie’s not a princess. She’s the fucking warrior.
I watch as he rides the next wave in and stops to talk with Lex before walking back to the house.
She doesn’t follow him.
She doesn’t even stand.
Just stays sitting in the sand.
Watching me.
Fuck this.
I catch the next wave in and shake my hair out as I walk her way, knowing this might just be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve done some pretty dumb shit in my life.
“First rule of surfing...” Her eyes light up like I’m giving her the fucking world, and it might just be right now, right here, when I decide that’s exactly what I’m going to do. “You can’t surf in a sweater, Lex.”
Lexie stands with a pretty smile on her pursed lips. “Oh darn. I guess I woke up for nothing.” She pulls the sweater over her head and drops it to the towel, and I reconsider every decision I’ve ever made, including thinking this was a good idea. Because this... this is a very bad idea.
Tiny red cherries dot the white bikini that’s tied around her neck and at her hips with a little red bow.
“Sorry. I didn’t have a wet suit,” she murmurs. I guess I’ve been quiet for too long because all the blood has rushed from my brain straight to my dick. Pretty sure I’m that villain I always tease her about because I feel like the wolf about to attack the sheep.
Shit. “It’s all good. The ocean is way too rough for you to be out there this morning anyway.”
“Really . . . ?”
I reach down and grab her towel and sweater. “Yeah. It knocked us around a bit already. I think a storm is rolling in. But we could try a different day.”
She takes her sweater from me and beams. “I’d like that.”
“It’s a date.” Fuck. Could I sound more lame?
She tilts her head and stares at me for a minute. “Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? Is something wrong? Are you sick?”
“Oh, you’ve got jokes now, huh?” I pick her up like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold and run into the ocean.
“Lucky,” she screams. “Put me down.”
I lean over until her toes touch the water, and she pulls them back up and screams again. “No. Don’t put me down. Lucky...”
Lexie clings to my neck, and I laugh harder than I have in years. “Admit that I’m always nice, and I’ll put you back down on dry land.”
“Lucky...” she laughs, and it’s a beautiful sound.
Almost as beautiful as her.
“Admit it, Lex,” I demand and walk further into the cold water.
“Oh my God, Lucky... Fine. You’re nice to me when you feel like it and an asshole the rest of the time. There. Is that good?”
She yanks on my hair and claws at my skin.
“Please, Lucky.”
“Oh baby, I like when you beg,” I groan, and Lexie laughs her ass off.
