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 long to catch his drift. Her mind was just as much in the gutter as his.
“I wonder what that could be?” She bit her bottom lip, a move that drove him insane. He wanted that lip between his teeth. Gliding over his cock.
He reached out and cupped her cheek, letting his thumb graze over it. “I can show you, but there’s just one more challenge you have to complete before I do.”
She cocked her head, a grin spreading across her lips.
“Race you to the beach?”
She gasped, and without hesitation, smashed both hands down on the surface of the water. The splash hit him in the eye, and it was the perfect distraction. She was already bolting for the shore.
“Cheater,” he yelled after her.
His chest swelled. And so did his cock.
Penn had been the first woman who had touched a part of him other than what was hidden in his pants. He wanted to shake his fist at the sky every time he thought about it. He couldn’t see where things could go with Penn.
This fling was just that. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to spend the rest of the week wearing out his dick.
Chapter Nine
Penn didn’t think anything could feel as good as Cole’s hands on her body. But she’d been wrong. She’d fallen off that surfboard fifty times, at least, and she’d survived. She’d humiliated herself in front of Cole, and he hadn’t cared one bit.
The elevator dinged on her hotel room floor, and she peeked out, making sure the coast was clear.
When she looked over her shoulder and smiled, he grabbed her hand and tugged them down the hallway to her room. She struggled to keep up with his stride and hold on to his hand. They were both covered in sand from where they’d both fallen to their knees on the shore.
After she’d gotten there first.
She rummaged in her bag for the key and slipped it into the slot. She stepped over the threshold, turning to face him, and waited.
He took one more look both ways down the hall, and then he was on her, kicking the door closed behind them.
Within seconds, he was ushering her toward the bathroom where he turned on the shower faucet, testing the water temperature.