“You can do anything you put your mind to, Leah.” He swept his lips over hers. He tasted of the cola he’d just drunk.
A few minutes later, they were striding into the ocean, the waves lapping at their ankles.
Carter had a hold of her hand, the board beneath his opposite arm. “These are good waves for a beginner.”
“Beginner is the right word. I’ve never even tried this.”
“It’s easy, you just have to feel at one with the wave, let it take you. Don’t fight it.”
“Mmm.” She wasn’t convinced as they strode deeper. “Oh, it’s colder than I thought.” She sucked in her belly as the water rode over her blue bikini bottoms.
“Ah, this ain’t cold. Try doing it in December without a wetsuit.”
“Do you?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “Come on, we’ll swim some. We need to get deeper.”
She gulped and pushed thoughts of sharks from her mind.
He released her, sent the board forward, and dove into an oncoming wave, disappearing for a moment before surfacing and flicking his head to get his hair from his face.
“Here goes nothing,” she muttered and copied him.
The water engulfed her head, the cold slapping her face and whooshing into her ears. She kicked out and surfaced quickly.
He was right in front of her, smiling. “Here, hold the board.”
She clutched it, glad of its buoyancy.
“We’ll go out further, and then get you up.”
“You have more confidence in that idea than me.”
“You’ll love it, wait and see.”
They went deeper, bobbing up and down as waves swelled beneath them.
“Here should do.”
“Good.” She glanced at the beach house. It was a long way off.
“Kneel on the front.”
“What?”
“Kneel on the front of the board and hold on. I’ll ride, give you a sense of what you’re aiming for.”
She hauled herself onto the board, the sun instantly warming her shoulders as she tucked her legs beneath her.
He paused, waited for a rising roller to pass, then climbed on behind her with his legs also bent beneath him.
She turned, and her breath caught at the sight of him. Carter Harris was a truly beautiful man. His un-inked skin golden, his hair devoid of fuss, and his wide shoulders and thick muscles something even a skilled Greek sculptor would struggle to do justice to.
Her heart picked up a beat as she watched him assess the incoming waves. She wasn’t sure if it was her adrenaline, or if there was something else growing there, a nugget of something that could be an indication of more between them.
Bad idea, Leah.
Totally unsuitable.