LITMIR.BIZ

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to use weights for his fantastic physique.

      Her arms burning, Dru kept her eyes on him, squinting against the spray of salt water peppering her face. Like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, he was her reward for the suffering her body was now experiencing. Maybe she should have spent more time talking to him before going along with this mad surfing idea. They had to have some area of common interest.

      A wave slapped her in the face, making her gasp at the sting. Breathing and walking upright were better common ground than this, she decided with a low growl.

      “Here’s good,” Alex called to her over his shoulder. He shifted, pushing up into a sitting position to straddle the board. “C’mon up.”

      Abandoning any semblance of grace or even strength, Dru wiggled until she was straddling her board, too.

      “You’re like those people who run marathons for entertainment, aren’t you?” she accused.

      His grin flashed, but Alex shook his head. “Nah. I’ve never been much into group events. The idea of someone slapping a number on my chest and telling me what direction to aim my feet holds no appeal.”

      Now that she wasn’t paddling her ass off, Dru was able to catch her breath and look around. Her chest was still heaving from the exertion, but she was blown away at the beauty of the view. Water, everywhere. Brilliant blue, fading to pale white where it washed up on the deep gold sand of the beach. All around, the water seemed to blend into the sky. It felt as if she were being held on the edge of heaven. Despite her labored breath and screaming muscles, a sense of peace washed over her.

      “It’s amazing out here,” she said softly.

      “You get it,” he said, his tone low but delighted. As if talking too loudly would desecrate the serenity of the moment. “No matter what is going on in my life, when I come out here, I know I can deal with it.”

      Dru tilted her head, blinking against the sun reflecting off the water. “The sea gives you strength?”

      “In a way.” His tone was contemplative, and he looked out at the water as he might a lover. “More like I realize out here that so much is beyond my control. It lets me see how unimportant some things are, and how vital others might be.”

      Then, as if he were shaking the water out of his hair, he tossed off the philosophical mantle that was starting to fascinate Dru and glanced over his shoulder.

      “And then there’s the whole man versus nature thing, too,” he said with a grin, nodding to indicate the wave building behind them. “Once you get the hang of being one with the ocean, you know how strong you are.”

      Dru followed his gaze, her eyes going huge and her stomach diving down to Davy Jones’s locker. She gulped, wondering if she could ride the wave belly down. It was bound to hurt less.

      “Remember what I taught you,” Alex said, already flattening his body on the board. His toes were tucked under, his hands gripping the sides of the board. “Paddle with the wave until you feel it build, then push up to your feet and squat. Keep your knees loose, focus on your core.”

      Ever the good student, Dru followed his directions. As if her biceps and shoulders weren’t still aching from her earlier abuse, she paddled like hell, feeling the water swell beneath the board.

      Half terrified, half numb, she watched Alex and mimicked his moves. As the wave built, she grabbed the sides of her board. Her heart pounding, she pushed up and tugged her feet beneath her as if she was doing a jumping-jack push-up. She pried her fingers from the board and stood, knees bent, arms outstretched for balance.

      Already riding the wave, Alex glanced over to make sure she was okay. He shot her a huge smile and a thumbs-up.

      A satisfied kind of lust settled in Dru’s churning stomach. Yes. She’d done it. In that moment, for one brief second, she knew she could handle anything life threw her way.

      Thirty minutes later, Dru followed Alex’s directions and headed for the beach. She reached the shore and unhooked the tether from her ankle before rolling off the board.

      The most incredible energy coursed through her body, filling her with an excitement and freedom like she’d never felt before. Unable to lift the board in her quivering arms, she dragged it out of the water with her. Breathless, she clambered up the beach. She only made it about ten steps toward the Surf Shack and couldn’t resist any longer. She plunged the board into the sand. Then she threw her arms out as if to embrace the magic of the experience and turned in a circle with a laugh.

      “Oh, my God,” she breathed. “That’s like heaven.”

      Talk about exhilarating. It was the best sex she’d ever had, a chocolate binge and the view from the top of the Grand Canyon all rolled into one fabulous surge of delight. She watched Alex stride out of the sea, looking once again like a modern-day water god.

      The laughter still dancing on her lips, her breath hitched at the intensity in his eyes. He wasn’t laughing with her. He was staring at her as if she was the most incredible sight he’d ever seen. The edible kind, as if he was starving and had to take a bite. Her smile fell away, her chest rising and falling with her quick breaths.

      He didn’t even bother to stick his board in the sand. He just tossed it aside and strode forward. Dru’s heart tumbled over itself, it was racing so fast. Heat flared deep in her belly, so hot she wondered why her wet swimsuit wasn’t steaming.

      He stopped a few inches away. Close enough for her to smell the sea overlaying his own rich, masculine scent. His hair hung in wet curls around his face, droplets of water trailing down his throat. Over his collarbone. Onto his chest. Her mouth watered. She wanted to trace that water with her tongue. Would it taste salty like the sea? Or would she taste him?

      She had to know.

      Just as she took a step forward, Alex reached out and cupped his hands on either side of her head. Dru’s body melted at the powerful move, her nipples beading in supplication against the tight, wet fabric of her swimsuit. He tilted her head back. His body pressed into hers, his arousal hard and obvious behind the wet cotton of his trunks as it pushed against her belly.

      Before she could do more than register a surprised oh of pleasure at how hard and long he felt, his mouth took hers.

      It was like surfing. Exhilarating, dangerous, addictive. His lips slid, soft and sweet, over hers. He molded her mouth gently before his tongue traced her bottom lip. She gave a sigh at how perfect it all felt.

      Then he shifted. She had no idea how, but the kiss went from mellow to incendiary with just the brush of his tongue. Everything changed. She felt her world tilt, a sideways slide into a dark, intense well of pleasure. Her arms hung useless at her sides, her head dropping back in his hands, giving over total control. Helpless to do anything but enjoy, she let the passion engulf her.

      ALEX HAD NEVER BELIEVED he’d find anything that enthralled him as much as the sea. Until Drucilla. Sexy, sweet and oh, God, he thought as he deepened the kiss, so freaking delicious.

      Fingers tunneled through her hair, all loose and wet where it escaped its tidy braid, he held her head captive for his mouth. Teeth, tongue and breath tangled together in a wild dance of passion. His heart beat as if he was riding the highest wave; his body responded as if the touch of her mouth had flipped his switch, turning him on at full power.

      Her lips tasted like salt, sun and something indefinable. Something that reached into his heart and tugged. A lesser man might have hesitated, worried that a woman he’d known less than twenty-four hours could capture him so tightly, so quickly. But Alex knew better—there was no such thing as love. Appreciation, enjoyment, respect, definitely. And sexual connection? His body’s reaction to Drucilla proved how intense those could be. But love? Pretty words was all.

      Positive his heart was safe, Alex gave over to the delight he was discovering in this fascinating woman.

      Her arms twined around his neck, a low purr of pleasure husky in her throat. She moved tight against his body, her

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