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  Maybe he’d get good enough to be her surfing partner, in and out of the sheets.

  Stifling her horny thoughts for now, Kerry maneuvered the board into position and chose an incoming wave.

  “Paddle!” she shouted as the wave rose behind them.

  In a single fluid motion, she was up on her feet. But the board wobbled and pitched so hard she almost bailed.

  “I told you not to stand.” She turned her head, struggling to keep the board stable.

  Finn caught ahold of her waist and wrapped his arms around her. His front was pressed to her back and suddenly, all felt right in her world.

  Kerry relaxed. She could do this. The wave was a right hander, so she steered toward the left to keep going down the face.

  Foam sprayed over them, and the scent of seawater, the roar of the surf, and the hot man surfing with her, glued to her back, made her wish the wave would never end.

  # # #

  “Woohoo!” Finn shouted as he leaped from the board into the surf with Kerry still in his arms. “Now, do we get to underwater kiss?”

  The wave had been a long and amazing ride. Sure, it wasn’t towering, but what could be better?

  Kerry escaped from his arms and swam for the board. “Let’s put this baby on the beach first, then do some body surfing.”

  The way her body swayed as she carried the board onto the sand had Finn praying for a heat wave. No matter how blustery and gray the weather was, he was already glad he’d opted for Dex’s Long Island beach cottage over Florida or California where his other buddies had properties.

  “Is this it, LD?” he said to the clouds. A flat layer hung above the horizon, and as he watched, a swirling finger of vapor rose from the cloud bank, then spread like a mushroom into a T-shaped apparition. Either a cross, or an angel.

  “What are you looking at?” Kerry’s voice came from behind him.

  “You see that?” He pointed at the human-like figure. “I was thinking about how I was meant to come to this beach to surf it for Lonnie.”

  “That looks like a man rising from the clouds.” She touched his arm, then leaned against him. “Is he giving you a sign?”

  “Maybe.” Finn’s throat closed, and it was hard to find his voice. “I held his hand, begging him to hold on, to not leave his mother, his sister, and me.”

  The figure spread wider and lighter, diffusing into the upper atmosphere.

  Kerry didn’t reply. She rubbed her hand up and down his back, over the wetsuit. Somehow that simple, undemanding action, drew the words from him.

  “He told me to find him a resting place, but not to hurry. I’ve been on several expeditions. Every time I have leave, I take his ashes with me, but I haven’t found the perfect place, at least not yet.”

  “There’s no hurry, Finn.” She moved her hand down to find his. “There’s never a hurry to move on from someone we love.”

  “Thanks.” He slipped her hand into his, their fingers alternating. An unfamiliar ache wrapped itself like barbed wire around his heart.

  Everyone told him he needed to let go. No one had ever told him to hold onto his buddy’s memory. No one, except this enchanting woman with the darting eyes and the fear over her shoulder. What haunted her and brought her here? What had made her quit pro surfing?

  The angelic wisp dissipated from the cloud, and rays of sun peeked from above, breaking over the glassy sea as the surf calmed and the water swished over the sand, lapping at their toes.

  Finn squeezed Kerry’s hand and brought it up between them, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. “Was that a sign that I should let go? I’m alive, but dead. He’s dead, but still lives.”

  “I believe he’s telling you to live again.” Her eyes softened from gunmetal gray to a warm, inviting span of blue, an entire ocean held in the center of one soul.

  Chapter Seven

  The waves were gone, so Kerry and Finn picked up their surfboards. He reached for her hand with his free one, and like a magnet to a lodestone, she clasped onto him and they strolled along the edge of the water.

  The sun was climbing, drying the wetsuit, and even though she felt sticky and gritty from the seawater and sand, Kerry wasn’t eager to go home and get cleaned up. The simple act of holding hands and walking with Finn felt natural and carefree. It was something she and Jared never did. The surfing promoter always had something in his hands, whether a cell phone, or a megaphone, or a clipboard. Besides, he hadn’t been the touching type and walking with him meant nodding and acknowledging his critiques of each surf she’d made and listening to him harangue about how she could have scored higher if she’d only done this or that differently.

  A seagull dipped low in front of them, then soared in a smooth arc, its feathers fluttering in the breeze. Kerry turned her face toward the sun and inhaled the seaside scent. “I love it out here where the sea meets the land. I’ve always lived near a beach. I can’t imagine being landlocked. How about you?”

  “Army bases are usually far from the ocean.” Finn swung her arm as they walked. “I grew up outside of New York City, but my dad never took me to the coast. We didn’t get out much.”

  “Why not?”

  They crossed the sand and headed higher toward the cottage.

  Finn shrugged and gazed back at the ocean. “He was disabled, but we did like to camp in the woods up the Hudson. He wanted me to go to West Point.”

  “Did you?” She didn’t want to pry, but now that she was getting to know him, she felt his need for a shoulder to lean on. Something must have happened to his father since he was out here at the coast by himself.

  “No, he died my senior year, so I enlisted right after graduation.” His mouth drew into a thin line.

  “I’m sorry.” She gave his large hand a squeeze.

  “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

  Well, duh, of course it wasn’t. But what was she going to say to that?

  Silence reigned as they made their way back to the cottage. Kerry rinsed off the surfboards and dried them before slipping them into their bags. She told Finn he could use the outdoor shower first. They had to wash off any sand that had gotten between the wetsuit and skin before going into the house.

  The area between her thighs tingled at the thought of Finn peeling off his wetsuit and rinsing the sand off his tats. The intricate artwork forever etched down his arms, as well as the one covering his ribs and torso, must have been excruciating to ink. He had to have been fully committed to the artwork to endure the painful sessions. There had to be a story there, an inner ache greater than the external pricks of pain over his skin.

  What did she want with Finn? Truth, she’d planned this week as a respite from the surfing tour and time to regain her courage. And here she was, stuck in a cottage with a hot soldier, a rugged guy who made her flutter in all the right places. Hardly a hardship. More like a long overdue gift.

  She was definitely attracted to him, and even though she’d never been the type of girl who wanted romance and flowers and all that fru-fru stuff, kissing Finn and holding hands with no goal other than being together was refreshing. It reminded her of summer surf camp when she was a teen, where within a day, all the campers would pair off and pretend to be boyfriend-girlfriend until it was time to go home. There had been no strings and no promises to stay in touch afterwards. It had been so simple and uncomplicated.

  “Hey, all done. Your turn.” Finn came around the corner to the garden bench she was sitting on. He stood in front of her, bare chested, with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

  Kerry’s heart shot through her throat, and she gaped at his physical beauty. Up close, the ink was more intricate and detailed than she’d imagined. ‘Valhalla’ was written on his arm, wrapped around by a red and black scaly sea monster winding toward his shoulder where a bearded Viking glared, ready for battle. His other shoulder sported a skull hidden behind a garland of red flowers and fall leaves.

  Finn seemed flustered by her staring and hastily
opened a bag, extracting a T-shirt. The side of his torso was covered by a serpent wrapped around a rose. Before she could swallow her gathering drool, he pulled the shirt over his shoulders and rubbed it down on top of his abdominals.

  “Uh, well, your turn.” He hooked his thumb. “I’ll take a walk or something. I mean, I won’t go upstairs or anything.”

  He was so cute and earnest looking, trying to convince her he wasn’t going to ogle her from the upstairs window the way she’d done to him.

  She flashed him a sideways smile and shook her hair over her shoulder. “Then I guess you’re missing a show. Adios, amigo.”

  He was a grown man and obviously attracted, and he kissed like the devil, hot and desperate. What was with all the shyness?

  Swiveling her hips, she walked away from him, easing the front zipper of the wetsuit down from her neck, past her breasts, and spilling down toward her thigh. Her long hair covered her assets, and she wasn’t brazen enough to drop the suit past her hips. Any blood left in Finn should rush downwards to the nice, juicy shaft between his legs.

  Kerry licked her lips and stepped into the the cedar enclosure. She didn’t dare look back to see if he’d followed, but disappointment bit her sharply at the thought he’d turned her down. Or maybe he hadn’t caught on to what her game plan was—a vacation fling, no strings, no hurt.

  She turned on the water, and then shimmied the suit down past her legs and bent to pick it off the floor. From the corner of her eye, she spied a pair of large, long feet coming around the enclosure.

  Finn dropped his towel.

  Kerry gasped so fast she could have fainted.

  His cock was long and hard and pointed straight at her.

  “You’re a quick learner,” she said, rising from the floor. She tossed the wetsuit. “Lose the shirt, soldier.”

  With a guttural grunt, Finn ripped the shirt from his massive body and clamped her in his arms.

  Fire shot through every vein in Kerry’s body as she dragged him under the stream of water. It. Was. Cold.

  But what did she care? She had a hot warrior in her arms and he was kissing her within an inch of her life. His tongue was like the dragon on his arm, and his grip was tight as a bear’s. Her nipples tensed and her breasts tingled, pressed against the hard planes of his chest. Arousal pulsed in her lower belly, and waves of quivering need throbbed between her thighs.

  The rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled, breath raspy with lust, heightened her desire to an insane pitch. Her hands went into a frenzy, pawing at him, raking up and down his back as he shoved her against the shower wall, his erection against her belly, sliding up and down with the sparring of their mouths and tongues.

  She was tall, but not tall enough. She tiptoed as high as she could go and raised one long leg, hooking around his hip and lower back. Gosh, she was so ready, in an instant. The entire morning of surfing and flirting had been one long mind fuck, and now, she had the warrior within her sights.

  Finn lowered his mouth from hers and attacked her breasts. He suckled and grazed her nipples, sending streaks of fire straight to her sex. Her back was surely getting scratched against the cedar panels, but the pain mixed up with intense pleasure made her desperate for more. When was the last time she’d had a man who truly wanted her, not carelessly or preoccupied, but raw, deep, and animalistic?

  She couldn’t wait a second longer. Her core pulsed and clenched on emptiness. And yet, warning bells clanged in her mind. She’d never experienced a rush so hard and fast that she was craving a man, one she’d only met this morning, to invade her privacy and take her, use her, and ravish her.

  What if she became addicted to him and he’d ruin her for any other man? Certainly, none of the surfers she’d bedded had been this aggressive and fierce. Most were stoned and so drained by the ocean currents, they’d been rubber in her hands. As for Jared, that wimp probably counted stock prices while giving her his most basic, missionary duty.

  A guttural groan vibrated from her throat when Finn lowered his body and held that one leg over his shoulder. His tongue dragged and his mouth nipped a trail down to her inner thighs. He spread her wider with his broad body and kissed her squarely between her legs.

  She arched into him, her hands curled around his neck, clutching him as his talented tongue encircled her pleasure center and shot flames throughout her body. She ached, wanting him, and somehow, knowing this was Finn, a man who had a wound, a scar on his soul, one who needed absolution and peace, made her yearn to take and claim him.

  His tongue flicked steadily, building her passion, driving her to a fever, even as cold water poured over his back, and her shoulders were chilled against the shower enclosure. This was too, too much. Too much pleasure, too much heat. Yet, she didn’t want it to end, except she was about to explode and cream all over him. She threw her head back, banging it on the enclosure as Finn spread her lips and dipped a finger into her tight, flooding channel. He hooked it over and over the pleasure bundle inside at the same time as he sucked her sensitive nub.

  “Finn, oh, Finn,” she uttered as her first orgasm slammed her against the wall and shot her into a tube of whitewater surf. Pulse after pulse of ecstasy weakened her knees and contracted her empty sheath, turning her into a quaking jelly of passion.

  Strong arms held her up as the water was turned off. Kerry hung onto Finn’s shoulders, unable to catch her breath, her head lolling. Where was he taking her? Didn’t he want her to reciprocate? His balls had to be blue and imploding by now.

  Tender kisses rained over her head as she heard the slap of the screen door and his sturdy footsteps pad across the wooden floor. She buried her face into his neck and savored his wild, salty scent. If she wasn’t careful, she could be wanting this man after her week was over.

  Wordlessly, he climbed the stairs to the loft and tucked her into the tiny twin featherbed. His warm brown eyes were full and large as he swept the hair from her face, and his wicked mouth, well, well, well, was that a flicker of a self-satisfied smile? More relaxed than she’d ever seen him, he dotted a kiss on her lips and pulled the comforter over her body.

  “Thanks,” he said, and then turned toward the door.

  Kerry’s throat froze at the sight of that beautiful back and firm ass departing from her room. She clutched the comforter and hugged it to her tingling body.

  Dear God in Heaven. Did you send this man to me? What am I to do with him?

  Chapter Eight

  Finn hurried down the stairs and into the master bedroom after putting Kerry in her bed. His heart was exploding, and his cock raged at his iron will of control. Giving her an orgasm was one thing, but to take from her was not in the cards.

  He was a warrior, not an officer, but still a gentleman. His father had ingrained in him the need to treat women right. Even the hired ones he’d made use of overseas had to be respected. As for women stateside, his usual modus operandi was to find an available woman for a week or two with the understanding he wouldn’t be back.

  If Kerry were his usual fare, he would have had her by now—no hesitation. She was hot for him and willing. The only complication was they shared living quarters, although by accident, which meant things could get dicey. He needed to know the end date of this affair before proceeding.

  Finn pulled on sweatpants and a T-shirt, then extracted his laptop from his bag and booted it up. He had to check in with Dex and see when he should be back at Thrive’s New York City office. They were developing a video game on catching insurgents in the ancient drug smuggling tunnels in the mountains of Afghanistan.

  While Finn couldn’t give them classified information, he could certainly help with the environment, the types of terrain and weapons encountered, and details of obstacles and enemy characteristics.

  He’d already spent time getting to Montauk, and he needed to concentrate on his mission to find Lonnie a resting place, or in his words, a place he’d always return to with love and laughter on his lips. Lonnie, what a sap
.

  Kerry could be a major distraction, especially since he didn’t have more than a week before he needed to be back in the City to help Dex. A few days consulting, and then he had to catch a Space-A flight from McGuire Air Force Base with enough time to return to duty. Time was tight.

  And so is Kerry’s sheath.

  Finn rubbed his eyes, willing his body to stop obsessing about Kerry. He could have her right here, right now, if he chose to climb the steps, but she wasn’t just any woman he’d picked up at a bar. She had cared about his feelings, and she’d asked questions and drawn out his emotions.

  He liked her, and she was Siena’s friend. Not someone casual. Not someone to love and leave.

  Maybe he should move out now, before he got in too deep. He’d learned to surf, somewhat, and he’d given Kerry a mind-numbing climax to thank her for her troubles.

  Finn checked the schedule of the Long Island Rail Road, but couldn’t keep his mind on it. How the hell could he have left that gorgeous babe in her bed, all curled up like a limp kitten gorged out on cream—alone?

  Swallowing hard, he tried to ignore the throbbing of his cock. Two cold showers and surfing in ice water should have done the trick. Gritting his teeth, he knocked his head on the table in frustration, because truth to tell, if he ever got into Kerry, he’d never want to leave. She was a goddess and a challenge. She’d give as good as she got with her muscular body that could take anything he’d dish. She even sported a shallow six-pack across her toned belly, and her thighs were corded and firm. She hadn’t been shy either, not with the way she undressed while swaying her hips.

  Idiot. What are you waiting for?

  Except he couldn’t hurt her. She wasn’t a random hookup. Thinking about leaving her drew that barbed wire tighter around his heart. Never looking into those ocean blue eyes would mean never living again.

  He clutched his chest and winced. Could he be falling in love? Was Kerry the one, like his mother was the one and only woman his father had ever loved?