Beyond the Waves (Pacific Shores Book 1) by Lynnette Bonner

“Don’t worry, I won’t even jump.” Then in an aside to his team he chuckled, “I won’t need to.”
    Taysia’s eyes narrowed in a friendly challenge. “Alright, team, let’s whip ‘em!” And, as Blaine prepared to toss the ball, she batted her eyelashes coyly in his direction.
    “Hey! No fair,” yelled one of the players from the other team as the ball rose into the air, arching decidedly in Taysia’s favor.
    Blaine’s crooked toss was to no avail. Tom reached out one long arm and snatched the ball out of the air, and the first points went to the other team.
    Still, fifteen minutes later the “shirts” were ahead when Tom’s mother called to him that it was time for them to go home. Groans sounded from several of the other players who weren’t ready to quit the game yet.
    “Bye, Tom.” Taysia waved and stepped to the top of the key, dribbling the ball and waiting to see how the players would be redistributed.
    Someone spoke from the sidelines. “I’ll take his place.”
    The ball ricocheted off Taysia’s foot, jounced across the gym, and clanged into the metal bleachers, causing the teenagers to eye her curiously. Her pulse raced like a rabbit with a coyote on its tail. Why did she let him affect her so?
    Kylen Sumner, dressed handsomely in khaki cargo shorts and a black T-shirt that enhanced his dark eyes, stepped onto the court and brought his nose to within an inch of hers, a grin sparkling in his gaze. “You are going down.”
    She arched her brow and chuckled. “We’ll see if you can live up to that big mouth of yours.”
    He stepped back and smiled at the other players, who, without exception, watched them curiously. “Let’s play ball, then.” He stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside, stepping between Taysia and her teammates.
    Taysia swallowed and refused to allow her gaze to fall.
    Her attention settled on Blaine, who had a grim look on his face as he roughly shoved a plate of cookies into a startled patron’s hands and plunked the money into the cash box. Marie caught her eye and made her “he’s so gorgeous” face, covering her mouth with one hand. Taysia suppressed a smile and looked away, holding out her hands to receive the throw-in from Reece.
    The other two girls in the game unashamedly gawked at Kylen as, muscles rippling, he crouched and slid smoothly across the floor, anticipating Taysia’s every move.
    Taysia feinted one way, then spun, intending to dribble around him the other way, but she collided with the solid wall of his chest, lost complete control of the basketball, and dissolved into a fit of giggles. Kylen grinned and took time to steady her, or he would have had the ball. Luckily Reece recovered it and made the shot.
    The game was full of joking and fun. Smack talk reverberated off the gym walls, mixing in with the laughter of players and spectators alike.
    Taysia snatched a pass out of the air and made a dash for her basket at the other end of the court. But Kylen loomed before her, reaching for the ball. She headed for the sideline, trying to make it past him as he backed down the court, taunting her. Suddenly he tripped and fell, and Taysia sprawled across his chest in an undignified heap. The ball bounced jauntily toward the middle of the court, the other players laughing and scrambling for it.
    They both gulped air as she pushed herself up on one elbow, her face only inches from his. She forced herself to ignore the heat emanating from the place where his arm rested across her back. He had clutched her to him as they fell. To protect her and take the brunt of the impact? She brushed the thought aside. “You’re a sweaty cheater!” She jabbed his chest and tried not to smile. Kylen attempted a grin as he flexed first one foot and then the other, but it was more of a wince, and Taysia’s eyes widened with sudden chagrin. “Your feet!”
    He closed his eyes and heaved a breath through his nose. A garbled sound of acknowledgment was his only