Breaker's Passion by Julie Cannon Page B

to the left of the lifeguard shack. She would come back later and load them into her truck for proper storage at her shop. She didn’t know the person manning the lifeguard tower but, other than a polite wave, didn’t pay much attention to who was ten feet above her. She was more interested in who she might find at the pool or farther down the beach.
    Strolling more casually than she felt, she passed through the pool area, glancing left and right for any sign of the familiar figure. By the time she reached the bar she had caught the eye of several women, none of whom she paid much attention to. She ordered a bottle of water.
    “You’re pretty good out there,” someone said over her right shoulder. She swung around prepared to deflect the come-on but instead found herself looking into the deep green eyes of the woman in her arms last night.
    “Thank you,” she replied instinctively. She fell back on politeness, uncharacteristically tongue-tied. She wanted to ask if the woman wanted a drink but cringed inside. The question sounded like a total line.
    “How long have you been surfing?”
    The woman’s voice was warm with a touch of amusement, an errant strand of hair whipping across her tanned cheeks.
    “Practically my entire life,” she replied. She couldn’t help but ask if the woman wanted a refill of the drink in her right hand. When she declined she asked, “Would you like to sit down?”
    “I suppose we should talk,” the woman replied, and started walking toward an unoccupied cabana. Colby followed her closely, taking a long look at her backside. The woman didn’t say anything else until they were both settled on the thick-padded lounge chairs.
    “I must say you kiss as well as you surf.”
    Colby choked on her water, then sat up and coughed a few times, taking deep gulps of air.
    “I’m sorry, did I surprise you?”
    Shocked was a more appropriate word. When she was finally able to speak she said, “Honestly, yes. It was the last thing I expected to hear. I didn’t think you’d even speak to me.”
    “Why wouldn’t I?” She looked at her as if their experience on the beach was the most natural thing in the world.
    Colby sipped her drink before she answered. She needed a minute to think of an appropriate reply. Finally, she said, “Too embarrassed by what happened?”
    “Making out with a complete stranger or getting caught?” The twinkle in the woman’s eye was a challenge.
    “I was referring to my hand down your pants, but your two would work just as well. Take your pick.” Colby liked her spunk and unabashed banter.
    “Well,” the woman said, finishing her drink. “I have to admit I usually know the woman’s name before I let her hand into my pants. Same with kissing. I enjoyed both but was grateful for the interruption.”
    Holy shit. This woman was like nobody she’d been with since returning to the island. She was direct, honest, and unafraid to say what was on her mind. A familiar tingle began in her groin. This woman would surely say exactly what she wanted in bed too.
    “I’ll return the compliment and, in the interest of full disclosure, I guess it was better for those boys to stumble on us when they did than ten minutes later.” Colby was regaining her equilibrium.
    “Really?”
    “Really. They would have seen more than even I care to show.” She never took her eyes off the woman.
    “Are you shy?”
    The woman scanned her chest, down her legs and back up again.
    “Not in the slightest. But there is a big difference between a bare breast and someone’s face buried between somebody else’s legs.” If this woman could be this bold, she would too. She was even more surprised when the woman removed her water from her hand and took a swallow.
    “And is that the position you think we would have been in?” She licked a drop off her top lip.
    The air between them sizzled and Colby’s precarious equilibrium shook. “That’s where I was headed.” She returned the look