the others when she gets back.”
“I’m glad you decided to come,” Ryan said.
“Don’t be nice to me, Quinn,” she teased. “Or we’ll start this thing all over again.”
“How do you want me to act?” he asked.
His gaze drifted down her body and Serena felt a shiver race through her. She hadn’t deliberately chosen a bikini that enhanced her assets but was pleased by his reaction in spite of herself. “Aloof. Indifferent. Like most attractive men.”
“What does that mean?”
She smiled coyly. “You know. The way you probably treat every other woman who has crossed your path.”
“And how do I treat women?” he asked, picking up one of the longboards from the sand and arranging it next to the other one.
“You’re how old?”
“Twenty-eight. How old are you?”
“Twenty-seven.” She bent down next to him and idly brushed the sand off the board. “I would have guessed you were a little younger. You look younger. So, you’re twenty-eight and you’re unmarried.”
“And?”
She slowly stood. “In my experience that either means you’re gay or that you’re a horse’s arse to women. It’s a simple formula. If you were good to the women in your life, you’d be married by now. Some smart girl would have snatched you up and hauled you to the altar. Tell me I’m right.”
He glanced up at her. “It might be a little true,” he said with a wry grin. “I don’t mean to be an arse. I just haven’t found the right woman yet.”
“Is there a right woman?”
“I hope so,” Ryan murmured. “Maybe not. Maybe I met her already and let her go.”
“What do you want from a woman? Maybe we should start there.”
Ryan squatted down beside the board and ran his hand along the edge. “I want someone who is witty and clever and spontaneous. Someone who enjoys the outdoors. Someone who is their own person.”
“Ah, no clingy types. No whiners or whingers?”
“Exactly,” he said.
“And she has to be beautiful and sexy and a tigress in bed. And she has to cook and clean and pick up your dirty knickers, with a smile on her face.”
“Exactly,” he said.
She wagged her finger at him and grinned. “See? I was right. You are a horse’s arse.”
“All right, we’re here to surf, not to tear my ego to shreds.”
On the beach over the next half hour, Ryan did his best to teach her the basics of surfing. When she’d finally mastered the little hop required to get from her belly to her feet, Ryan decided she was ready to try her first wave.
“It’s not so hard,” she said as they walked to the water’s edge.
“You haven’t gotten in the water yet.” He stopped and stared out at the horizon. “So, we can do this one of two ways. We can paddle out together on the same board, and I can help you get up so you can get a feel for the correct technique. This would require that we touch, though, in a somewhat intimate manner.”
“And what’s the second choice?”
“I’ll swim out behind the board, and I’ll give you a shove and off you’ll go. You’ll do exactly what I instructed you to do, and hopefully, you’ll get up. The choice is yours.”
“I think I can manage the first option,” she said. Serena held up her hand. “I’m wearing my magic ring. It keeps me from feeling any attraction to inappropriate men. Of course, it doesn’t work the opposite way.”
He ignored her little joke and carried the board into knee-deep water. When she’d stretched out on the board, he lay down behind her, resting between her legs, his head hovering over her backside.
“Well, this is cozy,” she said. If Serena thought surfing would be simple, she’d been woefully wrong. She could ignore the attraction she felt to him just by sheer willpower. But she’d been daft to believe that his touch wouldn’t affect her. The moment he made contact, her pulse began to race and her breath came in short gasps.
“We can stop. Just say the word.”
“I’m fine,” she said, trying
“I’m glad you decided to come,” Ryan said.
“Don’t be nice to me, Quinn,” she teased. “Or we’ll start this thing all over again.”
“How do you want me to act?” he asked.
His gaze drifted down her body and Serena felt a shiver race through her. She hadn’t deliberately chosen a bikini that enhanced her assets but was pleased by his reaction in spite of herself. “Aloof. Indifferent. Like most attractive men.”
“What does that mean?”
She smiled coyly. “You know. The way you probably treat every other woman who has crossed your path.”
“And how do I treat women?” he asked, picking up one of the longboards from the sand and arranging it next to the other one.
“You’re how old?”
“Twenty-eight. How old are you?”
“Twenty-seven.” She bent down next to him and idly brushed the sand off the board. “I would have guessed you were a little younger. You look younger. So, you’re twenty-eight and you’re unmarried.”
“And?”
She slowly stood. “In my experience that either means you’re gay or that you’re a horse’s arse to women. It’s a simple formula. If you were good to the women in your life, you’d be married by now. Some smart girl would have snatched you up and hauled you to the altar. Tell me I’m right.”
He glanced up at her. “It might be a little true,” he said with a wry grin. “I don’t mean to be an arse. I just haven’t found the right woman yet.”
“Is there a right woman?”
“I hope so,” Ryan murmured. “Maybe not. Maybe I met her already and let her go.”
“What do you want from a woman? Maybe we should start there.”
Ryan squatted down beside the board and ran his hand along the edge. “I want someone who is witty and clever and spontaneous. Someone who enjoys the outdoors. Someone who is their own person.”
“Ah, no clingy types. No whiners or whingers?”
“Exactly,” he said.
“And she has to be beautiful and sexy and a tigress in bed. And she has to cook and clean and pick up your dirty knickers, with a smile on her face.”
“Exactly,” he said.
She wagged her finger at him and grinned. “See? I was right. You are a horse’s arse.”
“All right, we’re here to surf, not to tear my ego to shreds.”
On the beach over the next half hour, Ryan did his best to teach her the basics of surfing. When she’d finally mastered the little hop required to get from her belly to her feet, Ryan decided she was ready to try her first wave.
“It’s not so hard,” she said as they walked to the water’s edge.
“You haven’t gotten in the water yet.” He stopped and stared out at the horizon. “So, we can do this one of two ways. We can paddle out together on the same board, and I can help you get up so you can get a feel for the correct technique. This would require that we touch, though, in a somewhat intimate manner.”
“And what’s the second choice?”
“I’ll swim out behind the board, and I’ll give you a shove and off you’ll go. You’ll do exactly what I instructed you to do, and hopefully, you’ll get up. The choice is yours.”
“I think I can manage the first option,” she said. Serena held up her hand. “I’m wearing my magic ring. It keeps me from feeling any attraction to inappropriate men. Of course, it doesn’t work the opposite way.”
He ignored her little joke and carried the board into knee-deep water. When she’d stretched out on the board, he lay down behind her, resting between her legs, his head hovering over her backside.
“Well, this is cozy,” she said. If Serena thought surfing would be simple, she’d been woefully wrong. She could ignore the attraction she felt to him just by sheer willpower. But she’d been daft to believe that his touch wouldn’t affect her. The moment he made contact, her pulse began to race and her breath came in short gasps.
“We can stop. Just say the word.”
“I’m fine,” she said, trying
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