Cooper followed him in, and damn, he was a glorious sight striding out of the ocean. Rivulets of water ran down his chest and sunlight danced off the stray droplets on his skin, making him glisten. Nate forced himself to drag his gaze away, because the sand was too bloody hot to stand there gaping. With Cooper by his side, he enacted the time-honoured Australian ritual of dashing across the beach and swearing under his breath while hopping from foot to foot until he made it to where they’d stashed their gear in a shaded spot among large, smooth rocks.
They patted themselves dry, slipped their thongs on and donned their sunnies against the glare of the white sand. Nate dug the bottle of sunscreen from the bottom of his backpack. He was about to open the lid when Cooper reached out and took it from him. “Let me?”
Nate thought about those broad, smooth palms sliding up and down his back and his throat went tight. He swallowed, nodding, and sat down cross-legged on his beach towel in front of Cooper, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
The first drizzle of sunscreen between his shoulder blades was warm, and so was the hand that swept across his skin, spreading it slow and even up the back of Nate’s neck and across his shoulders. Cooper applied another wide swathe right down his spine before his clever hands dipped low into the top of Nate’s damp board shorts. Nate’s skin tingled at the touch, and he let out a low moan as he sagged forward.
Cooper gave a pleased hum and continued rubbing the sunscreen in, his hands travelling over Nate’s ribs in a smooth glide up then down again. It took all Nate’s willpower not to turn and push Cooper onto his back, straddle his lap and kiss the hell out of him.
He managed to restrain himself, but only because there was a mum with two kids close by—a toddler puddling around in the shallows and a boy of around six in a lime green rashie who was knee deep in the water, jumping the tiny waves that were now lapping at shore. Nate wasn’t going to be the dickhead who messed up a family day at the beach with a PDA.
Too soon, Cooper was handing him the tube of SPF 50, and Nate mourned the loss of his touch. Then Cooper ran a hand through his damp hair, tousled by sun and sea and salt, plopped himself down in front of Nate and said, “Do me?”
Nate would have done him with pleasure, but he knew that wasn’t what Cooper meant. His brow creased. “I thought werewolves didn’t get sunburn?”
Cooper tilted his head back, light reflecting off his sunnies, teeth gleaming as he grinned. “That doesn’t mean wolves don’t enjoy a pretty boy rubbing cream all over them, baby.”
Well, that was an invitation if ever Nate had heard one. He squirted the sunscreen into his palm and dragged it across the seemingly endless breadth of Cooper’s shoulders, leaving a white trail behind. He added more to both hands and swept up and down the length of his spine, drawing something out of Cooper that Nate was tempted to call a purr. Cooper’s muscles were firm and enticing under his touch, and he let himself enjoy it, rubbing in the sunscreen and even dipping his fingers into the waist of Cooper’s boardies and brushing at the soft skin there.
Cooper purred again, then he tensed, his gaze fixing on something.
“Coop?”
Nate followed his gaze. He barely had time to register that where there had been two little kids before, now there was one, before Cooper was rising to his feet in one fluid motion and sprinting down to the waterline and into the water, feet splashing as he ploughed through the surf with superhuman speed, gaze fixed on something—but what it was, Nate couldn’t tell.
Just then, the mum leaped to her feet.“Jayden?”
Before Nate had time to connect the two occurrences, Cooper swerved to the left, bent down and scooped something up—a small, gasping, lime-green figure. He slung the kid over his shoulder and jogged back to shore looking like something out ofBaywatch—ifBaywatchwere gay and starred werewolves.
Baywolf.
Cooper lifted Jayden off his shoulder and deposited him at his mother’s feet, patting his back as the kid coughed and spat. Once Jayden was able to breathe, Cooper ruffled his hair, and Jesus, the sight of him with a small childdidthings to Nate.
“Little guy just lost his footing for a minute there,” Cooper said. The mother crouched in front of her son, running her hands up and down him and squeezing him in a hug as Jayden snuffled and wailed and wiped saltwater snot across his face with the back of his hand. “He’s fine.”
“Thank you! Oh my God, I just looked away for asecond!If you hadn’t seen him…”Jayden’s mum didn’t loosen her grip on her son, but the adoring look she was giving Cooper had Nate’s stomach twisting with possessiveness or maybe jealousy—or rather, whatwouldhave been jealousy, if Cooper had been his, instead of just a paid hook-up.
Cooper shrugged. “The sand drops off pretty quick there, and I heard him trying to call for help.” He crouched and placed his palm against Jayden’s chest, head cocked to one side. “His breathing and heart rate are good. I think he got more of a fright than anything. You’re okay, right, mate?”
Jayden nodded, wide-eyed.
Cooper stood and ruffled Jayden’s hair once more before striding back to Nate, leaving the mother to gather her kids close, squeezing and scolding Jayden in equal measure.
Nate stood and reached out his arms, because nowheneeded a hug. He shuddered as a long-buried memory came rushing back.
Cooper pulled him into an embrace. “Your heart’s racing,” he said. “You okay?”
The kid hadn’t been in serious danger, not this time, but Nate knew from experience how that could all change in a split second. He closed his eyes against the flashback to his own childhood, of the time one half-decent wave had knocked him fair on his arse. The next thing he’d known he’d been dragged under, struggling to find his footing while trying to call for help, and inhaling water instead. Nate swallowed. “One too many close calls at Cottesloe as a kid, that’s all.”
Cooper tightened his arms around him, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat under Nate’s ear was soothing, steadying. Nate felt better almost at once. He heaved a sigh and pulled back, giving Cooper a wobbly smile. “I’m fine, I promise. And you were amazing. Like Aquaman, except hotter.”
Cooper raised his eyebrows. “That’s a very bold claim.”
“I said what I said.” Nate’s smile was more genuine this time.
Cooper grinned and ran a hand through his damp hair, water flicking off the ends. “I’ll take it.” He glanced back at the ocean. “Did you want to go back in?”
Nate considered it. “Yeah, but not yet.”
