Page 5 of Changed By Firefighter Daddy

“Oh goody,” she said, as I got distracted rubbing the top of her chest, letting my hands linger.

“Huh?”

She pointed, and I realized her favorite fan was just a few paces down the beach from us with a couple of his younger buddies. He was glaring at us, but quickly turned his head when he saw me looking.

“Do I need to go have a talk with him?” I asked, wanting to please and protect her.

“No. I don’t want him to ruin our beach time.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me up and away from that area, toward the water. The first wave made her gasp, but then she dove right in. I followed her quickly, the water stealing my breath as well.

She was an excellent swimmer, like a curvy mermaid. I splashed her, making her laugh and splash me back. Diving under the water, I swiped her legs from underneath her, making her fall onto me.

I wrapped my arms around her as we both surfaced, our lips inches apart. Her hands were on my shoulders, gripping my bare skin and I closed the distance between us.

The shock of the water was nothing compared to the heat of her body pressing against mine. Her lips opened underneath mine and she groaned quietly as I used my tongue to plunder her mouth.

I slowly pulled back, knowing I had to pace myself with her.

“I’m going to embarrass myself if you keep making me get this way,” I said, looking down ominously into the water.

She laughed again, then pulled away and splashed me some more. As we swam back and forth through the waves, I felt more carefree than I’d felt in years. This woman was good for my soul.

We finally emerged from the water to discover a breeze had come up. Running to the blanket, she wrapped up in a towel.

“I have to pee!” she suddenly whimpered.

“You couldn’t do it in the ocean?”

I laughed at her expression, but she shook her head, so we walked toward the restroom and concession stand area on the beach. We had to walk by where her admirer had been sitting, but didn’t see him.

“I’m gonna go too. I’ll meet you out here. Decide what you want to eat.”

She nodded at my orders and we took off.

Surprisingly, there was a line for the men’s bathroom, so I had to wait longer than expected. I walked back around the corner just in time to see the young guy put his hands on Clary. She stepped back, and when he stepped forward with her, the expression on his face intense and aggressive, she pushed him back.

He stumbled and turned red in the face, then raised a hand like he was going to slap her. I sprinted over and threw one punch. The kid fell over and didn’t get back up.

“What are you doing?” one of his friends had the balls to ask me.

“Teaching this kid some manners. She obviously doesn’t want your attention. Get over it and move on before you make a bigger ass of yourself than you already have,” I glared down at the furious kid.

“I really tried to be nice,” Carly added, “But I’m not interested at all. I felt like I made that perfectly clear earlier.”

His friend nodded in agreement with us, then helped him up and dragged him off.

“I’m sorry,” I started to apologize, but she cut me off.

“For what? His mother not teaching him the power of no?”

I laughed, then slung an arm around her shoulder and guided her back to our blanket to enjoy the rest of the afternoon in the sun.