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Still up...still flying.
Luke shouted and punched the air. ‘Way to go, Cassandra. You’re surfing.’
She had one blissful moment to absorb the glory of her achievement. It seeped into her soul and made her heart pound as she flew across the water.
This is what living is actually about.
Then the board wobbled and she tipped, sliding into the surf. She went under, swallowing a mouthful of brine. But it didn’t matter because she had already achieved the impossible.
Cassandra James—surfer extraordinaire!
Strong arms took hold of her and yanked her up, back into the air. Exhilaration joined the joy charging through her veins as she spluttered.
‘You did it, cher.’
A broad smile split Luke’s features, making her heart race fast enough to win The Grand National.
‘Does it still count? Even though I wiped out?’ she said, still not quite able to believe she’d actually stood upright and rode the wave.
‘Of course it counts,’ he said, while he unstrapped the board from her ankle and strapped it to his own wrist. It bounced and bounded behind them as he swung her over his shoulder and marched back to shore.
She giggled as he carried her back through the waves, then deposited her on her feet.
‘Good?’ he asked, the twinkle in his eyes even brighter than the sky.
‘Never better,’ she managed around the emotion forming in her throat.
With his wet hair plastered to his head, the afternoon light gleaming on his tanned face, he was so strong and steady and magnificent in his full body wetsuit.
‘That was fantastic,’ she added.
‘You sure looked fantastic, riding that wave like a pro,’ he said.
‘I’ll just bet I did.’ She choked out a laugh, matched by his rough chuckles, as her racing heartbeat galloped into her throat. ‘I want to do it again,’ she said, still struggling to catch her breath.
But her knees buckled.
He gripped her waist to hold her upright.
‘No way,’ he said, hooking her wet hair behind her ear, the gesture so tender her knees still refused to cooperate. ‘You’re beat and we’ve still got to kayak back to the house.’
She blinked furiously, stunned by the sudden sting of tears that came at the look in his eyes. Not just approval, but respect, admiration, protectiveness. Her heart swelled, pushing uncomfortably against her larynx.
‘Fair point,’ she said.
She stepped back, out of his embrace. Her swollen heart swooped into her stomach and suddenly she was tumbling again—but this time she was in free fall, and she knew there would be no one to catch her.
She rubbed her eyes to stop the stinging. Tried to steady herself again, but her balance was shot even though she was standing on dry land.
The last four days had been amazing. More than amazing. Everything she had wished for and so much more. The sex had been spectacular. Her body was still humming from all the orgasms, some compelling, some searing and seductive, every one of them more intense and unsettling than the last.
But she’d been ready for that, knowing they shared a rare chemistry. What she hadn’t been prepared for when she’d made the decision to stay on Luke’s island and grab this moment with both hands was how good the time they spent out of bed would become.
She’d discovered a side of Luke and a side to herself that felt like more than just a physical connection.
He’d been so patient, so protective and focussed on her. They hadn’t talked again about anything deep or personal, both far too aware of the end date this moment out of their real lives had, but even so she’d discovered something about him that only made him more compelling, more exciting, more...wonderful.
Luke Broussard might think he was a rebel, a loner, an outsider. And he was a man whom she knew had defied all the odds to make such a staggering success out of his life. But underneath all that ruthless determination and ambition he was a born nurturer.
