Affair on the Beach

Chapter 2

I came to from the gentle rocking of being in the arms of someone strong. The weightlessness of being carried was priceless. Was this how all those heroines felt when the heroes of their story carried them to safety? I wouldn’t trade the freefalling sense of it for the world. I breathed in the smell of the sea and a cool summer breeze—a refreshing scent, one that brought to mind relaxation and comfort, like taking a nap on a balmy afternoon. I turned my nose toward the scent and was met with hard, unyielding flesh. I didn’t care. I was too greedy to inhale as much of the summer scent as I could. I’d buy a bottle if I could. What a yummy smell.

A soft chuckle drew me closer to the surface of waking. I tentatively opened one eye and peeked up at my knight in shining…holy bare-chested god. Every muscle below my waist clenched. My other eye joined in the fun. I needed both to appreciate him up close and personal like. I traced the lines of his chiselled face from his forehead to his straight nose down to the strong lines of his lips and the cutting edge of his jaw. The stubble there made me was to smack my lips together for a taste. Oh, he would taste so good, I knew it deep down. I didn’t need experience with actual men to know the god holding me in his well-muscled arms right now like I weight nothing would taste damn good. My mouth watered again. If all men were like him then sign me up for more outdoor activities. Maybe Rony was right, maybe I needed to get out more. They didn’t make ‘em this way in the city.

Hudson introduced him as Xavier Solomon. My brows came together as I pouted. Why would that name sound so familiar? Then the can of tuna sitting in my pantry along with canned salmon, canned mackerel, and anything else canned from the sea came to mind. I felt both my eyes widen. And as if he knew I was thinking about him, his steely blue gaze dropped to meet mine. I gasped. Consider my mind blown. Lord, he was scrumptious. My senses were thanking me all at the same time.

“Welcome back, Tamara,” he said, a half smile on his kissable lips.

Oh God! I never knew my name could sound so good. Maybe it was the way he rolled his R. Despite the heat, goose bumps rose over my arms and legs.

“Say it again,” I said, awe in my tone. My heart in my throat.

A blond eyebrow quirked up. “I beg your pardon?”

Yes, the rolling of the Rs.

“My name. Say it again.” I had no shame. I knew this the moment I waited with baited breath for him to speak again.

Then we were out of the sun and into the shade. I closed my eyes from the sudden change. A ball of light remained behind my closed lids. I lifted the heels of my hands and massaged the pulse that surfaced from the depths of my head to my eyes.

“Can you stand?” he asked. Xavier Solomon asked.

“TW?” Rony chimed in.

“Tamara?” Hudson sounded expectant.

The twins were with us the whole time? Holy hell, did they hear me asking the god to say my name again? The possibility that I embarrassed myself thoroughly brought the hottest flush I’d ever experienced in my life. Not even when I read erotica did my blushes get this hot. Oh, I was mortified. Beyond mortified. I wanted Xavier Solomon to drop me where I was so I could burrow my way to China. I groaned.

“Anything hurt? TW, speak to me?” Rony was hovering. I could feel her even if I had my eyes closed, wishing never to open them again. I wasn’t ready to face everyone. I must have sounded all kinds of a fool asking Xavier Solomon to say my name again.

“Tamara?”

I shivered. He said it. Xavier Solomon said my name again. How could six letters sound like fingers between my legs? Ah, I needed to get away from him. If he could melt me just by saying my name, what else could he do? Every s****l scenario I’d imagined between the pages of countless romance novels decided to come to mind then. My blush rocketed several more degrees.

“Tam, you’re all flushed.” I felt Rony’s cool hand on my forehead. “Don’t tell me you’re getting sick.”

“Maybe she needs water,” Hudson said before I heard his flip flop steps shuffle away.

I covered my flaming face with my hands and peeked up at the god from between the slits my fingers made. His expression was blank, but amusement was clear in his sea-blue eyes. Not once did he ask if he could put me down no matter how many extra pounds I carried around. My conscience reared her shy little head. His arms must be aching by now.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m fine,” I said to Rony, avoiding the god’s heart-melting stare when I finally dropped my hands and opened my eyes. “I can stand on my own, I think.”

“Are you sure?” Xavier Solomon asked. If he used the concern in his voice to attract my attention, he succeeded. My gaze returned to meet his. The corners of his lips quirked up to a small smile. My breath hitched. I was going to pass out again, I was sure of it. Xavier Solomon was lethal. Even the smallest dose of him was enough to incapacitate me.

In the interest of staying conscious, I nodded at him. He dipped his chin once at me and moved to settle my feet on the ground. I teetered on my wedges, forgetting to compensate for the extra inches, so I grabbed on to the nearest thing, and unfortunately—fortunately, I wasn’t sure anymore—that was Xavier Solomon’s very hard, very bare chest. And like I was scalded, I yanked back, no matter how much my hand enjoyed the contact.

Rony was by my side in a second. “You okay, TW?” She couldn’t hide the smirk forming on her plump lips any longer. The b***h did hear what I asked the god to do. I was going to get hell for it later, I just knew it. All those lectures concerning my need to get out more came crashing back.

I glared at my best friend. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” she insisted, mischief in her eyes. “Maybe Xavier should carry you to Hudson’s couch. He has one in his office here. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” She looked at the god standing like a silent sentinel and treated him to her patented I-get-what-I-want eyelash-batting. “Would you, Xavier?”

To my surprise, Xavier crossed his arms, making his already shapely biceps more prominent. Undaunted by the clearly intimidating stance, Rony merely smiled. She knew all too well what she was doing, even if I had no idea what it was. If I fell to my knees now and supplicated myself before him, would the rest of the world mind? I pushed away the thought and locked my knees in an effort to preserve what little dignity I had left.

“She looks fine to me,” he said.

Ouch! Could a voice get any colder? What happened to the skin-caressing tone he had? The insecurity I hadn’t felt since high school slinked from the darkest corners where I’d banished her to long ago. I grabbed my elbow and took a small step back. I looked anywhere else but at Xavier Solomon and spotted Hudson with a glass of water. How long did one glass of water take to get anyway?

“Oh, good, you’re up and about,” Hudson said, handing me the half-filled glass. The ice clicked when the water sloshed within.

I took a long draught, easing the forgotten dryness of my throat. The coolness of the water felt delicious from the inside of my mouth all the way to my stomach.

“Hudson,” Xavier Solomon said. He turned his glorious head toward Rony’s brother. “I didn’t know they allowed tents on the beach.”

What? I tilted my head to the side. From the way Hudson scratched his head, I could see he was as confused as I was. Rony leaned against the bar of the Shore Shack, regarding the proceedings with silent amusement.

Reading my and Hudson’s confusion, Xavier Solomon reached for one of the billowy sleeves of my caftan and held it between his thumb and forefinger. “This is why she fainted. It must be a hundred degrees in there.” He let go of the offensive fabric and eyed me.

Now, normally, I would have died just from the way he looked at me, but the blush that crept onto my face this time was one of anger. Did he just say I was wearing a tent? It didn’t help that Rony burst into yet another laughing fit at my expense. And here I was thinking she was my best friend. Traitor! Hudson was so embarrassed that he regarded his toes like they were the safest things to look at right then.

I felt my fingers curl into fists. All my blood rose up to my head.

“Oh, she’s ready to blow,” Rony said between laughs. “You’re getting it now, Xavier.”

The challenge in the god’s blue eyes was what had me closing my eyes and counting silently to ten. It was as if he was daring me to get pissed, but why? Did he intentionally insult me? Again, why would he do that? He barely knew me. When I reached ten, I felt marginally calmer, so I opened my eyes again. All the challenge in Xavier Solomon’s eyes had vanished. He uncrossed his arms and shrugged.

“If my muscle strength is no longer of service here, I’m going surfing.” Without looking at anyone, he turned on his heel and used those mile long legs of his to saunter to the row of surfboards lined just outside the shack and picked up the white one with a blue stripe down the middle. He tucked the board under his arm and sprinted to the beach. No matter how confused he left me, I still had the wits to appreciate how delectable he was, even from behind.

When he leapt onto his board and paddled away from shore, I turned my head toward Rony and said, “Are you done laughing at me?”

At least she had the decency to look repentant. “I like you being out and about. But you have to admit, your first guy out of the gate and you snag Xavier Solomon of Solomon Fisheries. Good choice!”

I gaped at her. “I’m not snagging anyone, Rony. Especially not the heir to the largest sustainable fishery in the world.”

Rony c****d her head at me. “For someone who isn’t into snagging someone, you sure know a lot about Xavier.”

“I might prefer spending time with books, Veronika Flynn, but I don’t live under a rock! The tuna we use for our sandwiches is canned by his father’s company for crying out loud. I admit, he’s yummy to look at, but you saw what he did. He said I was wearing a damn tent.” I pulled at the sides of my caftan.

“You’d have to admit, it was kind of funny, Tamara,” Hudson said. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his cut offs and shifted his weight from his toes to his heels.

“Not you too!” I raised my hands up in surrender. “This is why I prefer fictional men.”

“Come on. The lunch rush is about to start and I need to get you girls into your uniforms,” Hudson changed the subject before Rony could refute my statement.

Right, we were at the Shore Shack to help out. I cleared my head of all things Xavier Solomon and focused on what Hudson was saying about service. He brought us to the locker room and handed Rony and I our uniforms.

“You can put your clothes in here.” He pointed at the lockers. “Once you’re dressed, come to the bar and we’ll discuss the specials for the day. You just need to cover the noon shift. We have a different crew that comes in for the evening crowd, so once the lunch rush is done, you’re free to go.”

I stared at the tight T-shirt and black short shorts in my hands, dumbfounded to ask any questions. How the hell was I going to fit into these tiny things?

“What about tips?” Rony asked.

“As if you need the money, sis,” Hudson joked.

“As if we need the money,” she retorted. “I never did understand why you run this place when dad has a spot at one of his resorts for you.”

Hudson exhaled and ran his hand through his short hair. “Let’s not get into that now, Rony. I don’t want to start the rush in a bad mood.” Then he left.

Rony and I exchanged a look. She shrugged at me then pulled her tank over her head. I turned around quickly and prepared myself for the struggled of getting my ample hips into those shorts. I removed my caftan in one swift move and stowed it inside the locker. A small smile played on my lips. A tent. I shook my head. Now that I thought about it, Hudson was right. It was a tad funny. But why did Xavier Solomon want me to get mad? It was clear in the challenge in his eyes. I’ve read enough romance novels to see the signs. Writers loved describing the expression the hero would have to get a rise out of the heroine. But was I the heroine in this scenario? I looked at my reflection in the mirror hanging on the inside of the locker door. My matching thirty-eight D bra and extra-large panties greeted me. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Not skinny like all the female characters in the books, but not bad at all. Then my gaze landed on the shorts. I sighed. Might as well get it over with.

“What was that about?” I grunted while I pulled the shorts on. As I expected, they snagged on my hips, but to my surprise, they were my size, if not a bit snug. Rony must have told Hudson my size. That brought a blush to my cheeks.

Rony gathered her hair into a pony tail. “Topic of my dad is always a sore spot for Hudson. He knows he’ll inherit the company one day, but as much as possible, he’d rather be here. I’ll never understand why he loves Maverick Bay so much, but I’ve never seen him happier anywhere else.” She pulled her pony tail tight and placed her hands on her hips. “You look great, by the way. The uniform suits you.”

I stared at myself in the mirror again, now fully clothed. The words SHORE SHACK in black letters stretched over my breasts, emphasizing how large they were. Urgh! “You think there will be grabby customers?” I pulled the shorts as far down as they would go, which was mere inches from my crotch.

“Anyone touch you tell me. They’ve got it coming. But,” Rony grinned, “flaunt what you’ve got, girl. More tips that way.”

I rolled my eyes at her as I tied my hair at my nape. Service 101: Wouldn’t want brown strands landing on anybody’s food. I gave myself one last mirror check, smiled my server smile. Waitress Tamara ready for duty. Rony took my hand and pulled me outside.

We found Hudson at the bar stacking menus. He looked up from what he was doing and smiled at us.

“You girls look great!” He reached down and threw us each a black half apron.

Thank god! I breathed a sigh of relief. The apron covered the shorts in front pretty well and it had pockets. Hudson pushed a couple of sharpened pencils and notepads our way. I stuffed both into the pockets and took a glance at the menu.

“Looks like regular diner food with a couple more seafood items than usual,” I said.

“Not your first circus, I take it?” Hudson grinned from ear to ear. I could tell he was relieved he didn’t have to train me.

“I have a couple summer jobs serving at diners under my belt.”

Rony playfully shoved at my arm. “Well look at you being all dependable. I knew it was an awesome idea to bring you along.”

I raised my brow at her. “You look comfortable in that uniform yourself.”

“Not the first time Hudson here asked me to help out.”

“So that’s where you disappeared to last year?”

“You should have seen her then.” Hudson pulled his sister by her ponytail to his side, making her squeal and push him away. “She was a total mess. Dropping plates, spilling drinks.”

Fixing her hair, Rony growled at her twin. “I got better, didn’t I?”

“As much as I’d like to share all your embarrassing secrets, we have specials to discuss.” Hudson pointed at the chalkboard by the entrance.

A part of me wanted to hear more about Rony, but another part went into server mode. Rony was right when she said I spent too much time reading to really care to ask her about her life. A block of guilt formed in my gut. Maybe I should put down the books and start asking my best friend some questions?

Sounded like a plan to me.

With the resolution firmly ensconced in my head, I focused all my attention to what Hudson had to say about the day’s specials. Mostly more seafood. He wanted us to push the calamari since he had a new shipment coming in next week and he didn’t want to over stock. I took some notes and prepared myself for the rush.

Just as Hudson finished introducing us to Pete, his cook, the lunch crowd started pouring in. Most of them from the beach. Rony and I were all smiles, seating each and every one of them quickly and taking orders.

It took me an hour to get back into my serving shoes. The Shore Shack had ten tables of four and six more for two and eight barstools. Rony and I divided the sections between us while Hudson handled the bar. Once I got the system down and memorized table numbers, it was easy to manage the tables. The locals were all kind and accommodating, asking me if I was new and how long I would be staying. I answered each of their questions with a sweet smile on my face, keeping my tone light and amiable.

The local surfers were the best to talk to. They had a relaxed air about them. And they were all fit and good looking. What was not to like? My fears of grabby customers never materialize, and soon I found myself enjoying the experience. Maybe there was something in the water at Maverick Bay that made everyone so nice. The tips weren’t bad at all either.

By the end of shift, I’d met most of the locals in Maverick Bay and the surfers who came for the Invitational. Working at the Shack, as everyone referred to Hudson’s place fondly, wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was missing my novels, though. At one point, I thought I was getting the shakes from withdrawal since the lunch shift stretched to three in the afternoon, which was usually the time I curled up with my second book. I comforted myself with the thought that by the end of shift I would have time to myself. Grabbing a bite then reading, that was my list of things to do.

I was wiping down the table beside the row of surfboards when my gaze wandered to the beach. A large wave had come in and on it was Xavier Solomon. If I thought he was a god on land, the idea was compounded by the way he chopped the hell out of the wave he rode with his white and blue board. Most of what I knew about surfing consisted of movies and that odd documentary on the Discovery Channel about surfers wiping out. Watching Xavier Solomon execute manoeuvres was like watching someone born to be on the water. My breath caught in my chest. He had full control of his board. His muscles flexed to accommodate his moves. I never thought surfing was graceful until I saw what he could do. I gasped and dropped the rag I was holding when he disappeared inside the pipeline.

I must have held my breath for a full minute, waiting for him to leave the barrel. One of the most dangerous parts of surfing was the pipeline. If he wiped out, the wave would take him all the way to shore without him giving him a chance to surface until the wave broke. I didn’t know what the shore was like, but according to the documentary, in most places with large waves the ocean floor had coral and jagged rocks for surfers dragged down by a wave to be dumped into. The c*****e they showed weren’t pretty at all.

My lungs burned by the time the god exited the barrel. I exhaled. When my hands started growing numb, I realized I’d been clutching them to my chest the whole time he was within the barrel. I never understood the allure surfing had. It seemed like such a dangerous sport. I read a novel once where the hero surfer wiped out and cut himself on the rocks. He almost died if it weren’t for the lifeguard heroine to the rescue. And right now, as I watched Xavier Solomon ride the rest of the wave to shore, I was aware of my fast beating heart. He may have insulted my caftan wearing ways, but damn, he was beautiful on a surfboard, like it was a part of him.

I always appreciated an athletic hero, but to actually see one in the flesh, shaking water out of his hair and rubbing his gorgeous face with his big, big hands—he had big hands—it was certainly a sight to behold. I licked my lips, watching the water bead down his ripped torso. My palm remembered the feel of all that muscle beneath it. My fingers twitched to run themselves through his hair. And the way those boardshorts road low on his hips, clinging to his upper legs…simply mouth-watering. I promptly forgot my feet hurt from standing all afternoon or that I was hungry for food.

I swallowed and took a deep breath, closing my eyes and recalling the way he smelled when he carried me into the Shack a few hours ago. Had he been surfing all that time? Didn’t he stop to grab a bite to eat like the other surfers? He must be famished.

“Hmmm,” the voice that sounded like a caress said. “Now that’s much better.”

I opened my eyes in shocked surprise. How did he get from the beach to the Shack in the span of my daydream? I couldn’t have closed my eyes that long, could I? My gut sank. Unless he had the abilities of the Flash, I was standing with my eyes closed like a crazy person long enough for others to notice. Then, just as my embarrassment set in, Xavier Solomon’s words registered in my muddled head.

“What?” My gaze locked with his and that was my undoing. His eyes held the kind of hunger within their blue brightness that I’d only read in books. Could it be that he was hungry for me? Surely the countless descriptions I practically had memorized held some truth in them?

And, like he’d read my thoughts, the heat in his eyes intensified. He raked his gaze over my body and I might as well have been completely naked before him. His attention lingered on my breasts and hips. I squirmed under his scrutiny. What was he seeing that no one else seemed to see?

“You’re not wearing the tent anymore,” he said after the longest minute of my life. He had that half smile on his face again, the one that made my knees grow weak.

“The tent?” I stammered. The synapses in my brain didn’t seem to be firing correctly. Well, before the god? I couldn’t blame them.

He came closer. A step too close. I moved away but the table behind me wouldn’t let me go any further unless I knocked it over, and that would be unfortunate. I clutched the table’s edge for support. I wasn’t passing out. I wasn’t! Oh, he smelled like the sea. Who knew salt could smell so sweet?

His smile disappeared as he reached out and trailed his fingertips up my arm. The fire the contact caused inside me was enough to set the whole Shack ablaze. How was it possible that I felt his touch not only on my arm but on my breast and my stomach and my…I squirmed away. I couldn’t take it anymore. What was he doing to me? I didn’t even know him, and he surely didn’t know me, yet what that one touch did to my body was frightening.

Unable to stay in his intoxicating presence any longer, I turned on my heel and ran away.