“Not as long as you stay the way you are,” he said.
Even though she knew this was his game, she couldn't help but smile. She knew he wasn’t looking for anything serious. She knew his endgame was to get her in bed. But that was a good thing, because in the back of her mind, she wanted that as well. She wanted a man to show her some attention and shower her with compliments before whisking her away to a world of pleasure. She wanted that instant connection without the messy confines of having to build a relationship with someone.
The more time she spent with him, the more Eris’s words echoed off the walls of her mind.
And it didn’t help that his broad smile was addictive.
Ash didn’t hesitate to settle their bill, not allowing her to see the final tally. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she shrugged it off. It couldn’t have been much given the kind of job he had, so she let it slide as she stood from her seat.
“Care to take a walk?” Ash asked.
He held his hand out for her again, but this time she didn’t hesitate to take it.
“I think that sounds nice,” Kallie said.
Then the two of them headed out from the restaurant.
Instead of walking back to his car, they crossed the road. Ash led her through the traffic and onto the other side, then the two of them scurried down an embankment. The grass quickly turned to sand as they made their way through the brush, her fingers laced tightly with his. She wanted to ask him where they were going, but he seemed too excited to stop. His legs were carrying him faster and faster and she was running in a feeble attempt to keep up with him.
She almost yanked her hand from him before they dumped out onto a private beach. Untainted by tourists and glistening underneath the rays of the sun.
Standing there with him as his thumb traced the top of her skin was oddly intimate. She felt close to him. Closer than she’d ever felt to James over the past year of their engagement. Kallie stood there against him, leaning closer into his strong frame, and soon he unlaced their fingers and slipped his arm around her waist.
She didn’t want to pull away from him.
She liked the way his body draped around hers.
“It’s beautiful,” Kallie said.
“It’s better with you here.”
“Have you always known about this place?”
“I found it a few days ago when a current swept me out to sea with my board.”
“Oh my gosh. Does that happen often?” she asked.
“Not really. But sometimes it does catch people off guard. That’s why surfers tether their boards to their ankles. If all else fails, it’s something they can float on until someone can come get them.”
Kallie squeezed tighter against him and felt Ash tighten his grip around her. The wind whipped around the small cove, rustling her hair and fluttering her beach dress. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to take in the moment. The closeness. The romantic intimacy of it all. She didn’t know when she would have another moment like this with any man, and she wanted to commit all of it to memory.
But her old ways came crashing to the forefront of her mind and she quickly pulled away.
Chapter 8
Ash
Ash was shocked at the quickness of her movements as she pulled away from him. Like she’d been shocked from a trance. He could tell she was about to back away from him again. Backtrack for the city and leave him in her wake. And he wasn’t ready for that. His plan wasn’t complete. He knew she wanted this, but she was fighting something, and he wanted to fight it with her. He wanted to peel back those layers and punch through those walls and plunge himself between those delectable thighs of hers.
“Come dancing with me,” Ash said.
He watched Kallie whip her head around to him before she furrowed her brow.
“What?” she asked.
“Come dancing with me tonight. It can be part of her surfing training.”
“How is dancing part of my training?” she asked.