I let us into the house and lock the front door behind us. We make our way up the two flights of stairs to her bedroom, and poor MacKenzie looks like I’m sending her to the gallows.
“You do know how to swim, don’t you?” I ask, because she looks so nervous.
“Yes,” she snaps. “I know how to swim.”
“Then why the long face, gorgeous?”
“Because I’m not very coordinated,” she admits. “I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
“Baby, you could never embarrass yourself in front of me,” I tell her as I pull her into my arms. “I already know what a badass you are, remember?”
“Yeah,” she mumbles, but she doesn’t sound so sure.
“Where’s the tough as nails pilot who handed me my ass in a dive bar last night? The one who was so classy, so fucking sexy doing it that she had me hard enough to drive nails?”
“Here?” she asks quietly while raising her hand like she’s a student during class rollcall.
“That’s right,” I remind her. “She’s right here. She’s not going anywhere, and neither am I. So do this poor sailor a favor and put him out of his misery, because he’s dying to see that fine ass in a bathing suit.”
“You’re ridiculous,” she says, rolling her eyes, but now she’s doing it smiling.
“That’s right, baby, and I’m all yours.”
The words roll off my tongue before I can stop them, and I don’t even try to, because they sound… I don’t know… right. Thankfully, she doesn’t comment. MacKenzie just makes her way into the closet to change. I quickly shuck my shoes and shorts and pull on my board shorts. I wipe on a quick coat of sunscreen just in time to see Mack come out of the closet looking kind of shy in a sporty bikini that’s made up of little shorts and a top that looks like a sports bra. She’s gorgeous, with a body to die for, long lean legs, small curves, and a mess of blonde hair. She’s everything I didn’t know I wanted, and yet somehow this entire package seems made for me.
“Come here,” I tell her, and she does without question. Somewhere in the last twenty-four hours, this woman has put her trust in me, and I feel on top of the world. Like Leonardo DiCaprio inTitanic.
I gently wipe some sunscreen on her beautiful face. She has freckles that make her look so fucking young, and I wonder how old she really is. I’m thirty-seven, getting old for a SEAL. It’s time to decide if I’m going to be a paper pusher or find a civilian job, but one thing is certain; my time on the team won’t last forever. I’m going to have to make a decision and soon too.
I cover her shoulders and breasts, her back and waist, her legs, and I do it with the overwhelming urge to whisk her off to a deserted island, where she wears nothing but tiny string bikinis I can pull off with my teeth.
That was a decidedly possessive thought, even from me.
“All set,” I tell her as I cap the sunscreen and lead her back downstairs to grab my board from the back of my truck.
She locks the door and hooks the key to her dog tag chain again in a way that tells me she does it often, and carries a bag with towels and water bottles over her shoulder. I pop the cover on the bed of my truck and pull out my board.
“That is gigantic.”
“Nah, this is a little baby board, only six foot. You should see the monsters my dad surfed when he was stationed in Hawaii,” I tell her.
With my board tucked under one arm and MacKenzie’s hand clasped in mine, we walk across the street, back to the beach. I noticed earlier this morning that there were some decent waves. Nothing major, but she could have a little bit of fun as long as we stay away from the cove and the cliffs.
She kicks her sandals off and drops her bag and her shorts to the sand. “All right, sailor, time to drown me.”
“Not so fast,” I say as I hook my index finger into the back of her bathing suit bottoms. “You have to crawl before you can walk.”
“Okay.”
“First, you paddle out on your belly, then when a wave comes, you try to push up to your knees for the first few times before you stand,” I tell her.
“Why don’t you show me first?” she suggests, and I know she’s looking for an out, but I’m determined. I want to do this with her, not without her.
“Nope. We’re doing this together.”
“Stubborn.”
“That’s what my mother tells me.” I laugh.
