“I don’t give a fuck if you bought the shack, kid. I’m just here to surf.”
“Well, this ismybeach. If you want to surf here, you need to ask permission.”
Suddenly, the sadness in the man’s eyes disappeared and was replaced with a steely sort of dominance.
On reflex, I took a step back and cursed myself internally.
Way to stand your ground, Finn.
“You want me to ask permission?” he challenged. That low, rumbly voice sent a shot of something that felt very similar to an adrenaline high through me. Something low in my gut tightened, and there was a confusing moment when my mouth flooded with saliva.
What the fuck?
He stepped toward me, and I forced myself not to back away as he hovered inches from my face.
“I’ve been surfing this beach since you were in diapers, kid. I’m not asking you for shit.”
He turned to walk away, and suddenly, my temper was back.
I reached out without thinking and grabbed his arm, my fingers flexing over his warm, solid flesh. His skin was soft and hot from the steady beat of the early morning sun. Despite the heat, I shivered as he turned those icy blue eyes on me again.
He glanced down at where my fingers were wrapped around his forearm, clearly shocked that I had the balls to touch him.
Hell.
Iwas shocked that I had the balls to touch him.
We stood there, frozen for a moment, before I realized what I was doing and ripped my hand away. He continued staring at the place I had touched him for a long moment, and I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“Uhm, sorry. It’s just?—”
He slowly locked his gaze on mine again, and I shook my head, beating back the strange submissiveness his presence seemed to be drawing out of me.
Forcing myself to straighten, I met his insanely intimidating gaze head-on. I had an idea. If he really had been surfing here for over twenty years, then he definitely knew about Leviathans. Even if he hadn’t ridden the waves himself, he had to know some local lore he could share with me. I shot him one of my most charming grins. It was the smile I used to get girls out of their panties and free shit from surf shops.
I hadn’t met anyone yet who was immune to this particular grin, and I was willing to bet this dude was no exception.
“How about we work out a deal?”
He narrowed his eyes.
“What sort of deal?”
“I’m looking for someone to coach me.”
“Coach you?”
“Yeah, coach me.”
“Coach you on what?”
“I need someone to coach me on the best way to tackle Leviathans. I’m shredding that beach this winter, and I need help getting ready. If you agree to help me out, I’ll let you surf my beach as much as you want, no questions asked.”
If I thought I’d made this dude angry before, it was nothing compared to the pure rage that ripped through his features at my offer.
Suddenly, he was in my face again, his lip curling up in a snarl, flashing perfect, straight teeth.
“I’m not in the habit of leadinglittle boysto their deaths, kiddo. Now get the fuck out of my hair and go back to whatever pussy ass workout you were about to attempt before you decided to sorudelyinterrupt me.”
