Breaking Shaun (10 page)

Shit, there’s that tingle again.

“That way, when it’s time, you can use your arms to help you push up and get on your feet.”

“And how will I know when it’s time?” she asked, peering over at me.

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I could respond. I couldn’t remember the last time a woman had had this kind of effect on me—if ever. Just being next to her had my heart rate up and made it hard for me to concentrate.

“You’ll know. To be a good surfer, you have to learn to follow your gut and use your instincts rather than your mind. Thinking too much will only fuck things up.”

Sitting up on her knees, Natalie stared out at the waves as she rubbed her lips together. I was beginning to realize that it was a nervous tic of hers, and I made sure to remember it. I stayed silent next to her while she focused on the water.

She turned to me with a determined look in her blue-green eyes. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Okay. Are you ready?” Shaun asked, wading in the water next to me.

I was lying on his surfboard, looking over my shoulder at the approaching swells.

He had spent the last few minutes explaining how I should position my feet on his board once I stood and reminding me that I needed to keep my knees bent to help my balance. Once we’d entered the water, his demeanor had become more professional and focused. He was actually really good at this.

I nodded.

“Good. Start paddling…right…now.” He gave the board a push forward.

My heart started pounding, and I paddled my arms in the water next to the board as fast as I could. I felt the water begin to retreat under me, and I quickly grabbed the sides of the board like he’d shown me before. Then, I pushed up and popped onto my feet. As soon as my feet landed on the hard surface, I felt a rush of adrenaline take over me, and I smiled bigger than I’d ever had before.

As soon as I thought I’d done it, I lost my balance and fell backward into the water. My ass hit the sand, and it instantly filled my bathing suit. Lifting my head out of the water, I started laughing, and then another wave came toward me, almost pushing me under again. I got as much sand out of my bikini bottoms as I could before Shaun approached.

“You stood up,” he said, sounding impressed.

He extended his hand toward me, and I took it, letting him pull me up.

“Yeah, for, like, a second,” I told him with a laugh.

“Hey, most people don’t even stand on the first try. You got this.”

His encouragement only heightened my excitement.

I drew my hand from his and then made sure my bathing suit was still in place. Luckily, it was.

“You ready to go again?” He tilted his head toward the water.

“Sure.” I grinned at him before grabbing the board and making my way back out.

“I’m going to stay here and watch. That way, if you fall again, I can see what you’re doing wrong.”

“Okay.”

I suddenly felt nervous, knowing he’d be watching me. I knew it was irrational since he’d probably watched me before, but this time, I’d be able to see him, too.

When I got deep enough in the water, I climbed onto Shaun’s board and straddled it. Once I positioned myself correctly, I got onto my stomach and made sure the board was facing the right direction as I waited for a good swell, not that I really knew which swell would be good.

Shaun’s words played in my head.
To be a good surfer, you have to learn to follow your gut and use your instincts rather than your mind.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I tried to feel the water under me instead of watch it.
You can do this, Natalie.

Opening my eyes, I turned to look over my shoulder, and I saw a large swell approaching. Turning back around, I started paddling as fast as I could. I felt the rush of the water as it moved under me, and I gripped the sides of the board before hopping onto my feet. I smiled from ear to ear as I rode the wave a little longer this time, but then I fell off a few seconds later. I was proud that I’d done it on my own, and I was so caught up in the excitement that I’d completely forgotten that Shaun was watching me.

When I looked for him, I saw he was standing a few feet away, smiling. I grinned back, and that was when something stringy and slimy rubbed against my ankle.

My eyes got wide, and I screamed, “Oh my God! What is that? What is that? Oh my God!”

Ripping the ankle strap off my leg, I jumped straight out of the water before I started running as fast as I could toward the shore. When I finally got to dry sand, I stopped and looked down at my ankle. A pink line was wrapped around from the top of my foot to my anklebone, and it stung like hell. Before I could examine it closely, I realized Shaun was laughing his ass off as he walked toward me.

“It’s not funny. Something stung me!” I shouted at him.

But his laugh was contagious, and before long, I was laughing with him.

“It’s not funny!” I said through a smile.

Seeing him laugh was so sexy that I didn’t really care that it was at my expense.

When he finally stopped, he looked down at my ankle. “Damn, that jellyfish got you pretty good. Sit down.”

He was being awfully bossy, but I decided I’d better comply since he obviously knew more about jellyfish stings than I did.

Kneeling down next to me in the sand, Shaun reached out and cupped the back of my ankle in his hand. He lifted it for a better view, and I instantly forgot all about the sting as I focused on the way his tan hand looked against my pale leg. With his hard, strong body next to my soft, curvy one, there was something almost primal and naturally sexy about the contrast. The power a man could possess over a woman—if he wanted to and if she let him—was definitely hot.

I could feel my breath accelerating, and I prayed he’d think it was just from my running. He peered up at me through his dark lashes, and my heart rate spiked at his proximity and the seductive look on his face.
He could have me right here if he wanted.
I knew it, and I thought he did, too.

“You want to fuck me right now, don’t you?” he asked with a devious grin before chuckling.

I slapped him on the arm and laughed. “Shut up, you cocky bastard.”

“Oh, you have no idea just how cocky I am, Killer,” he teased before winking at me and standing up.

Reaching out, he offered me a hand, and I took it before standing up.

“Come on, let’s get something on that.” He motioned toward my ankle.

I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my body as he went back to retrieve his board from the wet sand.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry I forgot about your board.”

“I’ll let it slide this time since you’re a rookie, but next time you leave my board out in the water, you’ll pay for it,” he warned playfully with a finger pointed at my chest.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

As we made our way toward the house, I looked up at the deck and saw Asia and Nick leaning against the railing with mugs of coffee in their hands. They had obviously been watching Shaun and me on the beach.

Shit.

Shaun’s eyes cut to mine when he’d noticed them, too, and he shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Here we go,” he muttered before motioning for me to take the stairs before him.

I sighed before passing him and making my way up. I opened the wooden gate and held it for Shaun as he walked through with his board.

“Getting some surfing lessons?” Nick asked me with a cocky smirk, raising his eyebrows in my direction.

“Yep,” I replied nonchalantly. “I also got stung by a jellyfish for the first time.”

“Ouch. That sucks. Let me go get the vinegar.” Asia made her way into the house with her coffee mug in hand.

I froze. “Vinegar?”

“Yeah, it’ll work. Don’t worry,” Shaun told me as he leaned his board against the deck railing.

I sat down on one of the plastic chairs around the pool and looked at Nick to see if he was laughing, but he wasn’t. He just stood there, still smirking at me, with an I-told-you-so look in his eyes. I was too distraught to give him a shut-the-fuck-up look back.

This has to be a joke.

Putting vinegar on a burning jellyfish sting didn’t seem like a very good idea.

A few minutes later, Asia came back with a bottle of vinegar, a clean towel, some water, soap, and a razor. My body stiffened when I saw the razor, and I inched my way toward the edge of my seat. I kept looking around at each of their faces, waiting for a sign that they were kidding. I was praying one of them would start laughing, but none of them did.

“Um…are you sure…are you sure you know what you’re doing?” I asked Asia.

She set her supplies down on the deck next to my feet, and she peered up at me as she smiled. “Don’t worry. I know it looks scary, but I promise it isn’t as bad as you think. The vinegar will help get rid of the sting, and the razor will scrape off anything the jellyfish might have left behind.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned to look at Shaun.

He gave me a reassuring grin. “Well, I gotta head out. Take care of that sting, Killer.”

Before I could think of a response, he walked into the house and closed the glass door behind him.

Lucky bastard.

Within seconds, Nick was in the seat next to me. “So?” he asked, giving Asia a conspiring grin before staring at me.

Asia just rolled her eyes and shook her head as she unscrewed the cap off the bottle of vinegar.

“So, what?” I asked, trying to play dumb.

“Oh, don’t play that shit with me, Natalie Elizabeth. You know exactly what.”

Sighing, I decided to just get it over with since I knew Nick wouldn’t give up until he had what he wanted. “We’re just friends, Nick.”

Asia’s eyes popped up to mine, and they widened. “Friends?”

“Yeah,” I said with a shrug.

I didn’t understand why that was so shocking.

“Shaun doesn’t have female friends,” Nick informed me, using air quotes around the word
friends
.

“Well then, I’ll be his first.”

Asia started pouring vinegar on my ankle, and I gritted my teeth. I expected it to hurt like hell, but it actually wasn’t that bad. I noticed Asia and Nick exchange a glance before she put the vinegar down and grabbed the water.