Riptide (Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances Book 2) Page 3

  He nodded thoughtfully. “Simone is well meaning, but she doesn’t understand the ins and outs of surfing the way you do.” He gave me a tentative smile, a slight curve to the edges of his mouth that put crinkles around his eyes and made my heart beat faster inside my chest.

  “Thanks.” I stepped out from behind the counter. “I’d be happy to help you.” Happy to take whatever parts of him he would allow me to have. If surf advisor was all he wanted, surf advisor I would be. I gestured toward the back of the shop. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you what we have got.” Tripped up by the inner voice of experience that rightly warned me that a little of Ramon would never be enough, I nearly toppled a carousel of sunglasses as I headed in the direction of the leashes.

  “How much do you want to spend?” I was breathless, not from exertion, but because that was the effect he always had on me. I swept an arm wide. “We have Dakine, Modom, Channel Islands, Pro-Lite and OAM.” He moved behind me. The wall of his solid chest pressed into my back. My breath catching, I dropped my arm to my side.

  “Hmm,” he mused indecisively, seemingly unconcerned about what close proximity with him did to me. My caught breath began to burn inside my lungs. I could count every beat of my heart as he took his time to consider. Beneath the strapless top, my nipples puckered as if he were circling a whisper soft touch around them. What would I give to be the type of woman to entice him? He leaned closer. The muscular contours of his chest were appealingly hard against my shoulder blades. I could feel the heat of his skin through the flimsy fabric of my blouse and the cotton of his. Apparently, he wanted a closer look at the leashes which hung from pegs on the wall in front of us. I hoped that was all that drew his attention. If he turned his head and looked into my eyes, he would read the longing in them. If he glanced at my mouth, he would see that my lips were parted and that I was practically panting for air. If he noticed the pulse point in my neck, he would know that my heart was pounding furiously. If he turned my body toward his, he would see the rosy outline of my nipples. They were drawn tight. The rayon chaffed the tips that ached for his touch. I couldn’t control my response to him. I never had been able to. My body always betrayed me.

  I turned my head, peering through my lashes at the compelling profile of the man whose spirit called to mine as strongly as the ocean. One of his silky curls brushed my cheek. Only an insignificant inch separated his from mine. I imagined running my fingers freely through the thickness of his hair. I imagined a kiss, a deep one. His rough stubble abrading my skin. The wet stroke of his skillful tongue. The sensual heat of his firm lips. A needful moan escaped, but he seemed unaware of it. I hissed an internal command at my mutinous body, demanding that it behave, but it wasn’t interested in being compliant. Quite the opposite. It wanted to be bad, so very bad with him.

  “Which would you choose?” His voice was flint, a perfect spark to light my complicit flame.

  “Choose what?” My brain was a smoky haze. I leaned backward laying my head on his strong shoulder…just for a moment…the fall had taken so much out of me. He made a low agreeable sound as though maybe he liked having me right where I was. I felt his speculative gaze on me. “Oh, the leashes,” I remembered, scrambling for clarity but keeping my eyes straight ahead. “Are you still using a 5-foot, 10-inch board?” I whispered.

  “Yeah.” His warm breath stirred the sensitive skin near my nape. “I’m a big guy,” he stated in his seductive baritone. “I need a big board.”

  “Ok.” A pleasurable shiver rolled through me he would have to be blind not to notice. And Ramon was many things, but his powers of observation when it came to me had rarely been lacking. In my peripheral vision, I could see that the corners of his mouth were lifted. It used to amuse him how flustered I got whenever he flirted with me, though I had always secretly loved it. “You doing a lot of moves with it? In the deep water?” I asked, risking a full side glance at him. Our gazes locked. His was dark and glittering with something more significant than amusement. Captivated, I held my breath.

  “I like trying new tricks.” He arched a raven hued brow. “When I’m in there deep.”

  Oh, the images that came to my mind. “You doing it near the pier?” My voice was husky. I shifted with the intention of molding my body to his. His sandalwood and oak moss scent intoxicated me.

  “Doing what, surfer girl?” His accent was compellingly thick.

  “Surfing.” My cheeks grew warm. “Do you go in and out…underneath the pier I mean?”

  “Oh, yeah. I like that a lot.” I could hear the tease in his tone.

  “Then I’d go with the Pro-Lite.” I drew in a ragged breath. “The nine foot. Any longer and you might get the cord tangled in the pilings.”

  “Fair enough.” He reached over my shoulder and snagged the leash. His rock-solid chest pressed deeper into my back. His powerful thighs cradled my rear. I could feel his very hard, very impressive erection right in the cleft of my ass. Apparently, he wasn’t wearing anything beneath those Volcom board shorts. Tension thickened the air. He went statue-still. This suddenly didn’t feel like harmless flirting anymore.

  “Karen.” He groaned my name.

  Shit. Had I rocked myself over him? My body felt hot and so desperately needy.

  “You need to move away or I’m going to show you exactly how deep I really like it.”

  I stepped to the side and scurried to the other side of the shop.

  You’re doing it again, I chastised myself as I took refuge behind the counter once more. Playing with fire, setting yourself up for a good scorching. I lifted my gaze risking a glance at him. His eyes full of heat, he watched me back. Several long moments passed. I wished I had the ability to rewind time. I wished the past wasn’t immutable as the sea. I wished he was serious and not just fooling around to fluster me.

  I attempted a lame joke. “I’m guessing the leash isn’t the only thing in the nine range.” I dipped my gaze, but my attempt to dispel the tension backfired. I could clearly see the outline of his cock. It seemed to lengthen as I stared. Flustered flashed to furious flame. A molten need throbbed at the juncture of my thighs.

  My flushed cheeks and my glazed eyes told him everything I needed to hide. All of what I felt. All of what I wanted. All of what he did to me. His lips curled with masculine satisfaction. He crooked a finger.

  “You wanna have a closer look?”

  “Nope. Not interested,” I huffed the lie, recognizing that I was at the limits of what I could take of his teasing without crossing the line. Avoiding his eyes, I tossed my French braid over my shoulder while inwardly scrambling for equilibrium and non-sexual thoughts. “Why don’t you go ahead and pay for your leash so I can close out the register and go home.”

  “Sure.” Grin widening, he prowled over. My heart stumbled. His smooth swagger and his sexy smile formed a potent combo. “Eyes up top, surfer girl,” he chastened.

  “Ass,” I returned breathily, clumsy and slow ringing up the sale. He slid his credit card across the desk. I swiped it and returned it to him along with his receipt. I stared longingly at his glossy head of dark curls fingers tingling with the urge to touch them as he scrawled his signature on the slip. The obsidian strands seemed to absorb the light from the overheads while the width of his shoulders nearly eclipsed them.

  “Why don’t you come grab a bite with me?” His expression was casual as he lifted his head and regarded me. He separated the yellow copy from the original and passed it to me.

  “I don’t know.” I wasn’t doing well pretending he didn’t affect me. I stapled the receipt to the itemized bill and put it in the drawer. I had never been good at the game of subterfuge. If I spent any more time with him, it wouldn’t take him very long to figure out how desperately I wanted to make a reality of those things he was only flirting about.

  “C’mon,” he cajoled. “I’m checking out a local band. A couple of the band members are friends with Simone…”

  “Free Wave,” I guessed, frowning whe
n my stomach decided to grumble.

  He nodded. “They’re performing at the Deck Bar. We can walk over together. Sounds like you need something to eat. And you and me,” he paused, and his gaze flickered like candles lit by promises yet to be fulfilled. “Surely if we put our heads together, we can figure out how to be friends again.”

  Chapter Five

  Ramon

  “No, thank you,” I told the overly eager Deck Bar waitress when she asked me yet again if I wanted another beer and slipped me a fresh coaster with her phone number on it. She had recognized me the moment Karen and I had come in. She had that star struck look on her face, but I wasn’t interested in calling her later. I wasn’t interested in anything or anyone else right now except for the woman sitting across the pub table from me.

  “Don’t deprive yourself on my account.” Karen slid her gaze from the waitress to the half empty mug of Longfin Lager on the table. I knew she could see the phone number on the coaster. The waitress hadn’t been very discreet.

  “I’m not having another beer because I don’t want to be buzzed and miss out on the rare chance to enjoy your company.” I hit her with a pointed look. Something like understanding glittered in her eyes, but I don’t think she really got my meaning. In a lot of ways we knew each other very well, but in so many others being together like this was unsteady ground. “Drinking to excess is a rare exception these days rather than the rule,” I clarified. “And I’m a helluva lot more particular about who I take home with me. My life’s changed a lot. Yours has, too, I imagine.” Her eyes shimmered in response to my words. I covered her hand where it rested beside her plate. Her fingers felt delicate, her skin cold. Her gaze dropped to where our hands were joined before she lifted it to mine where it held. Where I wished it could always be. I could look into those eyes for hours. In fact, I practically had. We were finishing dessert. She had demolished the chocolate lava cake we had ordered to share. I hadn’t even bothered picking up my spoon. I knew how she was about chocolate. I didn’t feel deprived. I felt fortunate as fuck that she was here with me. I had enjoyed watching her eat. It had turned me on how she had closed her eyes and moaned at the first bite, and I had remained entranced as she had savored each one that had followed. The only part I hadn’t liked so far about our meal together was how evasive she had been about the last three years. I tried again. “You said you quit your job at Roxy, but you didn’t say why.”

  “They had me traveling a lot.” She paused with a spoon of leftover chocolate glaze halfway to her mouth. She carefully set it down on the plate. “It was what I wanted after Dominic and…” She looked away seeming to lose her train of thought. “It was better when I was busy,” she whispered. “Better when I was away from the apartment.” Her voice was distant, and her expression grew troubled as she stared out the window. The Deck Bar’s wooden shutters were open. The ocean breeze made the interior of the place almost chilly. And I knew it wasn’t the churning tide, but her own thoughts that troubled Karen. His loss was the one we shared, one that I feared neither of us would ever fully recover from. “In the end, it didn’t really help. The ghosts were always there waiting for me. At first, I told myself it was just one glass of wine to help me sleep. Then it became two.” She made a self-deprecating noise. Her eyes refocused on mine, her expression despondent. “Drinking for me was the rule. Not being drunk was the exception.”

  Fuck. I had never known she had struggled with substance abuse. Simone couldn’t have known, either. She was Karen’s closest friend. If she had known she would have told me when I called her each week and requested an update on Karen.

  “If I hadn’t quit my job,” she admitted, “they would have fired me.”

  “I’m sorry.” I hoped she could see the sincerity in my gaze. She knew my history. There wasn’t an ounce of recrimination in my gaze, only empathy. “I think we all lost our footing after the funeral. If I had known you were in trouble, I would have….”

  “You rescued me enough times over the years, don’t you think?” Bitterness lacing her tone, she slid her hand out from underneath mine. My eyes narrowed. I didn’t like her pulling away from me.

  “I don’t regret a single instance.”

  “No?” Her lips pursed as if she had bitten into something sour.

  “No,” I confirmed firmly.

  “Ok, maybe you don’t. After all, you were certainly good at it. Today’s catch from the ladder was just the latest example.”

  “Happy to help you anytime you need it, surfer girl.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyes glistened. “I appreciate it. I really do.” Her voice became thick. “I’m grateful for every single thing you did for me. It was just that the alcohol thing was something I had to work out on my own.”

  “I can see that.”

  “I had a feeling you would understand.”

  “I understand about that and a lot of things, more than I think you realize.”

  “I don’t doubt it.” She cocked her head to the side. Her long braid slid forward over her shoulder. “I forgot how easy it is to talk to you. It’s been mostly me and Simone lately, but she’s all wrapped up in Linc. I’m happy for her, but it gets a little lonely. I could use a good friend.” That space between her delicate brows creased. I could tell there was more troubling her than she let on. “What we were talking about earlier at the shop,” her gaze drifted away, “about me being a part of your life again, do you think maybe…”

  “Done,” I said readily. Her eyes met mine. Navigating our relationship from this point forward, if friendship was all she wanted was going to be hard for me. But I would take whatever I could get with her. That much hadn’t changed.

  “Karen!” She jumped backward in her chair and turned her head. I followed the direction of her gaze watching as Tasha waved and navigated around a couple of groups waiting to be seated on her way to our table. The young girl’s wide eyed gaze bounced back and forth between Karen and me. “I didn’t know the two of you were dating.”

  “We’re not,” Karen clarified quickly, too quickly in my opinion. “We’re just old friends catching up.” She smoothed a hand over her hair. “Ramon told me Free Wave is performing tonight. Are you singing?”

  “Pfft.” Tasha rolled her eyes. “Doubtful Vassel will let me. You know how he hogs the center mic.”

  “What lies are you telling about me, Tater Tot?” A guy nearly as dark skinned as I was, Greek if I had to guess, wrapped one arm around Tasha and started flicking her plethora of small ponytails with his free hand. She had colorful rubber bands all over her head. It was a very interesting style. “If anyone hogs the limelight, it’s you.” The dude might have had Tasha on his arm, but his gaze latched onto Karen like a hungry predator eyeing its next kill. “What’s your name, sweet thing?”

  “What’s yours, hot stuff?”

  “Whatever you want it to be, beautiful.” His large grin carved two deep crevices into each of his cheeks.

  Karen laughed. “Do those tired old lines usually work for you?”

  “No, but I don’t have to resort to using them very often. Most chicks like what they see, and they like me even better once they get to know me.” He cocked his hip toward her. I rolled my eyes but neither noticed. “I’ve got mad skills, baby. Let me show you. It would be sweet if you’d dance with me before my set. What do you say?”

  My gaze cut to her to see what her response would be to his nonsense. She was grinning. It pissed me off. Even before tragedy struck, her smiles were a rare occurrence. Her laughter even more elusive. The last time I had experienced either had been at the skate park in New York. It didn’t sit right with me that this Vassel had been able to coax both from her so readily. I could practically feel flames shooting off the top of my head.

  “She says no,” I barked out an answer before she could. “She’s already agreed to dance with me.” I could feel three sets of surprised eyes on me. I ignored them all and grabbed Karen’s hand. She gasped as I tugged her off her chair and dragg
ed her through the crowd away from Vassel. Diving straight into the throng on the dance floor, I turned and spun her toward me when I reached the middle. I grabbed both her hands and placed them around my neck. I placed mine on her hips, glided them lower to her rear and shamelessly palmed her sexy heart shaped ass as I reeled her closer. Her eyes grew large. I doubt she was thinking about the douche anymore. Her perfect body felt fucking amazing pressed against mine. “No one’s putting any moves on you, surfer girl,” I explained, my voice gruff. “Unless they get prior approval from me.”

  Chapter Six

  Karen

  “Is that so?” I rolled my eyes. “Ok, caveman. Time to put away the club. I don’t need your protection. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a while now.” I laughed, full and throaty evidence of how having his sexy body pressed to mine affected me. His strong features shadowed in the pulsating dance floor lights, he gazed down at me, and I imagined that the darkness in his eyes represented desire for me. “And besides that take your hands off of my ass, Martinez.” I was playing a dangerous game, dancing with him, out of breath, running on a heady dose of adrenaline as if I had just caught the perfect wave. “I need to get back to my friends. There’s something I want to ask Tasha.” Like when and where she had met Ramon and more significantly, just how friendly were they? I tried to free my hands from around his neck, but found that they seemed somehow tangled up in the curls at his nape.

  And yes, his hair was as soft as the silky surface of the ocean.

  Softer.

  “Umm, no. You’re staying right here. That guy is damn annoying. And anyway, I’m not finished with you yet. And I happen to love this song.” His hands stubbornly flexed on the cheeks of my ass. That felt so good, it was all I could do not to send him mixed messages by grinding against him. Then he began to slowly glide his hands higher.