gave her a questioning look.
“A pro,” she said, and laughed. “I surf professionally on the circuit. At least, I did until a few months ago before I decided to hit Pause for a bit and buy this place.” She nodded toward the resort.
If she made enough to afford this luxury spot, she had to have done pretty well as an athlete.
Rafe chastised himself for staring at her. Bikini bottoms with tiny red bows at the hips flattered her long, tanned legs. Her flat stomach was slightly ripped with muscles, just enough to show she wasn’t afraid of a good workout.
Rafe cleared his throat as he stood up. The interest in her toned-in-every-way body had to stop. He searched his brain to recall what they’d been talking about. “Why did you hit Pause?”
She pursed her lips. “Maybe that’s the wrong expression. I think of it as a long vacation. To reevaluate what I want to do next with my life.” She shifted from one foot to the other. “I’ve been traveling the world from one competition to the next since I was sixteen. Burnouts happen a lot in my sport. And to be honest, I was heading that way. I forgot my love for surfing and I wanted to remember why I’m addicted to those waves. And it’s helped. A month’s gone by and I’m already anticipating the next big meet.
“Listen to me. I sound like some confused chick trying to find herself.”
“No, you don’t,” Rafe said quickly. “I love being an active marine and serving, but there are some days I want to give it all a rest and be a farmer or something.”
She grinned. Her amusement pleased him. “You don’t seem like the farmer type.”
“That would be kind of funny, since I don’t know a thing about it,” he admitted. “But some job where you work with your hands and you’re alone out in nature. There’s no one to report to, and you don’t have to constantly watch your back.”
That was true. After his last assignment, he’d begun to reevaluate what was important to him. Unlike Kelly, he had no idea what might be next. He had invested in his friend Will’s private security company so he would always have a job there. That was his safety net.
But Rafe seldom took the safe path. His beat-up leg and shoulder were proof of that.
“How did you end up here? Seems like a lot to take on for one person.”
She shrugged. “I’d been coming here for years during my off time because the waves are great for most of the year. A friend of mine owned it. One day he said he wanted to sell it, and everything fell into place so easily that I knew it was the right decision. It is a lot of work, but manageable. For the most part, it can run itself as long as there’s someone to oversee the accounting and business stuff. Everyone who works here has been here for years, so that also helps.”
Rafe studied her. Kelly was proud of what she’d accomplished, and she should be. From what he’d seen so far, this was about as close to paradise as one could get.
“So what time did you say dinner was?”
“Oh, thanks for the reminder. I need to get back there. It’s at seven, and it’s casual. Very casual. Shorts are fine. Well, see ya tonight.” She grabbed her board and swung away with a jaunty lift to her step.
Rafe couldn’t take his eyes off her bikini-clad body striding up the beach. The woman was insanely beautiful. It wasn’t fair.
He laughed.
What was paradise without a little temptation?
3
RAFE SPOTTED KELLY from the open glass doors of his cabana. She was dressed in a white T-shirt and dark shorts. A pair of pink flip-flops graced her feet.
Yep. She was as hot as he remembered.
Hell.
What was he going to do? Rafe lived by the code of the corps, but he had his own code, as well. Before he’d ever thought about the Marines, his mother had instilled in him a profound respect for women. His father was strict when it came to treating others as equals. Rafe had grown up in the melting pot that was New York, and on his block everyone knew everyone else’s business. There was no chance of getting away with treating a girl he dated any less than was expected.
Kelly leaned over to hand someone a drink, and he couldn’t avoid it—the way her shorts stretched over her butt nearly sent him back to the showers for a cold one. As he approached the group of other guests, he noticed the man she’d given the drink to follow her with his eyes. The appreciation on his face didn’t sit well with Rafe.
Hey, weren’t you doing the same thing?
Shut up.
There were several people gathered in the mansion’s central room. A big flat-screen was on in one corner where some of the men watched a soccer match. An older couple admired the fish in the aquarium that separated the room from the dining area. Rafe wondered how they kept the tank clean. It was enormous.
“Rafe, I’m so glad you’re here,” Kelly said as if she were surprised to see him.
The confusion must have shown on his face.
“After so many hours on the plane and the swim you took earlier, I thought maybe jet lag might have taken over.”
He returned her smile. “It did—I passed out for a while, which is why I’m late. Sorry about that.” In truth, it had taken everything he had to push himself out of bed and into the shower. Only the curiosity of wanting to see Kelly again had kept him going.
Careful there.
“Can I get you a drink?” she asked.
Rafe shook his head. He’d taken two pain pills so that he could make the walk over, and the doctors had warned him not to mix them with liquor.
“Nah, I’m good. Maybe some water?”
“Kelly, the dinner is ready,” announced a lithe teen with the same beautiful skin of the Fijians and bright blue eyes that spoke of another ancestry.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Kelly asked the young girl.
She nodded.
“Okay, but if you spill anything—”
“I know, I know.” The girl almost rolled her eyes but stopped. “Sorry. Yes, ma’am.”
The girl left them, presumably for the kitchen.
“Nari reminds me of myself,” Kelly said softly. “I would do anything to surf when I was a kid.”
“I don’t follow,” Rafe said.
“Oh, she helps out around the resort and occasionally waits tables to pay for her surf lessons here.”
“You give lessons?”
“That she does, mate,” said the man who had been watching Kelly when Rafe had shown up. The Australian was nearly as tall
