Nobody But You(60)

Did he not understand the concept of having to check if she needed to shave? Insta-tan? Wax? None of which could be done in five minutes.

While she sat gawking at him, Jacob got out of the truck and came around to open her door for her. He offered her a hand, nudged her toward her boat, and then strode off to his cabin.

Nope, correction, he went to the side of his cabin, where there were…oh God help her…two paddleboards leaning up against the siding.

Over his shoulder he smiled at what was surely a look of horror on her face. “Never pegged you for a chicken,” he said.

That did it. She whirled and went running to the boat to change.

“Five minutes,” he called after her in a voice she imagined had served him well in the military.

Over her shoulder she flipped him the bird. The sound of his answering chuckle had her smiling as she jumped on board. Smiling, after the shit day she’d had. It was a miracle, she thought.

No, wait. Not a miracle. It was Jacob Kincaid.

As it happened, she did own an itty-bitty bikini, one she’d bought on a whim during a Victoria’s Secret semiannual sale. She had yet to wear it because it showed an awful lot of Sophie.

Screw that, she told herself bravely, stripping and shoving herself into the thing—and she did mean shoving. She inspected her legs and decided that yesterday’s shave would have to do. As for a tan, well, that wasn’t going to happen, so she might as well own her white-girl skin. At the last minute she added a short, white camisole sundress that gave her at least the illusion of coverage.

She found him waiting on the water’s edge in front of his cabin in nothing but board shorts, and at the sight, she tripped over her own feet.

Good Lord.

The man was ripped. He was leanly muscled from head to toe, and his shorts had slipped dangerously low, to just beneath hip muscles that could make a grown woman stupid.

He pointed to the boards, both in the water.

“How do I do this?” she asked.

“On your knees.”

She wondered if it was his voice or just the way he reeked of bad boy that made everything he said seem dirty. She went brows up.

He smiled. “Maybe later, if you’re good.”

She flushed and waded out until the water lapped at her calves.

“Not sure the dress is a great idea,” he said.

“Trust me, it’s a great idea.”

He shrugged and steadied the board while she got on her knees and tested her balance. He handed her a long black paddle and showed her how to hold it. “Stay on your knees until you’re comfortable,” he said. “You can push to your feet when you’re ready.”

She nodded and then watched as he mounted his board, not going to his knees at all, but standing straight up on his feet with an ease and agility that she knew she could never match.

“Hey,” she said. “Why don’t you have to start out on your knees?”

“I never get on my knees on the first date.”

She choked out a laugh, and he flashed her a smile that sent heat and desire, instead of blood, skittering through her veins. He pushed off ahead of her, showing her the best way to maneuver, and she watched him carefully.

Okay, so she watched his ass carefully. Hey, it was a grade-A ass!

He craned his neck and caught her staring, sending her a look that had her burning up from the inside out. Doing something with his pole, he stopped dead in the water and…she sailed right past him.

“Hey,” she said, panicking.

“You’re okay. Loosen your knees. Good. Watch your balance…Don’t look backward.” He laughed when, with a squeak, she whipped her head around to face forward again and nearly tumbled off.

“Steady,” he said. “Relax, keep breathing.”

She nearly told him where he could stuff his “relax,” but he was right. When she controlled her breathing, it was easier. Not so much like a cat trying to figure out how to swim without getting wet.

“Ready to stand up?” he asked.

“No!” She watched him move with such masculine grace and wanted to be able to do that. “Okay, yes.”

“Go down to all fours, with your paddle across the front of the board.”

Once again her mind went straight to the gutter. But she went to all fours, wildly aware that he was right behind her, watching.

“Slowly push to your feet,” he instructed.

Easier said than done. Her sundress was caught between her knees and the board, holding her down. As she struggled to free herself, the board began to wobble and she swore the air blue. “Damn, shit. Fuckers!”

Laughter in his voice, Jacob said, “Don’t overcorrect…” just as she did exactly that and for a moment went on a wild roller-coaster ride without a seat belt, and then…

Fell face-first into the lake.

The cold water closed over her head, and she had just enough time to think, I’m gonna kill him, before she broke the surface, gasping for air.

She grabbed her board and hung on to it, narrowing her eyes at Jacob, who—smart man—wasn’t laughing outright. Nope, it was all in his eyes.

“How’s the water?” he asked.

Dammit, it was deliciously chilly on her heated skin, not that she was about to admit it. She waited for him to say, I told you the dress was a bad idea, or at least smirk at her clumsiness, but he did neither. Instead he crouched low and used his paddle to hold her board steady.