I was pushing my luck. I knew it, but I couldn’t stop anyway. Greg had asked me to drop the education project, but I was still aggressively following every last lead. I just couldn’t bring myself to give up. Not yet. I wanted to exhaust every possibility before shelving the project. Which was why I was working on a fine Saturday. Yesterday, I’d slept like the dead after Friday dinner and woken up energized. Will had some work to do as well, so I thought I’d put the time to good use. I was at my usual coffee shop in Venice.

At six o’clock, just as I shut my laptop, a shadow appeared on my table. I could make out the outline of a tall, muscly man. I swore to God, if another surfer annoyed me, I’d take drastic measures.

It was Will. 

He was blocking the sun with his frame. Oh my, that frame. With the sun forming a halo around him, he looked even more handsome than usual. His skin seemed golden, and even his unruly hair appeared dark blond. He was wearing a black T-shirt that fit snugly over his broad chest. Yum... those pecs were just what the doctor ordered. He was carrying a backpack on one shoulder.

“Well, hello there, hunky detective. You didn’t tell me you were coming.” I’d texted him to let him know where I was, but he hadn’t replied.

“Wanted to surprise you.”

Will’s gaze roamed over my body, and despite my knee-length skirt, I felt naked. He placed the backpack on the floor, then leaned in for a kiss.

Oh, la la. This wasn’t just your run-of-the mill good evening kiss. Will tilted my head up, splaying his hand across the side of my face. His thumb pressed on my cheek; his other fingers reached my ear and hairline. His tongue entwined with mine, and the man kissed me until I felt as if my panties were on fire. My bra too. I was burning for him. Everything blurred except for Will Connor—the taste of his mouth, the feel of his skin against mine. I forgot where we were for a split second, but then I remembered with a jolt. 

“Will, remember the rules about kissing in public?” I whispered.

He dragged his forefinger from the tip of my nose down to my lips. “Remember what I said about rules?” he countered. “Is this making you hot and bothered?”

“You know it does.”

“I like hearing it.” He brought his mouth to my ear. “Feeling it.”

His hand moved to my thigh. I pushed it away half-heartedly because I loved his touch. But it was so scorching hot that I was at risk of forgetting all about decency. Will pulled back a notch, trapping me in his gaze. Yep, that hot look wasn’t steering me on the path to Decentville. Sinnerland was looking more and more appealing. He kissed me again, hotter than before, as if I hadn’t just scolded him. I detected a hint more possessiveness than usual. 

“Every surfer boy here will know you’re taken,” Will explained after pulling his mouth away.

He sat on the chair next to mine. “Oh, I see. So you weren’t just trying to kiss the panties off me. You had an ulterior motive.”

“Saw the way a few bastards were looking at you when I walked up.”

“And you’re assuming the same surfers will be here next week?” I challenged. It might have been an underhanded tactic to get him to visit me next week too. Might.

“I don’t know, but I’ll be here.”

Mission accomplished! He kissed that sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder. At first he just feathered his lips... but then he brought his tongue out to play too, and I felt that little lick all over my body. Was he doing it on purpose? What was I saying—of course he was. He couldn’t seem to help himself around me, and I couldn’t deny it—I loved that.

“You’re all I need, Paige.”

I was so humbled that I was giving him what he needed. When I couldn’t feel a hot exhale against my neck, I realized he was holding his breath, as if his own words had caught him by surprise. Then he went on, and I inched closer, because he was speaking in a low voice and I didn’t want to miss one word.

“I think I’ve always avoided needing someone, but with you... nothing feels close enough.” His warm breath landed on my skin again. “I’m not sure if I’m making sense, but I wanted you to know this.”

“You are making sense,” I assured him gently. I understood where he was coming from. I’d been afraid of losing Dad as a kid, but he did lose his parents. Needing someone had always seemed like a vulnerability.

I just couldn’t get enough of his body heat, of the beauty of this moment. He’d shown me a vulnerable part of himself, and though I’d never been outspoken about voicing my feelings, I wanted to open up with Will. 

“When I went shopping with Mom, she told me that I’ve always been afraid of love. But with you, I’m not afraid at all. Isn’t that crazy?”

He pulled back a little, looking straight at me. I had never, ever seen Will smile like that. It was wide and warm, and he seemed immensely happy. I’d made that happen, huh? I’d made my hunky detective happy enough to warrant a smile so wide, I was a little afraid his cheeks would hurt.

“What?” I asked, even though I knew what. Maybe I wanted to hear him say it. But Will was out of words. He was too busy kissing the living daylights out of me. I was caught up in his magic and didn’t give two hoots about the fact that we were in public. He wanted a sinfully scorching hot kiss? He’d have it. We only stopped when we were in danger of suffocating.

“Easy, Detective. I’m feeling so hot that I’m going to break into a sweat soon.”

“Let’s swim.”

“I have a bikini, but you brought swim trunks?” I asked skeptically.

“Yes, I did. Also brought towels.” He pointed to the backpack.

“Then let’s go.”

I left my laptop and bag with the barista, whom I’d befriended since I was here so often, and after we changed in the small cabins behind the bar, we headed to the beach, laying the towels on the sand before walking toward the water.

Will slipped into his vigilante mode, peering around the beach.

“I’m doing it again,” he remarked when he caught me watching him.

“I don’t mind. I got used to it.”

He jerked his head back. “Really?”

I nodded. “It’s part of who you are, Will. It just took me some time to accept it.”

We ran toward the water, jumping in. It was cool, but not cold. I always preferred swimming at sunset anyway, after the sun had shone on the water all day, warming it up.

I swam breaststroke, and Will was by my side. I felt a slight twinge in my ovaries—like a cramp. My period hadn’t come yet. I wasn’t supposed to get it for another week, but the anticipation was killing me. I was reading into everything: was I too sleepy? Was I hungry too often? I swam faster. Whatever happened, I wasn’t alone in this. I had to remember this. But despite Will’s reassurances, I couldn’t help worrying about the impact a pregnancy would have on us.

When I grew tired, I slowed my pace.

“Water’s too deep here. Can we swim back to where I can touch the ocean floor?”

“I’m reaching it. I’ll hold you.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I wrapped myself around him the next second. Legs around his middle, arms around his neck. I was making full boob contact with his chest. And below, we had a full cock contact situation. He had a hard-on, and the length of it was pressed against my belly.

“Hey, when did this happen?” I moved a few inches up and down, just to check I wasn’t imagining things. Nope, I wasn’t. Will was hard as all get out.

“When you were running in front of me in your tiny bikini.” He skimmed his hands from my hips to my ass, palming each cheek and fondling it.

“Will....” 

“My hands are under water. No one can see what I’m doing.”

“You wouldn’t dare—” Oh, and how he dared. Before I could even finish my sentence, he slipped one hand to the front. He moved the part of the bikini covering my center to one side and stroked my entrance. I shuddered in his arms.

He strummed his fingers on my sensitive flesh, and it was all I could do not to squirm. I pushed him away because the fiend showed no signs of stopping.

“Let’s swim back,” I said.

Will smirked. “You do that. I’m going to swim on my own for a while until my hard-on goes away.”

Right. I’d feel guilty about him having blue balls, but it was his own fault entirely. Here I was, swimming innocently, and he had to go and get us both hot and bothered. He got what he deserved.

I shivered as I stepped out of the water, but the sun was still strong enough to warm me up. I peeked over my shoulder and caught Will watching me, so I made a big show of drying off, keeping my ass toward him and bending at the waist as I ran the towel down my legs.

After retrieving my bag and laptop from the barista, I sat down on the towel just as Will was coming out of the water. Lust coiled through me. He wasn’t just yummy. He was... I had no words. Hotter than sin? The very definition of sexy? No words seemed to do him justice. He advanced slowly toward me, spraying water in all directions when he ran a hand through his hair. His dark tresses were sticking out in spikes, and drops of water were trickling down his chest. His gaze was on me, intense and molten. His eyes were hooded.

I tossed him a towel, and he dried himself off. Then he propped a knee on the towel, between my ankles. Leaning forward, he moved over me until we were almost face-to-face.

“I know what you were doing earlier,” he said in a raspy voice.

I planted a small kiss right in the hollow of his neck. “I was torturing you. No need to be coy about it. I’m owning up to it.” A deep groan reverberated in his chest. It was a deliciously masculine sound. “It didn’t help with the blue balls situation, did it?” He skimmed a hand up my arm, bringing it to the back of my neck. He lowered his head to whisper in my ear. 

“You knew exactly what you were doing to me.”

“Oh, yeah. Tit for tat.”

“You’ll pay for that. I won’t let you come tonight.”

I licked my lips. Holy hell, I had not been banking on that.

“What? I didn’t hear you correctly. I think you meant, I will make you come repeatedly.”

He took my earlobe between his teeth, tugged a little. “You heard me right. I’ll eat you out, fill you with my cock, but I won’t let you come.” He moved, sitting right next to me, watching me as if he hadn’t just turned me on and terrified me at the same time.

“You’re that cruel?”

“Wait and see.”

I debated going toe to toe with him on this, but I decided to keep my cards close to my chest: I could be just as cruel.

We had dinner on the beach and afterward we watched the water and the sun, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling happier.

“Oh, I forgot, do you have time for a dinner sometime next week? At my parents’ house?”

“Sure.”

“It’s going to be a crazy affair. I bet my brother will also make time to come.”

“I already met your family.”

Every single member of my family had dropped by the inn on the nights when it was my turn to supervise the handyman, under one pretense or another.

“Well, yes, but now they’re all together. More intimidating.”

“I’m a cop. I can’t be intimidated.”

“Won’t stop them from trying.”

“I’ll handle it. Just don’t schedule it on Wednesday. Actually, I wanted to ask you to keep it free.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see.”

I lifted my head, watching him closely. “Tell me.”

“No.”

I poked his chest. He grinned. I poked below his navel. His gaze fell on my lips. When I moved my hand even lower, he gripped it. I had another free hand though, and I used it smartly. I went in for the kill, tickling his armpit. He was so surprised that he let my other hand go too. Big mistake, Detective. I tickled his other armpit too, straddling him. My attack only lasted a few seconds. He caught my hands, holding them suspended in the air. I became aware of our position. My groin was above his navel, and my nipples were practically in his face. As if knowing how close they were to Will’s mouth, the girls perked up. 

“Fine, you dangerous woman. I’m taking you to the Griffith Observatory.”

“Oh?”

“You know your constellations, so I thought you’d like to see a meteor shower. I’ve been researching their page for something like that. And they announced it for Wednesday.”

Wow. My muscles relaxed. In fact, my entire body felt lighter as I looked into those gorgeous eyes. He took advantage of my lack of attention, and in a few seconds, he pinned me beneath him. He was holding my hands captive, and I couldn’t move my legs either.

“Happy now? You made me ruin the surprise.”

“Just because I know about it doesn’t mean it’s ruined. I wasn’t expecting you to be so swoonworthy, William Connor.”

My heart was thumping wildly as he looked down at me with affection. I was so lost in him that I didn’t even realize he planned to tickle me until his hands went to my armpits. I shrieked and kicked my legs, laughing like a maniac. Will knew how to do payback like no one else. I deserved it, true, but goddamn, I was going to embarrass myself if he didn’t stop.

“Stop, stop, stop.” I wasn’t sure he’d understood any word I said, because I was shrieking. He must have though, because he stopped. Or maybe he just decided to show me mercy.

I was heaving out breaths while he brought his mouth to my neck. He was holding my hands above my head. 

“Let’s go over the things you’re not allowed to do,” he whispered against my skin. “You’re not allowed to tickle me into telling you my plans for dates.”

“So you’re planning more?”

“Hell yes, I’m planning more.”

I rolled my hips until my belly was flat against his hard-on.

“What are you doing?” he growled.

“Showing my appreciation for your effort. You’re restraining my hands, and this is the only way I thought of doing it.” I batted my eyelashes innocently. “You were saying?”

“You’re not allowed to put your boobs anywhere near my mouth when we’re in public and I can’t taste them.”

“Is there anything I am allowed to do, Detective?” Why was my voice so husky?

“Yes. You’re allowed to go home with me and enjoy everything I’m going to do to you tonight.”

I smiled, because it was clear he wasn’t going to make good on his earlier threats.