“I organized for Janice to take your shifts on Monday and Tuesday. And the boss arranged for someone else to be on call for those nights,” Tammy answered over the phone.

Wow. That came from left field. Gabi usually had her finger on the pulse, especially when it came to work. She part-time managed the apartment building she lived in, and handling the allocation of shifts was one of her duties. She also spent most evenings and weekends on call for tenant emergencies, which made up for the hours she needed to study and attend class for her degree. How had she not realized Tammy was Blake’s undercover agent?

“And the boss didn’t care?” Gabi asked. “Are you sure I’m going to have a job when I get back?”

“Don’t fret. It’ll be fine and you already have Wednesday off on annual leave...”

The uncomfortable silence that followed crawled under Gabi’s skin. Every year she made sure she didn’t have to work on the fourth day after her birthday. The anniversary of her brother’s death was always spent with her parents.

“Great.” She forced a chipper tone. “Thank you for organizing everything. You’re a champ.”

“So, are you going to give me details?”

Gabi laughed. She’d expected the question sooner. “Nope.”

“That bad, huh?”

She lowered her voice. Even though she stood outside while Blake had gone to pay for their meals, she didn’t want to be overheard gossiping. “Far from it.”

“Well then, spill, woman! You’re killing me.”

“I don’t want to make you jealous,” Gabi whispered over a bubble of contained laughter.

“Jealous of what?” Blake asked.

She gasped at his whispered voice so close to her ear and melted into his chest when he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

“I’ve gotta go, Tam. We’ll catch up later in the week.”

Blake kissed the curve of her neck and ran his hand under the front of her shirt, teasing the low of her belly with his fingers.

“You can’t leave me hangin’ like that! Come on. At least give me a few juicy details,” Tammy begged.

Gabi withheld a moan while Blake’s touch slid over her skin. They were in broad daylight, in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, and all she could think of were his hands moving higher to cup her breasts, to tweak her nipples.

“Can’t… Gotta go… Sorry.” She disconnected the call, threw her phone into her handbag, and turned within Blake’s arms. The sight of him—his heavy lidded eyes and lips mere inches from her own—stole her breath.

“Who were you making jealous?” He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek.

Her head fell to the side, giving him better access to work his magic. “None of your business,” she moaned.

“How can I make it my business?” he murmured.

Something sparked to life inside her, something heated and fluttery and overwhelming. She wanted nothing more than her whole life to be his business. For them to share everything. However, the distance between their lives made it seem unobtainable.

“Blake.” She straightened, needing his attention to be able to read his eyes.

He didn’t pull his lips away from her neck. “Hmm?” He kissed her again, delicate and light. “What will it take, angel?” His hands slid around her waist to grip her ass. “For me to be your everything?”

She closed her eyes and shuddered. Pleasure overtook her—at his words, his touch, his emotion. He brought her to life, but she knew that would fade once they were no longer together. The thought was too much to bear.

“What’s going to happen to us once I come back from Melbourne?” she asked.

He stopped kissing her. “You’re coming to Melbourne?” He straightened and slid his hands to her waist.

She nodded up at him. “Yes.”

His eyes flashed. “Is it too much to ask you to come home with me?”

Her heart squeezed at the vulnerability in his tone. She wished it was as easy as listening to her heart and saying, “yes.”

Gabi couldn’t leave. Not so soon, anyway. Her Bachelor of Hospitality Management was mere months from completion. And she needed to graduate. She had to graduate. Six years of part-time education, including six months of overseas study and one deferred year to recover from Greg’s death, and she was ready for this stage of her life to be over.

“Blake, I’d love to, but you know I can’t. Not yet.” It wasn’t like she hadn’t dreamed of running away with him for years. She would give up her world to be with him, if only he would wait a little longer.

“I know.” He shot her a sad smile. “I didn’t expect you to. It was more of a wish, I suppose.”

You’re killin’ me.

He was so strong, so loyal to his friends, and still he didn’t believe his own worth. If only he knew she’d been mentally planning their wedding and picking out baby names since they first started voice Skyping. Moving to America wasn’t an issue.

Placing her hands around his neck, she peered up at him, staring into those dark eyes until she had his full attention. “I would move to be with you.”

Hope flickered in his irises and he bit his lip, waiting.

“I just can’t do it right now. I need to finish my degree. But after that…”

He cupped her face, searching her expression, reaching into her soul to take another tiny piece of her. “You’d move for me?”

There went her heart again, aching at his vulnerability. “I’d do anything for you.”

A kaleidoscope of emotions flickered in his features—disbelief, awe, happiness, and then his cocky persona settled back into place, and a wide grin tilted his lips. “I might have to test that theory.”

She raised her chin, ignoring the way he hid behind a thin veil of arrogance, and pulled the strap of her handbag higher on her shoulder. “Test away.”

* * *

“Teach me to surf.”

It sounded like a good test at the time—he was in Queensland, Australia, the place of the mighty surf and scorching sun. Now, he’d gone well past second guessing the profound stupidity of his suggestion. What had he been thinking? Well, he’d been thinking exactly what any guy would’ve been thinking. Gabi in a bathing suit? Rock on!

What Blake hadn’t anticipated was the unrestrained erection tenting his swim trunks or the mass of people staring at him. Women, children, even men.

“Just lie on the board and pretend you’re paddling.” Gabi bent over above him, her feet at the head of the board, her delicious rack tempting the unyielding shit out of him. “Then what I want you to do is, jump up—”

“Gabi, this isn’t gonna work,” he muttered.

Not even the discomfort of sand scratching his stomach could lessen the eagerness of his cock. He doubted an electric sander against his balls would. There was no way he could “jump up” in his current state without scandalizing the locals.

“It’s easy. All you have to do—” She bent lower, her breasts hovering above his head.

Yeah, get Gabi in a public place, dressed in a teeny, tiny, black string bikini. Fucking brilliant idea.

“Gabi,” he growled and leaned on his elbows to look up at her. “If you don’t get the twins outta my face, I’m going to fuck you where you stand. You got me?”

She stared at him wide-eyed, her tongue sliding out to moisten her curving lips. The sight alone had him squeezing his eyes closed.

“I’m not sure about US law, but that’s totally illegal here,” she whispered with a chuckle.

“I. Don’t. Fucking. Care.”

Her laughter increased, and when he opened his eyes again, her taunting mounds of flesh were jiggling up and down, her nipples hard and beading against the thin material of her bathing suit.

“You were warned.” He pushed off the board, moving to stand in a rush, and swept her off her feet.

She squealed and swung her delicate arms around his neck. As he ran into the waves, her hold tightened, her squeal turning into demands to put her down. He ignored her until his third leg was out of view, doused by the warm Australian water.

He concentrated on the waves. The sound of the ocean distracted him, and the hot midday sun made the tainted darkness inside him a little brighter. He’d never felt so at home. Even in a foreign country, with a woman he’d seen for the first time last night, his heart felt full.

He’d never truly belonged. Anywhere. In high school, he’d been the poor kid with the dead-beat parents. Other students teased him about his secondhand clothes and barely wearable shoes. Close friends had been hard to come by, and even those tended to stab him in the back when he needed them the most.

His only solace had been music, and more specifically, the music teacher who tried to steer Blake away from the wrong crowd by occupying him on lunch breaks with guitar lessons. From the first moment he held the cold wood of a bass in his hands, he’d known what he wanted to do with his life. And it took a lot of unpaid gigs and determination to get there.

Then came Reckless Beat. The guys didn’t judge him on anything other than his ability to rock the strings. Even his position as bass guitarist didn’t seem secure, though. He held too many secrets and made too many mistakes to ever feel like his place within the group would last forever. One day his skeletons would fall from the closet, and he’d be kicked to the curb without a second glance.

Now, here with Gabi, he knew he had someone to belong to. A person he yearned to make a permanent fixture in his life, even if he didn’t deserve it.

“You’re a tease,” he whispered into her ear, jumping over the first waist high wave. He needed to keep moving, to drown himself under the salt water until blood flow went back into his brain, instead of his cock.

She chuckled and kissed his jaw. “Maybe.”

Maybe? He looked down at her and took another hit of water. “That was deliberate?”

Her grin widened.

“The tits in my face? The rubbing up against me? The smallest fucking bikini known to man? You did all that on purpose?”

Her cheeks lifted, her smile growing to show dazzling white teeth as she shrugged.

Minx. “You’ll pay, my gorgeous angel.” He leaned into her, the water now lapping at his chest, and took her lips with his own. There was nothing delicate about his kiss. It was hard, unyielding and unremorseful, just like the thickness growing between his legs.

Gabi clung to him, hitching her thighs around his waist, sparking his arousal to new heights. The lust and love he held for this woman beat so hard through his veins that he wanted to kneel at her feet and beg her to be his. Not for a weekend. Not for a month. Forever.

She broke the connection with a gasp and glanced behind him. “Wave!” she shouted, then pushed off his chest, diving into the deep blue.

He had a second to peer over his shoulder and follow her under before the water crashed, pounding at his kicking ankles. When he came up for air, Gabi was in front of him, her shoulder length hair now slicked back in light curls.

“Come out further. There won’t be as many waves.” She grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers while they walked to deeper water.

When another swell formed, she released her hold and dived under the approaching rush—so fluid and lithe. This time when he dived after her, he opened his eyes, ignoring the sting of salt water, and grasped her around the waist. She didn’t flinch, didn’t even falter as he pulled her into his arms and brought them up for air.

He gave her a second to catch her breath before he plastered his mouth against hers, his tongue delving between her lips. His chest rumbled, voicing the fierce demand his body made for this woman. He didn’t care if he drowned in the process of kissing her. Breath seemed like a far second to passion in his current state.

She wrapped her legs around him again, grinding her heat against his length. His body jolted with the pleasure, demanding him to pull her bikini to the side and take her. Right here. Right now. Surrounded by surfers and swimmers and parents and children.

Fuck the world. They didn’t matter. Nothing did. Except Gabi. Her sweet body milking him, taking him to a place he’d never been before.

He deepened the kiss, gripping the back of her head with his hand, while the other grasped her ass. The pull of the ocean tugged against his thighs and he broke their connected mouths to find a massive wave forming.

“We’ll make it over.” Gabi released her grip on his body and swam ahead, rushing to get over the wave before it broke.

He took off after her, trying damn hard to ignore the erection-made rudder that slowed his progress. They both reached the top of the wave as it began to break and sailed down the back end, a yard apart, staring at each other with feverish need.

When the water leveled, he dived under again, resurfacing against her body. He didn’t have time to kiss her or grasp her hips, before she was on him, her tongue in his mouth, her hands on his chest. Her touch slid lower, over his waist, to grab his cock, causing him to jerk.

“Holy hell.” He was close, so hyped on touch and taste and lust that it wouldn’t take long for him to blow. “Careful, angel.” He treaded water, the ocean lapping at his chin. Taking Gabi’s hand, he swam a few feet back to shore where he could feel the sand between his toes. Once he had his footing, he grasped her hips and pulled her into his waist. “I wanna make you come.”

She pressed her lips together and smiled. “What’s stopping you?” Her gaze turned seductive, peering up at him under wet lashes, her hair dripping around her face.

He growled and smashed his lips against hers, breaching her mouth with his tongue while his hand slid from her hip to the crotch of her bikini bottoms. She sucked in a breath. Christ. They were both a bundle of hypersensitive nerves. He held her around the waist with his free hand and swiped her pussy lips with the hand already nestled against her heat. Her body shuddered against him, her eyelids fluttering while her back arched into his chest.

The ocean surged around them, dragging them off the ground and closer to the shore before receding. His fingers teased her entrance while his mouth devoured hers. The pleasure of her body made him burn, made him hunger to drag her to the shore and take her in front of a beach full of strangers. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t even take her in the depths of the water where their actions would be hidden under the deep blue waves. He didn’t have protection and hadn’t had an STD check in six months. When he played, he played safe, and he would never risk Gabi’s health for his gratification. Knowing he would have to wait until they were back at her place only made the ache throb harder.

“You want me to make you come?” he growled into her ear.

She mewled and nodded into his neck.

He smiled, loving how he could make such a beautiful woman needy and dazed with passion.

“You sure?” he teased, stroking his fingers back and forth down the centre of her core.

“Oh, Blake, please.” She dug her nails into his skin and rubbed her erect nipples against his chest. “It won’t take much… I’m… Just stop teasing me, please.”

With a soft slide, he drove his fingers into her. She moaned, the walls of her core immediately clamping down on his digits.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.

Her lips were parted, her eyes closed, her cheeks warm and pink. Water rushed around them as they glided over a forming wave. He ignored it, tuning out the world around them. He wanted to give Gabi something to remember him by, something to think of every time she looked at the ocean. And pleasure was one thing he excelled at.

Working his fingers in and out of her body, he found a rhythm. He pulled her tighter against him and worked his thigh between her legs, adding pressure. His balls pulsed, his cock throbbed, yet he focused solely on her. Everything was for her.

“Does it feel good, angel, to be out here in front of hundreds of people with my fingers in your pussy? I never would’ve picked you to be a naughty girl.”

She whimpered into his neck, sinking her teeth into his skin. “It…feels…so…good.”

He moved his fingers faster, stretching the material of her bikini to rest his thumb against her clit.

“Oh…shit,” she panted and bucked against his hand. She raised her leg, wrapping it around his thigh, giving him better access to her tight heat. “More, please.” Her mouth sucked at his skin and her touched travelled down his body, underneath the waistband of his trunks. “Please, Blake.” She gripped his erection and began to stroke.

He clenched his jaw, swallowed hard, and thought about basslines, airport delays, anything to drag his focus away from the rhythmic stroke of her silken grip. They’d been making love all night, and he couldn’t get enough.

He had no immunity to this woman.

“Oh, Blake.” She kissed his neck, tiny teasing nips that made his thighs tense.

“Are you going to scream for me, gorgeous?” He moved his lips to her ear and scraped his teeth against her lobe. “I want to hear you call my name. I want everyone to hear, so they know you’re mine and will never doubt who you belong to.”

He thrust into her grip, so close to the edge, not wanting to go over without her. Placing more pressure on her clit, he sunk a third finger into her pussy and felt his balls tighten at her moan.

“I’m… Ah…”

Her voice drove him crazy. Then her core began to pulse around him. Blood rushed in his ears, deafening, and her hand on his cock tightened into a strong hold. He stood still, continuing the thrust of his fingers as she arched her back and gasped in pleasure.

From the corner of his eye, white foam caught his attention and he snapped his head around to see a wave looming above them.

There was no time to think.

“Gabi!” He slid his hands from her sheath and grabbed her arm.

Her eyes fluttered open, not registering the danger as he took a deep breath and went under. He tried to drag her with him, but the force of the wave against his back tore her arm from his grip. The torrent pulled at his legs, twisting his body, squeezing the breath from his lungs. Then just as quickly as it hit, it was gone.

He kicked to the surface, breaking the water with a gasp and turned in a quick circle to search for her. Where was she? Gabi always made it up before he did. She was the water baby, the one who loved to swim, yet he couldn’t see her anywhere.

His heart pounded and fear tightened his throat. He was about to put his hand up to call for a lifeguard, when her head came up from under the water over ten feet away. She was closer to shore, now stuck in the main area where the waves were breaking.

“Gabi.” He pushed off the sandy ground and swam to her. She didn’t smile, didn’t wipe the mass of tangled hair from her forehead. She simply stood there, the water now lapping at her breasts as she blinked in a daze.

He kicked harder and felt another wave pulling at his heels. “Gabi!”

Her chin lifted, searching for him.

“Gabi, get under.” His whole body stiffened, his erection now lost to torment.

She sighted the wave behind him and he waited for her to dive under before he did the same. He searched for her under the tumbling rush and came up holding her around the waist.

“Are you OK?”

She leaned into him and winced. “Worst…orgasm…ever.”

He squeezed her tighter and gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Yeah?” Something wasn’t right. She was swaying on her feet, staring into the distance as if disoriented. He needed to get her out of the water. “I thought it would’ve rated highly seeing as though you still look stunned.”

She gave a perfunctory laugh which amped his concern. There was nothing perfunctory about Gabi. She was enthusiastic, jovial, passionate. Always. Not the person who stood before him, glancing straight through him.

“I need to get you some help.”

She shook her head, then grimaced. “No, I’m fine.” She placed her fingers at her temples. “I just need to sit down. That’s the first time I’ve been dunked in years.”

He led her from the water, holding her close to make sure she didn’t fall with the continued pounding from the waves. When he reached the shore, a lifeguard came at them, running into the ankle high water in his bright red shorts and a yellow T-shirt.

“Gabi?” The guy went to her other side and placed his hand around her waist.

The familiarity between them blindsided Blake. He wasn’t the jealous type, but having this pretty boy wrap his arm around Gabi had the same result as waving a red flag at a bull. Nobody touched his woman. She isn’t really your woman.

“I’m fine, Troy. You’re both being melodramatic.”

Troy—her surfing instructor. Blake remembered Gabi speaking about him more than once.

They led her up the beach, helping her to sit on the soft sand near their towels.

“Seriously,” she shaded her eyes from the sun and peered up at them, “I’m fine. You can both drop the protective act. I just need to catch my breath.”

“She was dunked and stayed under for a while,” Blake gritted through clenched teeth. He had no medical training and if the blond, buff lifeguard was the only one he could rely on to check her, then so be it.

The douche gave Blake a dismissive glance, then turned his attention back to Gabi. “What the hell were you doing to get smashed so hard? You’re usually one with the ocean.”

Insecurity had Blake kneeling down to remain close to Gabi. Fuck irrationality, he didn’t care. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with the need to stake a claim. “This time she was ‘one’ with me.” A smirk pulled at his lips. Yeah, he was an arrogant prick, but he wanted the guy to know the score.

Gabi snorted and raised a brow as she turned her gaze to him. “Yes. It was entirely your fault.” She grinned.

“Ahh… Right,” the guy murmured, taking a step back.

Gabi’s grin deepened. “Blake, this is Troy. Troy, this is Blake, the bass guitarist for Reckless Beat.”

Blake still sported the I’m-sleeping-with-her-so-kiss-my-ass smirk when he turned on his haunches to Troy. The guy wasn’t impressed. He looked down his nose, his gaze roaming over Blake’s tattoos with disgust.

“G’day,” Troy muttered and thrust out a hand for Blake to shake.

“Hey.” Blake jerked his head in acknowledgement and shook the guy’s hand. They gripped for longer than necessary, staring each other down, neither one willing to break eye contact.

Gabi cleared her throat and pushed to her feet, and still the asshole didn’t loosen his grip. With a roll of his eyes, Blake dropped his hand and stood, ignoring the way Troy continued to size him up. Fuck the lifeguard and the little rubber duckies he floated in on. It wouldn’t be the last time Blake had to deal with someone’s disapproval where Gabi was concerned.

“Let’s go home,” Gabi said, dusting sand off her ass.

The way she said “home” made him swallow. It conjured images of a family and feelings of long-term togetherness. It was sweet relief against the anxiety that wracked him at the thought of being without her again. God, how he wanted that. He wanted to deserve that.

Troy stepped forward. “I need to check you over first.”

Gabi paused and pierced Troy with an incredulous stare. “Are you serious? It’s just a little headache. You’ve seen me take hits like this before.”

She wiped the wet sand off her tanned belly, jiggling her luscious breasts. Blake was pissed that he wasn’t the only one following the movements.

“I’m on shift, Gab. If you end up in hospital after I’ve let you walk away from here, I’ll be in the shit for not checking you properly.”

Gabi placed a hand on her hip and glared at Troy. Blake had no clue what a “proper check” involved and already hated the thought, however, he would step back and let the pretty boy handle the full force of her wrath.

Sadly, they looked good together. The surfer chick with the lifeguard. Both tanned, toned, and by societies aesthetic standards—perfect.

“Fine,” Gabi growled. “Check me.” She swung her arms out in annoyance.

Troy stepped into her. Their bodies close, intimate. When his hand gently gripped her chin so he could peer down into her eyes, Blake nearly lost his shit. All this time, he’d listened to Gabi share the details of who she dated, and although he’d wished to be in their place, he hadn’t dwelled on it. It had been out of his control. Now this asshole’s fingers were in her hair, roaming her scalp and Blake had the urge to castrate the fucker, just to take away any threat in the future.

“I don’t have a head injury, Troy.” Gabi looked back at him with annoyance.

“Like I said, I’ve gotta check.”

“Sure you do,” Blake mumbled and turned away. The thing that hurt the most was knowing Troy would be hanging around once Blake went back to the US. His relationship with Gabi wouldn’t be a case of living a few miles apart with visits on weekends. They had to deal with being in different countries, across the world from each other.

When Blake pivoted in the sand to glance back at her, she was staring at him, her brow furrowed in apology. Her lips moved, mouthing the words, “I love you,” and his heart lurched. She truly was an angel, and maybe he was kidding himself for thinking things between them would work.

He had no problem being faithful. That wasn’t an issue. However, living his life without her, no matter how temporary, would kill him. It’d been hard enough for the past four years. Going home now, knowing Gabi was so far away, knowing what they’d shared and how right it felt would be unforgiving torture.

“I love you, too.” He mouthed back.

She smiled, happiness twinkling in her bright blue eyes.

“Did you lose consciousness?” Troy asked, dropping his hands to his side.

“I dunno, maybe for a second.” Gabi shrugged. “It was more the shock of being blindsided that had me in a daze. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Troy stepped back. “And what about fatigue? Are you feeling tired?”

“Oh, come on, Troy. You know I’m fine.” Gabi moved toward Blake and reached for his hand. She entwined their fingers, placing a kiss on the Reckless tattoo that adorned his knuckles.

Troy’s gaze followed her actions, his jaw ticking. “It’s a simple question, Gabi.”

She scoffed and shook her head. “Yes, Troy, I’m tired. And do you want to know why?” She raised her brows, cocking her head on an angle to give him a full dose of attitude. “Cause I was riding Blake all night long.”

If Blake would’ve had a mouth full of water, it would’ve sprayed all over Troy’s shocked face. Neither one of them saw that coming.

“Yeah, you heard right. And don’t think I didn’t notice the distain in your gaze when you looked at him.” Gabi let go of Blake’s hand and bent over to pick up their towels. “I introduced you to my best friend, Troy,” she spoke over her shoulder, “and all you did was glare. So thank you for your concern, but I’m sure if I need anything, Blake will be able to provide it.”

Bam. Prissy boy just got served.

Blake felt sorry for the dude. From the way Troy’s mouth gaped and his shoulders slumped, it was obvious the guy felt like his balls had been shredded. Blake contemplated sticking up for the douche… Fuck that. Muscle man would have time to suck up to her once Blake was gone. He believed in helping a brother out, but not when it came to Gabi.

She walked away, heading for the road, and he tried not to smirk when he followed.

Blake had always been a guy’s-guy. Bros before hos and all that crap. But as he caught up to her and they walked hand in hand to her apartment, he couldn’t stop thinking that no other brother—Mitchell or the other band members included—would ever mean more to him than Gabi.