Free The Seacroft: a love story (Paines Creek Beach Book 2) by Aaron Paul Lazar

“But what did you mean before? About Uvi?”
    He seemed to shake off his earlier mood. “I don’t know. Sometimes she just makes me feel like I’m a puppet on a string. You know? She’s so beautiful. Sexy. And she just makes me— ” He stopped, realizing he’d gone too far. “I mean—”
    Vivian’s heart fell to her feet . Did he really just say that? Out loud? After calling her pretty, here he was salivating over their boss? And she’d been imagining something was starting between the two of them. She choked down her disappointment and pretended everything was fine. “It’s okay,” she said with a false laugh. “I know she’s gorgeous. It must drive you crazy.”
    He gave her a shy smile. “Yeah, I guess.”
    “But I know what you mean about feeling like a puppet. It’s nice to be off her strings today. Even if I am roasting up here.”
    “Hey, how about a swim? We can walk the horses back to the stable afterward so we don’t mess up the saddles.”
    “I’m not dressed for it,” she laughed. “I’m in jeans.”
    He looked down at his own legs. “Well. Me, too. But there’s nobody around. We could just go for a quick dip in our underwear.”
    She blanched and felt herself stiffen in the saddle. Was he really asking her to strip down to her underwear and go for a swim? Like it was an everyday event? Right out in the open? “I. Um. I… ”
    “You’re not shy, are you?” He grinned at her. “Or chicken?”
    Bristling, she tightened her grip on the reins. “No. I’m not chicken. Let’s do it.”
    They trotted toward the high tide line, making good progress in the wet sand. He maneuvered Serendipity over to a shady cave in the cliffs and jumped off. “This is a good spot for the horses to wait for us. There’s a log to tether them to, right over here. And it’s out of the sun.”
    She slid awkwardly off Popeye’s back, landing in a heap in the sand. He tied his horse’s reins to a branch on the log, then ran to help her.
    “You okay?”
    Red-faced now, she got up and brushed the sand from her jeans. “Of course. I just stumbled.” She led Popeye to the well-shaded log and looped his reins through a stray branch. “Like this?”
    Cody checked it. “That’ll work. These two will probably just take a nap, anyway.” He turned back to her. “Ready?”
    At the high tide mark, she looked in both directions, and quickly slid out of her jeans. With a wild feeling of abandonment, she stripped off her shirt, too, and tossed it down. She raced over the wet, low tide sands, splashing through the shallow tide pools and hoping she didn’t step on anything with claws. Plunging into the water, she waded for a while and then dove into the clear green water, stroking forward.

Chapter 13
     
    She sensed rather than saw him behind her. There was something about the rippling water that tickled the roots of her hair and ran a shiver up her arms. Something electric, almost. When she broke through the waves, he popped up seconds later, only inches away.
    “Feels good, huh?” he said, treading water beside her. 
    She felt a few strands of seaweed tickle her feet, and kicked further out to get away from it. “Wonderful,” she said, unable to stop the wide smile spreading across her face. It did feel good, almost too damned good, she thought.
    Am I setting myself up? Letting myself live in a fantasy world where gorgeous men like Cody fall madly in love with me? Am I nuts to imagine it? Wish for it?
    She flipped onto her back and floated on the swelling waves, noticing suddenly that her nipples showed through the flimsy wet material of her bra. She caught Cody looking, and slid back down into the water, stroking parallel to the shore.
    He matched her movements, keeping up with her. Occasionally, he’d toss her a brilliant smile. But they didn’t speak. They just swam, side by side.
    When she thought she’d gone far enough, she reversed direction, only to find him right there beside her. She tried