Free The Hometown Hero Returns by Beth Kery

comment. She, too, recalled driving around Harbor Country years ago, the cycle vibrating with power beneath them, Mari pressed so tightly against his hips and back that not even a granule of the white, sugary sand from one of the beaches could have made its way between them.
    He just grinned and handed her a helmet. Her wariness faded when she took in his expression. He was relieved to see her lips curve in amusement. He’d expected her to insist on taking her rental car instead of the bike. She was in the process of fastening the helmet when she paused. Marc glanced up the street where she was staring. He saw his mother standing at the top of the steps of her house. She was watching them.
    â€œLet’s go,” he said quietly, noticing how Mari’s smile had faded at the sight of Brigit. “That sun is broiling me. I need a swim.”
    He straddled the leather seat. The engine roared to life. He waited while Mari climbed on. When he felt the pressure of her thighs surrounding his and her arms around his waist, he took off down the driveway, the feeling of Mari’s supple body pressing against him, making him forget his mother’s condemning glare.
    â€œWhere are we going?” he heard Mari shout behindhim after they’d ridden down Route 6 for ten minutes or so.
    â€œTranquil Lagoon. Have you ever been?” he asked over his shoulder.
    â€œNo, it doesn’t sound familiar.”
    â€œColleen introduced me to it a couple of years back. Most of the locals don’t even know it exists.”
    After following a serpentine road that branched from the rural highway to a drive that consisted of crumbling concrete and burrowing weeds, Marc stopped the motorcycle at the top of a bluff and shut off the engine.
    â€œWe’ll have to walk the rest of the way,” he said.
    He grabbed the two bags and headed down a grassy trail that sloped at a steep angle. Mari slid in her tennis shoes, fell into him and apologized. He turned and took her hand while she righted herself.
    His body buzzed with a sexual tension that was getting increasingly difficult to ignore. He’d told Mari he’d go slowly with her, and he’d do his best to stand by his word. He was a man, not a saint, though. And Mari tempted him like he couldn’t recall ever being tempted.
    He kept her hand in his once she’d steadied herself. They picked their way down the steep, overgrown path. Several large locust, elm and oak trees blocked the view of the lagoon when they reached the bottom of the surrounding dunes. When they broke away from the cover of the trees, he heard Mari gasp in pleasure.
    â€œOh, it’s lovely,” she murmured as she stared out onto the horseshoe-shaped body of water. Massive dunes surrounded the inlet on three sides. Its choppy waters a brilliant blue that reflected the cloudless summer sky, Lake Michigan sparkled outside the narrow mouth of the lagoon. The lagoon absorbed both the hue of the sky and the surrounding foliage, making it a deep teal. Theplacid waters made a perfect mirror for the lush green trees.
    Marc led Mari over to a spit of sand at the edge of the water. No one else was in sight. He set down their bags in the shadow of a large white boulder and whipped off his shirt. Mari did a double take at his rapid disrobing.
    â€œWhat? I’m burning up,” he said. Not just from the hot sun, either, he thought wryly as he considered the last quarter of an hour spent with Mari pressed against him, the hum of the motorcycle only increasing his sensual awareness of the woman behind him. He kicked off his shoes and waved at her clothing. “Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t want to take a dip.”
    â€œI do.” She seemed a little dazed.
    The way she was staring at his chest made him forsake courtesy. He headed toward the lagoon. He needed a slap of cold water against his skin. It wasn’t going to do him any good to stand there and watch Mari