Page 32 of Surfer's Paradise

Not without forcing herself to shove it down, to ignore the truth buried deep in her bones—

That he was beautiful.

That she had wanted him for as long as she could remember.

Her breath shook, knees weak, something tight and needy pooling deep in her belly.

He looked so… untouchable.

So effortlessly masculine, so strong and warm and familiar, so close she could almost feel the heat of him radiating through the air.

She wanted—

No.

No, she didn’t.

She needed to leave. Now.

She took a step back, forcing herself to breathe, to shake it off—

And then his eyes opened.

Dark. Dazed. Pinning her instantly in place.

Rosie’s breath hitched violently.

Isaac didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Just watched her.

And she?

She stood there, caught, barely breathing, barely standing, melting under the weight of his gaze.

The air between them was thick, electric, humming with something sharp and unspoken.

Her body betrayed her.

Skin flushed, knees weak, heat spreading low and unforgiving inside her.

She should say something.

She should turn around.

She should—

But she didn’t.

She just stood there, staring at the one man she could never have.

The silence between them stretched, thick and unspoken, the weight of it pressing against Rosie’s skin like a slow-building fever.

Then, in the dark—his voice.

Low. Smooth. The sound of it sinking into her bones.

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