Page 110 of Ride the Wave

After getting a train followed by a taxi, I finally arrive at Leo’s Torquay beach house that evening. Having slept badly on the flights thanks to the butterflies that had set up camp in my stomach ever since I accepted Mum’s invitation to come here, I was seriously lagging after breakfast, so Mum let me traipse back to her hotel room for a nap while she checked out some of the city’s art galleries. When my alarms went off to let me know it was time to get ready before I left for Torquay, I was so groggy, I considered delaying surprising Leo until tomorrow, but then I thought about how big his smile might be when he opened the door to me and I practically launched myself off the bed and into the shower.

Now I’m here outside his holiday let, I’ve never felt more awake.

‘Oh God,’ I mutter under my breath as I carefully make my way up the path that leads to the bright-blue front door, ‘please let me have made the right decision.’

When I reach the door, I take a moment to gather my courage. Standing outside in one of my favourite pairs of black block heels, an olive-green dress with a deep neckline, and a light denim jacket, I drop my shoulder bag onto the porch. It feels a little embarrassing to rock up at his house with an overnight bag – pretty presumptuous actually – but I don’t fancy travelling the two hours back to Melbourne in a slinky dress first thing in the morning if he needs me to leave when he surfs.

I raise my hand and knock on his door.

It takes him a few moments, but eventually, it swings open and there he is. Leo.MyLeo. He’s so gorgeous, so tall and broad, his hair so thick and wild, so sexy standing there barefoot in a white t-shirt and dark-green board shorts. My resident stomach butterflies are going wild. Fucking hell,howdid I ever walk away from him?

He starts on seeing me, his eyes widening in shock.

‘Hey,’ I say, offering him an anxious smile.

‘Iris,’ he says like he can’t quite believe it.

‘I hope you don’t mind me showing up unannounced, I was in the area, so…’

I think he’s too stunned to acknowledge my weak attempt at a quip. He’s still holding the door with one hand, staring at me wide-eyed.

‘I thought about it,’ I continue, balling my hand into a fist to try to hide my trembling fingers, ‘and I would quite like to come with you to Australia. If the offer still stands.’

Another joke that doesn’t quite land.

His mouth is open, his expression remaining bewildered. I start to wonder if this surprise was such a good idea. Maybe I should have given him a bit of warning. While he tries to compute my presence, I carry on rambling, filling the silence.

‘I flew over with my mum. Turns out she wanted a holiday here. Such a strange coincidence. I wanted to surprise you; I hope that’s okay. I messaged your dad and he let me know where you were staying. I only flew in this morning, but I… I had to see you.’

His mouth closes now to form a small but definite smile, his eyes glinting. He drops his hand from the door to his side.

‘I’ve been thinking about all those things you said to me on the beach in Burgau and I realised I never actually… uh… told you how I felt.’

I pause, my heart hammering against my chest, part of me wondering whether I’m actually going to do this. And then the other part of me goes,hell yeah.

Like Mum said, I have to be brave.

‘You make me happy, Leo,’ I blurt out finally, and God does it feel good to say it out loud. ‘I’ve been a wreck without you. I have no idea where this is going, which frightens the crap out of me, but you’re right, it’s worth the risk. And I know you love a surf analogy, so here goes. In short,’ I grin as his eyes sparkle at me, ‘I want to ride this wave with you.’

‘Oh, London,’ he breathes, his eyes falling to the ground as he breaks into a grin, before he lifts them to fix me with a hot, blazing gaze, ‘I’m going to give you the ride of your fucking life.’

He strides forward and scoops me up into his arms, my hands flying round his neck as he presses his lips to mine. Relief, happiness, excitement – it all bursts out from my aching chest and flows through my body as I arch into his, clutching to him for dear life as our kiss deepens, his tongue gliding against mine, his hands roaming all over my back with his fingers spread, like he’s checking that I’m a real-life human version of me and not some kind of mirage. Whatever happens now, I won’t forget this kiss. Not ever. It’s so full of hope, so giddy it’s almost clumsy, our teeth nipping, our tongues clashing. I can’t get enough of him, I want him closer, I want to inhale him, to overdose on his smell, his taste, I won’t let him go.

To my dismay, he insists on breaking away from me momentarily so he can bend down to pick up my bag, shoving it inside the door before he swiftly returns to where he left me, crashing his mouth against mine where it belongs, and spinning me round to guide me inside, kicking the door shut behind him as he goes.

‘Fuck, I’ve missed you,’ he growls against my lips and I give a satisfied moan, before his hands drop to my thighs to lift me up, my legs wrapping around his waist.

As he carries me in what I assume must be the direction of the bedroom, I thread my fingers through his hair and press my lips against the corner of his mouth where those pretty crinkles form, trailing them along his jawline, aching to devour every inch of him that I have access to. When he lowers me onto the bed and eases his weight down on top of me, he kisses me deeply while I claw away at his t-shirt until he gets the message, kneeling up between my legs to pull it up over his head. He runs his hands slowly up my thighs, pausing to take a good look at me. He grins, that warm, easy, dangerous smile of his that makes my body burn.

‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ he says, and the affection in his voice takes me by surprise. He leans forward to hover over me. ‘Say you’ll stay.’

‘I’ll stay as long as you want me,’ I whisper as his lips graze against mine teasingly.

‘Then you should have brought a bigger bag.’

He smiles, and the kiss becomes slow and sensual, the heat pulsing between my legs, my lacy thong growing damp with anticipation. His tongue glides against mine and his hand moves down to the hem of my dress, pushing it up so he can slip his fingers beneath my underwear. The groan of pleasure that emits from his throat when he feels how wet I am turns me on even more and I kiss him back greedily, my hands splayed over his broad shoulders, gripping into his taught, flexing muscles. When he moves his hands to my hips and sinks his teeth into my lower lip, I moan, arching my back into him, grinding against his erection.

‘Fuck, Iris. Do you know how often I’ve thought about this since you left?’ he asks huskily, his mouth pressing against my throat, my skin prickling with heat beneath every kiss as he makes his way down the neckline of my dress. ‘You’ve haunted me. You and your fucking perfect body.’

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