Page 3 of Surprise Baby for Mr. Fischer
He let go of me as though I’d burned him. “I didn’t ... I thought you were drowning ... I wasn't trying to—” he said, in a strangled voice.
Could this get any more embarrassing?
He narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“You’re the one that just grabbed my bare ass. I didn’t exactly tell you to do that.”
“You didn’t exactly do much to stop me either,” he retorted.
He had me there. What could I say? This was more action than I’d had in the last six months.
My eyes darted to the beach, not that far away, where my sisters waited for us on the sand, waving for us to come in.
“Look, I didn’t ask for your help. I was a little busy trying not to drown when you came charging over here and refused to listen to me. This is so not my fault, jerk.” I leaned away from him.
A wave shoved us closer together, causing my hips to float and rub against the front of him. As if things couldn't get any weirder. My face grew warm as I came into contact with the erection hiding behind his bathing suit trunks.
Still pissed at him, I raised my eyebrow. “Are you going to blame that on me too?” I pointed my finger down between us.
His shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. “No, listen, I’m sorry. I just—”
“You what?”
“Nothing. I’m sorry about that.” He glanced downward and then back at me. “You’re beautiful, and my body’s reacting. Not that that’s an excuse.”
“What?” This guy was a ten, maybe even a twenty. Did he just say I turned him on?
He didn’t respond to my question, although I hadn’t asked much of one either.
“Do you really want to help me?” I sighed, my annoyance turning to resignation.
“Uh, yeah. That was the point of all this.”
“Then stand in front of me while I fix myself in case another wave tosses me. Then I can grab ahold of you—” I patted his tanned forearm. “Uh—”
“Kade.” His gaze locked onto mine, searching my face. For what, I didn’t know. The intense stare was confusing and welcoming at the same time. I had this crazy sense that we’d met once before.
“You’ll have to turn around first, Kade.” I wasn't sure, but for a second, I thought I saw him flinch. Was he embarrassed by the obvious way his body reacted?
“Right.” He withdrew his arm from around me and discreetly turned to face the shore, shielding me from onlookers with his broad shoulders.
I ducked underwater to grab at the top edge of my bathing suit, grateful the ocean had calmed. With both of my hands free, I untangled my bottoms, pulled them up, and popped back up to the surface.
I sighed in relief, knowing the entire beach wouldn’t get an eyeful of my crotch or ass. I tapped Kade’s muscled shoulder. “I’m done.”
Kade turned back to me. After one more searching look, he offered me his hand. I slipped mine into his, liking the way we fit and how his grasp tightened when I immediately lost my balance. He didn’t have to know it wasn’t the rocks or water that threw me. It was him and the sparks that ignited within me at his touch.
God, he’s gorgeous.
He had cheekbones most girls would die for. His sunglasses hid his beautiful eyes, and his sandy-blonde hair curled around the edges of his ears. On anyone else, it would’ve looked messy, but on him, it looked stylish.
With my attention no longer focused on not drowning, I took in the tattoos decorating his arms and back. A beautiful dragon swirled around and over his shoulder blades. A tribal tattoo of a phoenix highlighted the bulging muscles of his right arm and the words “Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.” were inked in small print under the base of his neck.
“You okay?” He tugged on my hand. I’d fallen a step behind him.
“Yeah, sure. Why?” My gaze shifted upwards. I hated that his sunglasses now covered his eyes.
“You stopped short.”
