Page 40 of Eight Years (The Trident Trilogy 1)

“How do you know my breathing is accelerated?”

“Because you’re literally laying on top of me. I can feel every one of your breaths. Quit trying to control everything, and just relax.”

“Oh my God, Mason,” she says laughing. “Me quit trying to control everything? Are you serious?”

“Shhh, be quiet. You need to save your breath.” I playfully put my hand over her mouth. She bites my finger. Damn. I love a sassy woman. She relaxes her head back on my chest.

I see a pod of dolphins swimming to the left of us. I tap her and point. She tenses up a bit when she sees the fins.

“Dolphins, not sharks,” I whisper. “We’ll let them pass and then head back.”

I lay there, floating in the ocean, with my arms wrapped around her and her body lying on top of mine. We silently watch the dolphins bob through the water. I could stay like this forever. It’s the most relaxed I’ve been in decades.

After the dolphins have passed, she says, “I think I’m good.”

I let her roll off of me. “Okay, try to let the waves take you in a bit. And just tap me if you need me to help.”

She nods and takes off for the shore. I can tell she’s still struggling a bit, but it’s easier going this way. She’s letting the water carry her a little bit. When we get to shallow-enough water, I grab her waist and stand her up.

“Nice job. You did a little over a mile.”

“A little over a mile? That’s all we did? I seriously feel like I just swam twenty miles,” she says. “That’s a lot harder than I remember.”

She’s breathing hard again, and I’m doing everything I can not to look at her chest. “Well, after all this time, you did great. I’m sure your dad is proud of you.”

“Is proud of me? Like he’s watching me right now?” She looks up at the sky like she might see his face.

“Sure, why not? You don’t think he watches over you?”

“I don’t know,” she says, still looking at the sky. “But, I do know if he’s looking down right now, he’s really pissed that I’m hanging out with a SEAL. He made y’all strictly off-limits when he saw one of you flirting with me when I was a teenager.”

I laugh. “Totally understandable. No one knows you better than one of your own. There’s not one of us that’s any good for any woman, to be quite honest.”

We wade out of the water and get the towels out of my truck. She rolls her hair up in one of them and grabs a surf poncho out of her bag. If I ever doubted she was a beach girl, I am one hundred percent sure she is now. She throws on the poncho and starts working underneath it to take off her suit.

“Do you want me to turn around?” I don’t really want to, but Culver is suddenly in my head again.

“Why? You can’t see anything through the poncho. That’s what they’re for—quick changes.”

I know what they’re for, and I can’t see anything, but just watching her move to take off her suit is making me sweat. Her suit drops down to the ground, and it’s more than I can take. I grab my towel and head over to put my stuff in the cab. When I get back over to her, she has her sundress back on, and seems to have things on underneath it. To tell you the truth, I can’t look too closely. I’m still sweating, and things are starting to get uncomfortable in my swim trunks.

“Are you ready?” I say, averting my eyes.

“Yeah.” She stuffs everything into her beach bag and hands my towel back to me. “Thanks for the towel.”

She’s seriously the most low-maintenance woman I have ever met. It’s so hot to me. I follow her around the truck and hesitantly give her my hand to help her climb up. The last time she took my hand, I’m surprised the electricity that shot through me didn’t singe her.

She’s putting her wet, messy curls up in a big knot on top of her head when I get in on my side. She finishes and looks at me. “Do you want me to put your hair up, too?”

“It’s not that long.” It really is. I’m overdue for a haircut by about a month.

“I don’t know. It’s getting real hippie looking,” she says, laughing.

I shake my head to assess the length. Yeah, it’s long. “You probably know from your dad. We aren’t the best groomers.”

“Yeah, he had really deep auburn hair, and for some reason, his hair grew tall instead of long, and his beard was always really spiky. He looked like a devilish Chia Pet.” She laughs honestly for the first time since I’ve met her.

She stops suddenly and looks at me, her eyes wide.

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