Page 27 of The Tides Between Us

“Hold on to the board,” Declan instructed me as he moved to the other side of it and pushed it in front of me. “Lean across it and use your weight to propel yourself onto it.”

I stared at him for a moment. Any attempts I had made in the past were futile and it was in much shallower water, where I could easily straddle the board. Now he wanted me to lift myself up onto it in the water that was constantly shifting us around.

This was going to be a disaster.

How was he even going to show me how to surf when he couldn’t do it himself?

I followed his instructions while he held the board for me to keep it from floating away. My body didn’t really weigh that much but it felt like it when I threw my body across the board. My stomach was pressed against the cool surface and I slid the length of my body along the length of the board.

“Straddle it, princess.” The flames in his eyes burned brighter and I wondered how he sounded when he spoke those words out loud. I imagined them sounding husky and full of lust. “Sit on the board.”

“Okay,”I mouthed back to him as I nodded. I could do this. I planted my palms on the board and slid my legs down into the water on either side. I slowly pushed myself up until I was sitting upright. I looked down at Declan and he smiled brighter than the damn sun as he looked up at me through his sunglasses.

His hair was wet from the salt water. The tips glistened and droplets fell onto his perfectly tanned, perfectly sculpted shoulders. Declan Parks was a literal work of art. There wasn’t a single piece of him that wasn’t carved to perfection. My eyes traced the shape of his lips and the Cupid’s bow in his top lip just as a wave pushed the board with an extra ounce of force. My gaze flashed to his, my eyes widening as my breath escaped me in a rush.

Declan’s one hand was still clutching the surfboard and the other went directly to my thigh. His touch burned my skin. His hands were conflicting and contradictory. Soft and gentle, yet rough and hard. He held on to me, his fingers digging into my flesh as he steadied me and the board.

“It’s okay, princess,” his lips formed the words, “I got you.”

My heart was pounding erratically in my chest, thumping harder and harder against my rib cage. There was a rush of adrenaline from the ocean giving me a momentary scare, but the reaction was really from him. From the way his hand was molded to my own flesh. And the way I didn’t want him to move it away from me.

His eyes were still trained on mine.

“Don’t let go,”I mouthed the words to him as I signed them. I had since let go of the surfboard and the worst that would happen was I would fall into the water.“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Declan huffed and his brow furrowed in frustration. “This would be a lot easier if I could physically show you.” He slowly turned the board around so I was facing the shore. “We’re going to start out slow. I’ll show you what I can and as soon as my doctor gives me the okay, I’ll show you everything I can.”

I nodded my head, my heart still pounding to its own beat inside my chest.“What now?”

“Look behind you,” he said, pointing out to the ocean with the hand that wasn’t on my thigh. He was still holding on to me. “You see the way the water curls as it crawls closer to the shoreline? It turns white as it breaks and rolls toward the beach. The next one that has a little more definition to it, I want you to ride it.”

My eyes widened and I shook my head at him.“I don’t know how.”

He smiled at me. “Don’t worry, princess. You’re not ready to stand up and ride it. I’m not going to send you on a suicide mission, although the waves here are laughable in comparison to the ones in other places.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, my lips parting as I was about to mouth something back to him. Something most definitely snarky, but he cut me off as his hands slid up to my waist.

“Lay on your stomach, princess,” he told me as he gently urged me forward. I lifted my legs from the water, stretching my body out along the length of the board as I clutched the sides of it. “Start paddling to shore and when the wave reaches you, just hold on to the board and ride it in.”

I stared at him with a wild look in my eyes as I shook my head again. Declan was already removing his hands from my waist and taking a step backward.“What are you doing? Why did you let me go?”

He flashed his perfect white teeth at me. “You can do this, I know you can. Here comes the wave.” He winked at me and gave me a thumbs-up.

I cut my eyes at him once more before directing my gaze ahead of me. The anxiety had begun to creep in and my breathing had picked up. I followed his instructions and began to paddle toward the shore, even though I wanted to hop off. The wave reached the back of the board and I felt it lift slightly. Pulling my arms back out of the water, I clutched the sides of the surfboard just as the wave was pushing me toward the beach.

Adrenaline spiked in my system, running fluidly through my body as I let the ocean take charge. It wasn’t violent or scary like I had imagined. The ocean air was sticking to my face, simultaneously pushing my hair back as I rode the wave in. It lost its momentum, slowing as I coasted farther into the shallow waters. It pushed me up onto the beach, the sand scraping my hands as I moved up and out of the water.

I was still on my stomach, but the surfboard was stuck, like a beached sea animal. I released the sides of it and pushed myself up to a sitting position just as I caught movement from the corner of my eye. Slowly turning around, still seated upon the board, my eyes were stuck on Declan. He was walking out of the water, his body dripping wet and the dimples prominent in his cheeks. My eyes traveled across the perfectly chiseled planes of his abdomen. Over every dip and curve of the muscles of his athletic body.

My mouth instantly felt dry as a ball of heat was building in my stomach. The effect he had on me, I wasn’t sure if I should welcome it with my arms wide open or run in the opposite direction. He scared me and sent a thrill through me in the same breath.

“You did so good.” He smiled down at me as he paused by the side of the board. The sun was behind him, creating an outline of luminosity around his body. He was ethereal. Undeniably beautiful. “I told you, you could do it.”

I scooted backward a bit, making room for him on the board as he lifted one leg over it. He sat down, straddling the surfboard with his legs stretched out. He lifted his sunglasses from his face, not caring as he tossed them onto the sand beside us. Leaning forward, his hands found my hips and he pulled me toward him. He didn’t stop until my body was flush against his, my legs bent over his thighs.

His fingertips were damp and cold from the ocean as he ran them across the side of my face. He pulled a strand of hair between his fingers before tucking it behind my ear. Declan trailed his fingers along the side of my jaw before flattening his palm against my neck. His thumb pressed under my chin to tilt my head back.

“What are you doing, Declan?”I mouthed the words to him as my hands ran over his bare skin, wrapping around his back.

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