Chapter Nine

 

“Do you feel up to surfing?” Eric stood impossibly close, as he held his surfboard in front of him.

We stood at the edge of the water, shoulder to shoulder, waves slapping against my thighs. “I want to, but I don’t think I could paddle out since I can’t lay on my stomach.” My hands ran around the swell of my belly.

“You could frog lay. Would that help?” He passed me his board.

“I don’t think so.”

I hadn’t accepted the board fully, yet. I really wanted to try, but I was sure I’d be unable to get out far enough to enjoy the ride in. And popping up? That could be an issue since I hadn’t in years and my balance wasn’t what it used to be, thanks to the baby throwing off my centre of gravity.

“I’ll swim out beside you. You don’t have to go out far. I can see the desire in your eyes to at least give it a shot.”

The desire was more than just for the possibility of surfing, it was for the handsome guy offering me the opportunity. This time, I jumped at the chance. It had to be like riding a bike, right? I balanced on the board, trying to find a position to lay in that allowed me to paddle. The frog pose was the most awkward, with my boobs flattened against the board and my rear end up in the air, giving an undignified view to Eric who swam behind me.

I didn’t get very far out before I called it quits, fighting to catch my breath. “I give up.”

Maybe if I’d been doing it my whole pregnancy, it would be natural, but this was beyond odd.

“Aw, too bad, I enjoyed the perspective.” He swam to the front of the board and put his arms on, resting his chin on top.

Breathlessly, I rolled up and straddled the board, my legs dangling in the water and checked out how far I’d managed to go out. Our houses dotted the landscape, and I could still see the towel I’d hung on the upstairs banister.

“Come up, sit with me. Rest.”

Eric managed to hop on the head of the board without tipping us into the water and slid his way closer while we floated and breathed and basked in the sun.

Together we bobbed with the motion of the ocean, slowly drifting towards land. The sun heated my chest and warmed my skin as I held the foot of the board behind my back.

“God, you’re gorgeous.”

I tipped my head up to look him straight in the eyes. “You’re pretty damn handsome yourself.”

His voice lowered to a deep and sexy level. “I’d love to take you right here on my board.” The sexy way he was devouring my body turned me on, again.

“What?” My voice cracked. No way that could happen. I’ve done many things on a surfboard, but never that. As turned on as I was by the prospect…

“Interested?”

Yes, but no way. I shook my head but slowly inched my body closer, curious how this would work. He was in a wetsuit for crying out loud.

Eric wrapped his hand around my head and brought me in for a kiss, igniting the lingering embers into a full-on fire. “Lean back again, the way you were at first, and tip your head back.”

I gripped the board with both hands and glanced around. We were pretty much on our own out here.

“Don’t move or you’ll tip us.”

My curiosity was piqued, and my core was smoldering with deep tingles and desires. The carnal ache had only grown stronger. He hadn’t yet touched me, and I was ready to come apart.

He trailed a finger over my collarbone and dipped into the space between my heaving boobs. My breath hitched, and I stared him deep in the eyes. One at a time, he cupped them, maintaining perfect balance.

“Oh god.” I moaned, proving it had been a while since I’d been touched by a man.

“I haven’t even begun.”

A charming smile spread across his face as a cool finger trickled down over my heated bump, circling around it and teasing its way lower. Both of his hands braced against my hips, and slowly, tenderly, he caressed my thighs, moving in deeper with each pass. Instinctively, I opened for him, giving him access to what desperately needed attention.

“Lean back further.” His voice was hoarse with desire.

Oh Lord, I threatened to rip apart as he slipped a finger under my bottoms, pushing the material off to the side, and dipping right into the heated heart of me. I closed my eyes and allowed the soaring sensations to control my body as he slowly touched and tenderly caressed and expertly moved his fingers, creating breathless gasps of air and involuntary shudders. My fingers dug into the edges of the board as my body surrendered to Eric, and one wave of ecstasy after another crashed over me.

My body twitched and threatened to flip us both. However, the moment passed, and he retracted his hand, while I pushed up and wrapped my arms around him. Beneath his wetsuit, the hardest part of him pressed into my belly and a need to ride him like a surfboard overtook me.

“How fast can we get back to shore?” I begged, my voice raw and carnal.

To hell with waiting. If I was going to be here for only a few weeks more, I may as well enjoy myself.

 

 

After a rousing afternoon, I pushed my hair off my face as I opened my eyes and took in the surroundings of Eric’s bedroom. There was a little pop-up table beside me with a bottle of water and a note tucked under it.

Drink this, you need rehydration. I’m downstairs on the patio.

I collected my two bikini pieces and got dressed, heading downstairs. My itch had been scratched, and I was feeling less randy than before. Better than that thought, was a feeling of being on top of the world and utterly relaxed.

“How long was I asleep?” I twisted the cap off and took a long sip, relishing the cool water sliding down my throat.

“A couple of hours.” His focus was on the sea.

“Oh, wow. I’m sorry.”

I hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all, but I guess I was so played out it just happened. I grabbed my towel hanging on the edge of the deck and wrapped it around since Eric was no longer in his wetsuit or buck naked in all his incredible glory and was instead dressed in shorts and a tee.

He set down a plate filled with grape stems and made to get up. “You hungry?”

“Famished.” A buffet would not be out of place, and although people would likely stare at me, I could blame the growing baby.

“Care to go out and have a bite to eat? You haven’t been to Birch Bay Burgers, have you?”

I shook my head as he rose, lightly patting his shoulder. “No.”

He twisted away from my touch and focused his attention on his wet suit hanging on the hook and flipped it around, preoccupied it seemed with anything but me. “That settles it. Can you be ready in an hour?”

“Sure.” Should I give him a playful little kiss or not? His attitude was so different from our afternoon together. “Thanks for the water.”

I stepped onto the first stair and stared at him as if by standing there half-dressed he’d come to his senses and at least throw me a smile or something.

However, as I stood there, tightening the grip on my towel, I wondered what had changed between us while I’d slept. Before I’d closed my eyes, everything was euphoric, and our orgasms were out of this world, at least mine were. It had been the best afternoon I’d had since coming back to Cheshire Bay.

“See you in a bit.” An unsettled wave of despair in my soul roared to life with his quick dismissal.

Just before my ex walked out on me and the baby, he’d given me the cold shoulder too. Said he needed time to think about how his future was going to change abruptly, as he was way too young to be a father and at his age, he should be hanging out with his buddies, not changing diapers.

The way Eric kept his distance brought up that same current of trepidation, but at least with Parker’s, I knew it was coming.