Coming Undone

Choosing the road less taken, Carly knew she’d regret it one way or another. She pulled back, breaking the kiss without finesse.

His smile was wider than it had been before. His green eyes slightly more golden, and his thick blond hair begged for her to thread her hands in it. She knew taking him to bed was the only right thing to do. “I think you need to leave, Hunt,” she said.

“I don’t think you mean that.”

Of course she didn’t, but it had taken every ounce of strength to stop and still have a coherent thought. He tasted like coconut. He tasted delicious and he kissed her the way someone who knew how to kiss should. He should teach courses in kissing, because that’s how good it was. Over the falls paled in comparison.

She didn’t need any more distractions.

He stepped back and released her, but made no move to leave. “So tell me again why a professional surfer girl is faxing erotic fantasies to strangers.”

“Former pro surfer girl,” she corrected. “And I told you. I was helping out a friend.”

“Right, a friend. So where did this idea for the fax come from, anyway?”

She thought for a second about not telling him, and then figured he might as well know the whole truth rather than continue thinking she was plain crazy.

Carly dug out the magazine from the pile next to her couch and handed it to him. He read for a minute in silence and she got a chance to stare at him a little more. Because there was something about this man in uniform that made her tingle.

“So you needed to spice up your sex life?” he asked finally.

“I told you, it wasn’t for me. My friend needed to spice up hers. I was giving her a start with the fantasy.”

“And how did things work out for your friend?”

“I’ll find out in the morning,” she said, smiling.

“Candy Valentine’s a good name, but it sounds like a stripper. Is that part of your fantasy?”

“I’m sure it’s part of yours.”

“Oh, yeah. That would work.” He eyed the matching decorative columns that ran, floor to ceiling, in her living room.

Oh boy.

“These are really cool,” he said. He’d moved into an alcove, scanning the pictures she’d hung there. Most of them were photos of her having just come off a ride, and a few boasted her on the covers of some surfing magazines, one of them a national publication. She’d debated not hanging them up at all, but hoped having that daily public reminder would inspire her to get better. Fixed. Something.

Seeing a therapist was the next step. She didn’t want it to have to come to that. Admitting the problem had been hard enough.

Admitting the problem to her parents was something she didn’t plan on doing, period. And really, she could easily back out of her mother’s upcoming charity event by citing pain. There were plenty of other surfers and body boarders participating. Some recognizable names were giving their time to raise money for spinal cord injury research. But she’d booked herself as one of the attractions because her pride wouldn’t let her do otherwise. She still held out more than a spark of hope that she could give an impromptu, two-minute ride on a longboard, and influence some girl the way she’d been influenced so many years ago. And now, two weeks and counting, she couldn’t make it mid-beach, never mind into the water. She had her strength back, and enough flexibility to let her give a decent ride.

“Where’d you learn to surf?” Hunt asked, pulling her from her reverie. She realized she been fisting her hands so tightly that her nails had left marks in her palms. She straightened her hands and rubbed them against each other as she spoke.

“I grew up hanging around on the beach,” she replied. “It was the thing to do.”

A charity event her mother dragged her to. She remembered being hot and itchy in the stupid dress she’d been forced into. Aged ten, and already more trouble than her parents cared to handle. She’d wandered off after the event, which was some kind of Save Our Oceans campaign, and she’d happened upon a woman who stood by the water’s edge carrying a surfboard.

All the surfers Carly had seen in her life up till that point had been men, and she’d been curious. The woman took off in the water, paddled out and caught a ride. It left Carly fascinated. The next day, she’d begged her dad for surfing lessons and he’d agreed.

“And you made a career out of it,” Hunt said.

“I did. Pretty cool to make a living doing something you love.” She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered how awesome it was.

“So what are you going to do now that you’ve retired? It has to be something that lets you get your kicks because I can’t imagine you driving a desk.” Instead of thinking about his words, she wanted to rub her cheek against the slight rough on his face and let it tickle her. “More dessert?” she asked. She didn’t wait for his response before grabbing his plate and heading for the kitchen.

CARLY RETURNED A FEW minutes later with what looked like half the cake. He’d stretched out on her couch again, planned on getting, and staying, comfortable, then smiled as he took the plate from her. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

“So, we were talking about what you’re planning now, career-wise.” he said.

“Right. Well, what are you going to do when you leave the SEALs?” she asked finally, and he caught more than a hint of defensiveness in her tone.

Yeah, it was more than a touchy subject for her.

Her body posture changed, tensed up, almost the way it had when her parents mentioned her career. Too many people had asked her that question and she didn’t have a sure-fire answer yet. He was almost sorry he’d brought it up. But he lived by instinct and something told him there was more to her retirement than met the eye, scars or no scars. Every professional athlete had their share of those, and he wondered if they had anything to do with her bowing out early.

“Hadn’t thought about it much, since I don’t have plans to leave the military anytime soon.”

“I didn’t have plans, either,” she said quietly. Too quietly.

“Sometimes plans aren’t always the answer.”

She nodded and then seemed to realize she’d given away more than she’d wanted to. “This has been an interesting night, but—”

“But it’s not over yet,” he said. “Let’s take a walk on the beach. It’s a perfect way to end our date.

She hesitated long enough for him to know something wasn’t right. It had nothing to do with her wanting him out of there. She didn’t want him gone; her body was giving off all the wrong signals.

He knew when a body turned traitor, and besides that, Carly Winters didn’t have a poker face. And she hadn’t even bitten on the date comment.

“I’m kind of tired,” she said.

“It’s only eight o’clock.”

“I’ve got an early day ahead of me.”

“More faxing?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Fine. A quick walk.” She slid the glass door open and they stepped out onto her portico and headed to the dunes just beyond.

All the stars were out. A beautiful, calm evening, a sight he always looked for when he was on a mission and one he rarely got. He stopped and stared up, drew in a deep breath of sea air before continuing on.

Carly had walked ahead of him, and he watched her outline, silhouetted in the moonlight. She moved easily, with the grace of someone who had a natural athletic ability, and he wondered if he’d get the chance to see her surf anytime soon. Or naked. With or without the surfboard.

Now that would be a fantasy come true.

“Are you coming?” she asked.