That body. She waded in ankle deep water, her fingers threaded through her blond strands and fastened her hair in a knot on top of her head.

His senses stirred. A smile split his face.

He shook his head and got to his feet. His skin burned with the interested gazes women cast him as he breezed past. Not one of them could drag his eye from the blonde in front of him.

She stood up to her knees in the waves, her hands outstretched to skim her fingertips over the water.

His feet sunk into the thick wet sand, then into the waves.

Soft blond tendrils curled over her neck, her slim, tanned back arched before gently curving over her backside.

The dainty black bottoms revealed her lush and full cheeks. Desire ripped through him.

“Riley,” he called. She spun around in the water to face him.

Her eyes crinkled with pleasure. She pursed her lips together, but the effort didn’t take the first sign of delight away from her eyes.

“Hey,” she said softly as he closed the distance between them. Her body moved in line with his and together they moved deeper into the sea. “I didn’t know you were coming here today.”

His knuckles grazed against hers as the uneven sand beneath the water swayed their steps. The water creeped higher on his legs, and with a glance down he saw it reached her hips.

“It’s hot as hell out. I don’t think there’s a better place to be.”

“You can say that again. I haven’t made it to the water since I’ve been back, but I couldn’t spend my day off in the house today.” Her voice trailed off.

He lowered his gaze to watch her lips roll in as if she regretted the words. She hadn’t enjoyed the beach because she’d been too busy endangering herself. He held back the remark that would only spark her anger and took in the crowd of people lingering in the water and edged out further.

Riley kept pace, and when the water reached his abdomen and her chest, the mill of people had thinned. He turned in the water so his back faced the waves. Riley bounced toward him, the water lapped around her throat. He stopped swimming backward. “Too deep?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine.”

“Can you touch the bottom?”

She chuckled. “Not really.”

He extended his hand beneath the water and she curled her arm around his shoulder. Her toes brushed his shins and she wiped a droplet of water from her cheek.

“Thanks.”

Her slim body touched his stomach and his arms ached to draw her closer to him.

Her knee brushed against his thigh. Even though her hand settled loosely on his shoulder, she was still treading water and not placing her weight on him.

Slowly, he drew his arm around her waist, pulling her closer so she didn’t have to fight to stay afloat.

The muscles in his arm twitched, as if anticipating her recoil.

She didn’t pull away but her clear, green eyes, which rivaled the Atlantic waters, landed on his face.

Her chest rose and fell next to his in a slow, steady rhythm.

The ends of the tendrils that had escaped restriction from the knot atop her head dangled in the water.

Her body relaxed in his hold and her legs moved around his waist so he cradled her in his arms.

“Are you all right here or do you want to move closer to shore?”

“This is okay.” Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. “But I don’t like being out too far. I’m not a strong swimmer and I’d rather not be shark food.”

Slowly, he inched toward shore, and then stopped after a few feet. “Ah, so she finally lets her guard down.”

Her eyebrows snapped down. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re showing me something that scares you, that’s all. It’s a good thing.”

Her face relaxed. Under the water, his fingers flexed on the naked skin at her back. The warmth between her legs pressed tightly against his abdomen. For him, the water reached his shoulders. For her, it would be over her head.

“I like it,” he added.

Her eyes darkened. Her tongue swept across her bottom teeth. “Don’t get used to it.”

He laughed. “I’ll try not to. But I’d like to talk about some things.”

Her eyebrow arched. “As if we don’t talk enough?”

Not nearly as much as he’d like. But he swallowed the words.

“Every time I try to talk to you about anything serious you change the subject. This is the first time you haven’t put a wall up and I like seeing a glimmer of your personality, other than the rock-hard exterior you showcase.” His voice dipped, “You can trust me.”

She tensed in his hold. He braced for her to swim away but instead she leaned lazily back into the support of his hands.

“All right, you have my attention. Let’s talk.”

His thumbs met above her tailbone and they itched to caress her lush cheeks only inches away. He tapped them against her back to prevent them from wandering. Man, it was so easy to get lost in her wide, thickly lashed eyes. He cleared his throat. They had bigger fish to fry right now.

“Do you have any idea who’s behind the threats?”

She squinted at him. “The police already asked me that. No, I don’t.”

“And the person who broke into your house didn’t take anything?”

Her jaw firmed. “No. He didn’t.”

“And there was no sign of forced entry. So whoever it was went to great lengths so you wouldn’t know he was there.”

She wiggled in his arms. “That’s a big stretch. Look, if that’s all you wanted to talk about—”

“That’s not all,” he pressed.

“Then what?”

“It’s about Hanna,” he said evenly. A dark shadow crossed over her face. Her eyes grew stormy. She unlocked her ankles from the small of his back and pushed away from him.

“Don’t Ethan. Just don’t, okay?” She kicked, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back.

“Riley, you have to talk about it.”

She spun around violently. “No, I don’t.” A large wave smashed into his shoulders. It washed over Riley, pushing her under. He grabbed her under the arms and pulled her to him. She coughed and sputtered on a mouthful of seawater.

He smoothed her hair out of her face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m going back to shore, though.” She wiped a stream of water from her eyes and sniffed.

“I’ll bring us in more, okay? But please talk to me.”

Her eyes locked with his, but she didn’t resist when he repositioned her legs around his waist. He moved through the water toward shore. Her shoulders relaxed.

“Fine, talk.”

“It’s not a secret, okay? I heard about what happened to her…she was your friend?”

Her jaw worked, and she gave one sharp nod.

“I’m sorry this happened. It must have been terrible for you.” He spoke softly and carefully as he would to a spooked horse.

Tears shone in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip.

“I’m going out on a limb, but I get the feeling you’re trying to find her. What I don’t understand is why you’re going to the bar and parties.”

Her gaze shifted over his shoulder, then came back to his.

Green fire bore into him. “I have Hanna’s journal.

In one of her entries, she talks about a man that came on to her at the bar.

He was really aggressive and creepy and he fit Ryan’s description and behavior… at least based on what she wrote.”

He let out a curse. “Jesus, Riley. You can’t endanger yourself to find him.”

“What else am I supposed to do? The police are useless. They haven’t—”

Everything clicked into place. The irresponsible behavior, the parties, the switchblade… the roofies. “That’s why you’re carrying the roofies. You plan to find the perp and drug him?”

Her eyes rounded.

“I found them in your shorts after the Beach Bash,” he said.

Her gaze drifted over the water that settled between their chests. He shook his head, still trying to wrap it around her thought process.

“Unbelievable.” His voice raised an octave and her cheeks lifted in a wince. He laughed and it came out as a scoff. Never in a million years would he have guessed anyone would try something so reckless.

“Go ahead and laugh.” The glint in her eyes turned hard. “I have an idea of what the guy looks like and where he goes to lure women. I’m targeting that description and there can’t be that many in the area that would do such a thing.” She lifted her shoulder.

He rubbed his hand over his jaw, wetting his whiskers. “Yeah, there’s only been two incidents so far of men trying to get you wasted and bring you home.”

Her lips worked and irritation rippled through the water around them. “I’m doing the only thing I can, Ethan.” Her voice pitched on the last part and guilt gnawed through him. He sighed and smoothed his fingers over her skin.

“You can’t be bait. You’re going to get yourself killed. Whoever took Hanna is the one who’s threatening you and we need to take that very seriously.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “I gathered that much. She’s not dead, Ethan.” One tear escaped her lashes and rolled down her cheek.

His insides twisted. He brought his hand out of the water to smooth the tear away with his thumb. All he did was make her cheek even wetter. “Guess that didn’t work.”

Her eyes never left his face and she didn’t smile.

The urge to tell her that Hanna would be fine burned his tongue.

He couldn’t say it. False hope could destroy her.

He knew all too well how these cases ended up.

Aside from the obvious, it could be downright horrific.

He wanted to protect her and stop her from playing this stupid, deadly game.

“I hope she isn’t—”

Her chin lifted. “He left me a voicemail a few days ago.” Some of the defiance left her eyes but she tensed her mouth. “It was Hanna. She screamed.”

He straightened his shoulders. “You’re sure it was her? Did you take it to the police?”

“I’m positive. Joe wasn’t as convinced, and he told me the night I was attacked that they hadn’t been able to trace the call.”