Page 15

I finished the yoga session without busting in my shorts, but it was a challenge. Every time I thought I was finally starting to soften, Riddick would make me get into a downward dog again and massage me.

He asked me if I wanted him to stop, and though my mind screamed ‘ fuck yes, or I’m going to fucking come,’ I always told him no.

He asked in this strange, teasing tone. Like, if I asked him to stop, it would be proving I couldn’t handle it or something.

So, I shook my head each time and just focused on my breathing, doing my best to keep the insanely strong need to come under control.

By the time he finally told me we were finished, I was a tense, sexually frustrated mess.

“You did good, Finn,” he informed me, a small ghost of a smile on his face as he watched me roll up the yoga mat.

“Yeah. Thanks. I guess,” I mumbled, and he chuckled .

“You earned an afternoon of surfing. Just take it easy. Don’t strain yourself; tomorrow is going to be a rough day.”

I glanced up at him, all my irritation with him melting away instantly at the thought of hitting the water.

“You gonna surf with me!?” I asked excitedly, and his almost smile slipped off his face.

“No.”

“Awh, come on, Riddick. Stick around for a bit. Let’s have some fun; not everything needs to be so serious all the time.”

His expression darkened even further, and suddenly he looked angry.

“If you insist on surfing waves that will kill you, then yes, Finn. Everything does need to be serious. This is life or death. How do you not get that?”

I rolled my eyes, shooting him one of my most mischievous smirks.

“Okay, Mr. Grumpy Gills.”

For a second, he looked completely taken aback, then, to my delight, the corner of his mouth twitched.

HA! Finally got a reaction out of him!

“Did you just quote ‘ Finding Nemo’ to me?” he asked, and I nodded, tucking the yoga mat under my arm. I moved to grab the longboard too, but Riddick brushed me off, picking it up himself and following me to the lean-to.

“Sure did.”

“I suppose you are nearly as annoying as Dory.”

I shot him another grin, impressed that he even knew who Dory was.

“I think you meant to say endearing.”

“I meant exactly what I said.”

Rolling my eyes, I stashed the yoga mat next to the surf rack while Riddick put the longboard away.

“Whatever, we have more of a Gill and Nemo relationship anyway.”

His lip twitched again, and I felt a warm buzz of pride that I’d been the one who almost made him smile .

He looked me critically up and down, that barely-there quirk to his lip still present.

God, he was so good-looking. An absolute mountain of a man. What would he look like if he actually smiled?

I imagined it would be the kind of smile that people would pay millions of dollars to put on the front page of a magazine.

“You are pretty small. Shark bait would be an appropriate nickname for you.” His eyes twinkled. “If a shark ate you, they would definitely still be hungry after.”

I allowed my mouth to drop in mock offense.

“Excuse you. I am not small. You’re just ridiculously big.”

Suddenly, the light-hearted energy between us heated up, and my breath caught in my throat at the way he was looking at me now. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, and his gaze flicked down to my dick again.

There was no way I was imagining this… was I?

“You have no idea, shark bait.” He smirked, and I swear to god, the entire planet stopped spinning for a second.

OMG—HE DID A FLIRT! That was definitely a flirt! This was not all in my head… was it?!

GAH, WHAT SHOULD I DO?!

I laughed nervously, clearing my throat and rubbing the back of my neck. If he were a chick, I would have flirted back, but he wasn’t. I wasn’t sure if either of us were gay, and I didn’t know what the protocol was in this situation.

What if I openly came onto him, and it turned out I’d entirely misread the situation? What if he was a super straight homophobe, and he punched me in the face and refused to come back to train me again?

I didn’t think that was the case, but I didn’t want to risk it. Instead, I changed the subject and focused on surfing.

Surfing was safe.

Surfing was comfortable .

Surfing was my home.

“Anyway, I really think you should stay and surf with me for a bit. That’s the whole point of you training me, right? So you can use my beach?”

He chuckled and shook his head, his blue eyes shining with amusement.

“I thought we’d already established that I’ll use your beach whether you want me to or not, Finn. I’m not doing this so I can ‘use your beach.’ I’m training you with the hope that you won’t die this winter when you willingly feed your dumbass to the proverbial sharks.”

“Tomato, potato.” I grinned, waving my hand in the air as if his concerns were inconsequential.

He looked at me sharply, and for a moment, I thought he might actually give me a real smile or maybe even laugh.

“What?” I asked innocently, and his eyes shimmered with amusement.

“It’s tuh-may-tow, tuh-mah-tow. Not tomato potato.”

I gave him a dimple-popping grin and shrugged.

“I like potatoes better. Can’t make a French fry with a tomato.”

There it was again. That almost smile.

“Come on, Riddick. Please? I’ve been dying to learn how to hang ten, and you’re, like, freakishly good at it.”

I pulled out my pink shortboard and bent down to strap on my ankle tether. He watched me silently for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh.

“ Fine . I’ll stay. But only for an hour. Then I need to go, and you need to eat more.”

An elated thrill ripped through me, and I did my best not to show him how excited I was that he was staying… and failed miserably.

“Really! Sick! Ahhh, I can’t fucking wait!

You have to give me all the tips! There’s this girl at work, Blake, and she told me that I was good but not that good.

Can you believe that!? Anyway, I need to prove her wrong.

Next time I surf with her, I want to pull the sickest stunts.

Just to rub it in her face, y’know? Not in a mean way , but in an I told ya so way.

Know what I’m saying? Like, I like her and all, but the audacity she has to - “

“Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut the fuck up.”