Page 26 of Knot Your Sunshine (Snugverse Romcom #2)

Chapter twenty-five

Mia

"This way," Keanu says, leading me down a winding path where wild hibiscus brushes against my arms.

The trail curves left, then right, then opens suddenly to reveal white sand and black lava rock, with the sunrise painting everything in shades of amber and coral.

"What is this place?" My voice comes out hushed.

"My secret beach." Keanu stops beside me, surveying the crescent of sand like a proud homeowner. "Maybe five people know it exists, and two of them are Josh and Noa."

I stare in awe as waves roll against the beach in gentle turquoise sighs.

"So..." He turns to study me, eyes twinkling. "Great joy I sense in you today, young Mia." His Yoda impression is terrible. "And I don't think it's just because you're on one of the most beautiful beaches on earth… Franchise test launch, perhaps?" He winks.

"Maybe." I try to look mysterious, narrowing my eyes, but he just grins like I'm adorable. "Okay, yes, you got me." I throw my hands up, laughing. "The test is live and I can't believe it's actually happening. It's the first step toward achieving my dream."

His grin spreads slow and warm. "Perfect energy for your first lesson."

"Lesson?" I glance around, then spot them. Two surfboards waiting on the sand, waxed and ready.

"Surfing lesson," he confirms, walking toward the boards. "Private instruction from Hawaii's most skilled instructor."

"Most skilled?" I ask, amusement coloring my voice.

"Well, definitely top five." He winks, then picks up the smaller board, setting it in front of me. "First, we practice here. Watch."

He demonstrates on the sand, lying flat, then pushing up in one fluid motion. His hands plant, his feet land perfectly positioned, knees bent.

I clap enthusiastically. "That, right there, was poetry in board shorts."

"Why thank you." He grins, clearly pleased. "Now you try." He pats the sand beside the board. "Show me what you've got."

I lie down, trying to mimic his grace. Push up. My left foot catches on my right ankle, and I tumble sideways into the sand.

"Graceful," he teases, helping me up. Sand sticks to my swimsuit in patches.

"I'm warming up." I brush myself off, determined. "Again."

This time I make it to standing, but my knees lock straight like a newborn giraffe.

"Bend here." He moves behind me, hands on my hips to guide them down. His chest brushes my back and I forget how to breathe for a second. "Feel that?"

"Mmhmm." My voice comes out higher than intended.

"Eyes on the horizon." His hand comes up, finger pointing where to look, his other hand still on my hip. "Weight centered. There you go."

Ten attempts later, I'm marginally less terrible, and still hyperaware of every time he touches me to adjust my form. My skin hums under his fingers through the fabric of my swimsuit.

"Is the water cold?" I eye the ocean.

"Perfect temperature. Always is here, especially this time of morning." He picks up his board. "Trust me."

"I'll hold you to that if you're wrong." I grab my board, trying for playful confidence.

When I wade in, he's right. The water wraps around my ankles, warm as bathwater. By the time I'm waist-deep, I'm grinning.

"Told you," Keanu says, floating his board beside mine. He swims closer, and I can't help but notice the way the water streams off his broad shoulders. "Now, think you're ready to try it for real? Climb on and paddle like I showed you?"

I nod, then belly-flop onto the board with all the grace of a seal on land. He laughs, swimming even closer.

"Need help balancing?" His eyes dance with something that isn't quite innocent.

"I've got it," I say, but my voice wavers when his hand grab me by the hips, steadying me on the board.

"There. Feeling stable?"

"V—Very." Though stable isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe what I'm feeling right now with his hands going up, gently caressing the area leading to the side of my boobs.

"Good," he says softly. "Now try paddling."

He keeps one hand on the board as I practice, occasionally reaching up to adjust my arm position. Each touch sends heat through me that has nothing to do with the rising sun and my breath catches when his fingers trail along my forearm, correcting my angle.

"Feel that swell coming? When I say paddle, you paddle hard. Then pop up just like we practiced."

The wave approaches. My heart hammers.

"Paddle... now!"

I paddle frantically until I feel the board lift.

"Now pop!"

I try. My foot slips. The board shoots sideways and I tumble face-first into the water, coming up with seaweed draped over my head.

"Congratulations," Keanu laughs, swimming over to pull the green strand from my hair, his fingers lingering against my cheek for a heartbeat too long. "You've been officially baptized by the Pacific."

"Lucky me." But I'm laughing too, salt on my lips, sun on my face.

"Again?" He's close enough that I can see water droplets on his eyelashes.

"Again." I splash him playfully before climbing back on the board.

We settle into a rhythm. Paddle, fall, laugh. Paddle, wobble, splash. Each time he corrects something, his touch lingers a little longer and I have to bite my lip to keep from making a sound.

"Chin up. Eyes on the horizon." He moves behind me in the water, chest against my back, arm extending past mine to point. "Right there. See?"

"I see." Though what I'm really seeing are little stars forming behind my eyelids from the way his breath fans across my neck.

"This next one is yours. Trust the lift," he says, his voice dropping low, lips nearly brushing my ear. I lean back slightly, just enough to feel more of him against me.

"Now, climb on and paddle hard," he says as the swell approaches, voice rougher. "You've got this."

The wave catches the board. The lift comes. I pop up and suddenly, impossibly, I'm standing. Actually standing. The shore slides past. Wind rushes against my face.

My God, it's like I'm flying…

For three perfect seconds.

Then my brain catches up. My knees lock. The board tilts, and I crash spectacularly, going under in a tangle of limbs.

I surface gasping and laughing so hard I can barely breathe, pure euphoria flooding through me.

"I did it!" I shout, throwing my arms up. "Did you see? I actually surfed!"

"You did!" Keanu swims over, his eyes bright with genuine pride. "You were perfect!"

Before my brain can form a thought, I launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him hard.

He goes still for a heartbeat, surprised.

Then his arms come around me and he's kissing me back.

First soft, a question. But when I nip at his lower lip, he groans and pulls me flush against him.

We're treading water, trying to kiss and not go under, laughing against each other's mouths when a wave dunks us.

We surface, still holding each other.

"Been wanting to do this since I saw you this morning, looking like a sleepy angel," he says, then kisses me again, deeper, hungrier.

"Sweet talker." I pull back just enough to breathe, our foreheads touching.

"Truth teller."

A wave hits us sideways and we both go under again, coming up sputtering and laughing. He pulls me toward shallower water, never letting go of my hand. When we can stand, he turns to face me, water streaming down his chest.

"Hi," he says, grinning wickedly.

"Hi," I grin back.

Then we're kissing again, his hands in my wet hair, mine exploring the muscles of his back. The beach feels too far away and too close at once.

He takes my hand and we stumble through the shallows, laughing as waves keep knocking us sideways. I steal kisses between steps, tasting salt on his lips. The sand burns warm under our feet as we half-run toward what I see is a beautiful gazebo, its white curtains billowing in the breeze.

"What is this?" I ask, breathless from more than just running.

"Let's just say I wanted everything to be perfect," he says, pulling back one of the curtains.

Inside, cushions and towels cover a low platform. A table holds something hidden under a beautiful woven dome cover. A private paradise within a paradise.

"You planned all this?" My voice comes out soft, touched.

"Of course, Sunshine, it's the least you deserve." He pulls me inside, letting the curtains fall closed behind us.

The filtered sunlight creates a golden glow around us. He kisses me again, slower now, deliberate. My swimsuit suddenly feels like too much barrier between us.

"Untie this for me," I breathe against his lips, reaching back to guide his hand to the tie of my bikini top.

He pulls the string slowly, his knuckles grazing my spine.

The top falls away and his sharp intake of breath makes me feel powerful, desired.

He traces the tan lines with reverent fingers before leaning down to kiss along my collarbone, down to the curve of my breast. I arch into his mouth, threading my fingers through his still-wet hair.

"You're beautiful," he murmurs against my skin.

"And you're wearing too many clothes." I tug at his board shorts. "Off. Now."

He laughs and helps me push them down. I bite my lip, drinking in the sight of his beautiful body, my fingers skimming over hard muscle that shifts and flexes beneath my touch.

We come together on the cushions, slightly sandy and sun-warmed. His hands map my body like he's memorizing every curve. I do the same, learning what makes him gasp, what makes him groan.

"I want you," I whisper against his mouth.

"You have me." He pulls back to look at me. "Have had me since we first met on the beach."

His fingers slide between my folds, confident and unhurried.

He keeps his eyes locked on mine as he strokes my clit in slow circles, each touch making the coil of heat inside me draw tighter.

I grind shamelessly against his hand, desperate for more, my nails digging into his shoulders with every wave of pleasure.

"That's it," he encourages, voice rough. "Let me see you."