Meredith couldn't believe they had just been caught but was almost relieved by the interruption. Where would this have gone had Katrina not walked in? She was pretty sure any willpower she may have had would have quickly evaporated under the heat of Cole's skilled kisses. She squirmed at the thought, aching to feel his mouth on her again.
Katrina seemed to have collected her wits, and overcoming her initial shock, a devilish look came over her face. "Don't let me stop you. I just need to get my gym bag. I left it here earlier by mistake." She rushed to grab it from the back of the room and turned to leave.
"No, wait," Meredith called out. "We want you to watch us."
Cole regarded her like she'd lost her mind and Karina stood agape.
"Watch you?" She had a look of bemusement on her face and it took a moment for Meredith to realize what she'd said.
"No! Not like that," Meredith said in a rush. "We were just practicing the dance when—." She had to stop Katrina from leaving her alone with Cole. "Well, anyway I think it looks pretty good, I just want another opinion."
Cole narrowed his focus on her, but she couldn't meet his gaze. Yeah, she was shrinking back from him again, but she was starting to panic. All of a sudden the implications of what they were doing had become clear and she knew they had to stop. They were lucky it had been Katrina and not Brandon that had caught them.
Shrugging away from her, Cole grabbed a water bottle from the fridge in the corner and drained the whole thing at once.
"If you really want me to," Katrina said hesitantly, looking back and forth between the two of them.
"Yes. I do," Meredith said firmly. She had to get herself under control, and fast. On the pretense of trying to find the right song on her iPod again, she took a few minutes to collect herself. Keep it professional. That's what she had to do.
Katrina sat down to watch and Cole and Meredith took their places. Her eyes latched onto his again and the desire he wasn't even trying to hide nearly killed her resolve. After that kiss, there was no way it was going to be that simple.
***
Damn it all.
What the hell was that about? Cole had been ready to throw her down on the floor and strip her naked. He should have felt relieved that they had been interrupted, but now he was a frustrated jumble of nerves.
Meredith wouldn't look at him and Katrina was watching the tense dynamic between them with unabashed curiosity. He forced himself to focus so he could get through the rest of their time in the studio. They took their places as Meredith started up the music. When she twirled into his arms for the third time, there was a noticeable difference in her carriage. She had withdrawn again. He knew he should be glad for it because he had no business taking this any further, but all he wanted was her pliant body in his arms again.
They moved through the dance perfectly, but there was considerably less need and chemistry between them. Whether it was due to having an audience or Meredith's own inhibitions, he didn't know.
He hadn't a clue what to do about her. He wanted her more than he could remember ever wanting a woman. She was so unbelievably sexy. Shit. He knew he was walking straight into trouble, but he didn't care anymore. Thinking back to what she'd said their first night on the beach, he was certain she'd wanted a night together. And he'd been more than ready to take her up on it. What was he supposed to do with that? Good sense told him to hightail it from the room and tell her he couldn't dance with her, but he knew he wasn't going to be reasonable.
He was going to convince her to see where this lust building between them could go.
They finished their dance and Katrina rose from her seat on the floor. "Wow. That was incredible. You guys look like professionals. This is going to be the best class ever." Her eyes were alight with excitement.
Meredith pulled away from him quickly and went to stand by Katrina. No lingering in his arms this time.
"Thanks," Cole murmured.
"I'll let you two get back to it," she said with a glint in her eye.
Good.
"Actually, I need to take care of some other stuff. I'll go with you." Meredith still wasn't looking at him.
Not so good.
Before he could form a response, Meredith had gathered her things and was standing by the door, waiting on Katrina. "I think we've got enough for the first class. It won't be necessary to practice again before next week."
Cole remained silent.
"If you say so," Katrina said doubtfully.
Meredith finally turned to him with a much too bright smile. "See you around." And they were gone.
Cole leaned back against the wall where he'd been pressed between her legs just moments earlier and banged his head against it. She was going to be the death of him.
***
Cole signed in at the activities hut the next morning and leaned against the counter, watching Meredith behind his sunglasses. He'd had another night full of erotic but frustrating dreams starring none other than the hot little sex goddess that stood talking to Taylor, one of the other water sports instructors.
He tried to keep his eyes off her so he could focus on preparing for his next lesson, but it was impossible.
She'd gone and booked a surfing lesson with someone else. Was she trying to drive him mad? Cole knew he was just as good as any of the instructors there, but she'd chosen someone else.
He attempted to fight off his frustration. He wasn't the jealous type. Ever. If he wanted a woman, he could have her. Until Meredith. She seemed to be the exception.
Ten minutes later his lesson still hadn't shown up, so he settled himself on a beach chair to wait, watching Meredith and Taylor head out into the water.
"Hey, Cole." He looked up to find the activities coordinator approaching him.
"Hey Susan, what's up?"
"Your lesson canceled, so it looks like you have a few hours off."
"Thanks." He offered her a smile and she went back to the hut. His eyes were drawn back to the surf where Taylor was holding Meredith up on the board to get her familiar with the feel of it and to practice her stance.
He didn't like how Taylor's hands were much lower than necessary on her waist to help her stay balanced. He knew he should go do something else, try to be productive, but he couldn't make himself walk away.
She threw her head back, laughing at something Taylor said, and Cole felt an old familiar anger surge through him. He didn't like it. It was too similar to what he'd felt with Jessie. That was exactly why he had no business fixating so much on one woman. He was bound to get hurt in the end. Best to stick to his rules and stay far away from someone who made him want to peek out from behind the walls he'd worked so hard to build up.
By the time they were finished, Cole was seething. She'd been having fun. A lot of fun. With someone else. Taylor ran his hand down her arm in a manner that Cole found to be way too familiar. Before he knew it, he was pushing up from the chair and stalking toward them.
"We need to talk," he snapped, completely ignoring Taylor.
"See you tomorrow," Taylor said, starting to walk way.
"Actually, she has a lesson with me tomorrow," Cole said, appalled at the intensity of anger in his voice as he still didn't look at Taylor.
If he was taken aback, he didn't say anything. Instead, he shrugged and said, "Sure. Whatever, man."
When he was out of earshot, Meredith turned on Cole. He was becoming all too familiar with this particular stance. Hands on hips? Check. Flashing eyes? Check. She was ticked.
"Are you planning on making a habit of calling the shots in what I do and with whom I choose to do it?"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward a shaded area of palms, not wanting to hash this out in front of the entire beach.
"Are you making a habit of flirting with any and every guy in the resort?" His voice was sharper than he'd intended, but he didn't care. All his frustration was pouring out as he stared her down.
"You're kidding, right?" The ice in her blue eyes co
uld have frozen even the hottest fire.
"Not at all. What the hell happened yesterday? Are you going to pretend like there's nothing between us? This is the second time you've turned tail and avoided me."
"I'm not avoiding you," she said, pursing her lips and staring down at the sand.
"Like hell you aren't." He angled his chest in closer to her, needing to see her reaction to him. To know he wasn't the only one feeling this way. He tilted his head so he was only inches away and placed his fingers under her chin, gently lifting it so that she would look him in the eyes. The anger that had been there dissipated instantly, replaced with need so intense he had to smile. "That's what I thought."
"You're an arrogant ass, you know that?"
He shrugged. "Maybe."
Meredith threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't have time for this."
"For what? Acknowledging that you want me as badly as I want you?" That got her attention. "You can't deny it. What happened yesterday—"
"Should never have happened. It can't happen again. We can't let it."
"Not even if you want it to?" He paused. "Don't tell me you don't want it to."
She took a shaky breath and fiddled with her ponytail. "What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to admit that you want this." He ran his hand down her neck to her shoulder and felt her pulse kick up a notch. "And this." He brushed the pad of his thumb across her lips and a small sigh escaped. He smiled. "See?"
She shook her head as if to clear it and opened her mouth to say something, but the moment was broken by screams coming from the beach.
Cole jerked his head around.
A crowd was gathering along the shore and he followed the pointing fingers out to sea where he saw a pair of water skis and a life jacket floating a few hundred yards away. Their owner was nowhere to be found.
Without a second thought, Cole took off, bounding into the surf, adrenaline and pure instinct taking over. Someone was in trouble.
He dove into the water and was a hundred yards out before he felt it. A riptide. It was strong. He could handle it, but anyone with less experience than him would have a slim chance of fighting it. He pressed on further, searching for a sign of the distressed swimmer. There was no one in sight.
***
Meredith ran to the water's edge, barely breathing. Something was wrong. Bad wrong.
"Riptide," she heard someone say.
No. That was more than bad. She knew from spending time at the beach growing up that riptides could be fatal. What was he thinking running out into it like that?
The crowd was growing and she could hardly make out Cole's body getting deeper and deeper into the sea.
"Someone needs to help him!" Meredith cried, feeling her legs buckle. She grabbed on to the nearest person for balance, and realizing it was Taylor, clenched his arm, digging her fingers into his skin. "Someone has to do something."
"He's the best one for the job. It's what he does." Noting Meredith's confused expression, he said, "He's a search and rescue officer with the Coast Guard. He knows what he's doing."
That only made her feel a fraction better. It didn't make it any less dangerous. She still didn't see the other person out there. She also knew that a drowning swimmer could be just as dangerous as a deadly current, and Cole was out there alone without any equipment. He may have known what he was doing, but he could get pulled under and out to sea just as quickly as anyone.
She squinted against the bright sun, trying to make out what was going on. Cole had just made it to the life jacket that had somehow fallen off the skier and he grabbed onto it for a moment, looking around. He disappeared under the water and came up twenty yards down the beach, still empty-handed. He dove under again and Meredith felt her heart drop. He wasn't having any luck.
A woman nearby struggled against the restraining arms of two men. "My daughter! I have to help my baby," she was screaming. Meredith couldn't imagine the fear the mother felt if she was even half as terrified as her. She ran up to her as she continued to struggle to get free.
"You can't go out there, no matter how much you want to." Meredith spoke softly to her, trying to calm her down. "He's going to find her." He had to. She remembered the pain of losing her parents and didn't want to think about what this woman would go through if something unspeakable happened to her daughter.
She continued speaking softly to the woman, then cried out and pointed as Cole reappeared above the water, this time with something in his arms. "He has someone!"
The crowd on the beach was frantic. Meredith could barely see from the distance, but she knew he had a body.
She wasn't moving. Oh, God.
The woman sank to her knees in the surf and Meredith knelt beside her, whispering consoling words while they watched Cole wrap the life jacket around the girl.
They were drifting further down the shore, but it didn't seem as if they were being pulled further out. She reminded herself that Cole knew what he was doing. He didn't fight the tide, but went with it, slowly making his way inland until finally they were waist deep in the water.
Cole stood, carrying the limp form in his arms, and walked the rest of the way to the shoreline. The mother broke away from Meredith and ran down the beach to where they had come ashore. Meredith ran after her, her relief at seeing Cole safely emerge from the water replaced with fear that it was too late. She arrived in front of them as Cole began pumping the girl's chest, trying to expel water from her lungs, breathing deep breaths into her lifeless lungs.
He looked up at Meredith for a brief second and the fear she felt was reflected in his eyes. Was it too late?
After a few more attempts at resuscitation, her body convulsed and water spewed from her lungs.
There was a collective sigh of relief and Cole rocked back on his heels, his head dropping down between his knees.
Someone had called the paramedics and they rushed forward, taking over from Cole. The young woman, who looked to be no more than sixteen, was crying as her mother enveloped her in a hug. As she was tended to by the medics, Cole rose shakily to his feet.
Meredith ran to his side. He looked unstable and leaned on her for support. She helped him to a nearby chair. "Someone get a blanket," she called out. He was shaking uncontrollably.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded wordlessly.
"What do you need?" she asked, wrapping the blanket someone had handed her around his shoulders and rubbing her hands up and down his back to provide warmth.
"I'll be fine. I just need a minute. Too much adrenaline. I'm in overdrive right now."
Someone else brought him a bottle of water, and after a few moments he seemed to be fine.
But then Meredith realized she was the one shaking. She didn't understand it, but she had been absolutely terrified for him. For the girl too, of course, but the idea of losing Cole had caused a strange sense of loss to rise in her chest. It didn't make the slightest bit of sense. She barely knew him, but she felt such an intense surge of emotion that she couldn't stop tears from trailing down her cheeks.
"Hey," he said softly, looking up at her and stretching out a hand to wipe away her tears. "It's okay. I'm okay. It's over."
His expression was gentle as he smiled at her, but he didn't bother to hide the cocky smirk that stole across his lips. "I didn't know you cared."
She swatted at him lightly, but there was no anger behind it. She laughed through her tears. "You scared me."
"Just a day in the life," he joked, but his eyes were serious as he studied her face. "Come on, I can walk now. He stood and wrapped an arm around securely around her waist. "Let's go check on her.
Right, the girl. Meredith had been distracted by her relief at finding that Cole was fine.
They walked over to where the medics had finished checking her out. "How is she?" Cole asked the mother.
The woman turned red-rimmed eyes on him and threw herself into his arms. "She's going to be just fine. I don't know how to t
hank you enough. You were a true hero out there."
Cole patted her head somewhat awkwardly as she clung to him, and Meredith thought he looked embarrassed by the praise. "I'm just glad I was here when it happened. How did it happen?" he asked, a bit more sharply.
"She loosened her life jacket once she was out there. Said it was too restricting and she couldn't move. I don't know what we would have done without you." She burst into sobs all over again.
Meredith looked on as Cole consoled her for another moment, then extricated himself and went to check on the teenager.
She couldn't figure out why she was so desperate not to leave him now, but she didn't want to let him out of her sight. When he finished up a few minutes later and led her up the beach, looking much more like the strong and assured man she'd become familiar with, she wrapped her arms around him without thinking.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she murmured, tucking herself into his chest.
"I'm fine now. Worried about me, were you?" The cockiness was back, but she didn't care. She nodded against him, not wanting to let go. It was crazy, but she thought maybe extreme events caused these reactions in people. That's what she had to chalk it up to. She couldn't actually care this much about a man she didn't really know.
He guided her back to a chair that was secluded from most of the beach goers and sat down, pulling her onto his lap with his arms around her protectively.
"So, what were you saying before we were interrupted? Something along the lines of you don't want anything to do with me?"
She sat up and pinned him with her eyes.
"Maybe just a little," she admitted with a rueful smile.
"You can't resist me."
"Arrogant."
"So you've said," he teased. "Apparently with good reason."
Meredith had to laugh. "You never stop, do you?" But all the fight had gone out of her. Knowing she shouldn't but no longer caring, she leaned up to place a soft kiss on his lips. His arm tightened around her. It felt so good to be right there with him. She was about to deepen the kiss when she heard her brother's voice around the corner.
Rescue Me (Sunset Bay Book 1) Page 7
