(Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances #1-5)

by Michelle Mankin

  “You’re not thinking of sleeping in a towel.”

  She blushed and shook her head.

  “You got up early, surfed hard, and I’ve ridden you hard all day. You need to rest. Maybe in the morning.”

  “Oh, okay. That’s fine.”

  When she scooted away, I put my hand on her thigh. Her skin was creamy soft and warm from the shower.

  “I want you. Make no mistake.” I took her hand and brought it straight to my dick.

  Her lips parting, her gaze lifted. “Then why—”

  “Every time with you is better than the last. My appetite for you is insatiable. But this week, this time with you, it’s more than that. We both know the chemistry is there. I want you to get the rest.”

  “The rest as in . . .” She left blanks for me to fill in.

  “How easily we interact. How good we are for each other. How much we have in common. How our differences complement and our similarities mesh. How well we already understand each other.”

  Her lips rounded. “Diesel, I don’t think—”

  “Not yet. You don’t get it yet. But I do, and you will.”

  She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the lightness was gone. “You’re right. I’m tired. I’ll leave you to your music.”

  Hollie floated from the room, reminding me of a balloon again. She was full of some air now, but not enough, not like she’d been only moments before.

  Did I truly have what she needed? What it took to convince her?

  I returned my gaze to the keys and played some more, but the notes were clanking and dull. I didn’t find the answers I needed at the piano. The answer was in the other room.

  I closed the lid and pushed back from the instrument. Padding through the familiar space, I noted how diminished it seemed without her presence. I turned the corner, strode down the short hall, and entered my bedroom, then whirled back around and stalked out of it when I saw the empty bed.

  Retracing my steps, I passed the bathroom and pushed open the adjacent door to enter the guest bedroom. Angry, I frowned as I stopped beside the bed.

  Hollie was asleep on her side, her hourglass curves outlined by the sheet and her fragile hands tucked underneath her softly rounded cheek. As I looked at her, my irritation drained away.

  She was tired. Whatever her reason was for sleeping in the guest room, I knew instinctively that the motivation came from that sweet heart of hers. She was always trying to do the right thing. Her beauty wasn’t only superficial. It bloomed fragrantly like a rose inside her, even when she was asleep.

  My determination regained, I carefully scooped up my delicate blossom and carried her to a better place for her.

  Beside me.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  * * *

  Hollie

  I woke up in a dark room with drool on my face and strong arms around me. My lips curved. I knew immediately where I was, and who I was with. I should have known Diesel wouldn’t be deterred.

  My emotions regarding him wouldn’t be deterred either. I’d fallen for him. The process was complete. Falling for him seemed as inevitable as the tide succumbing to the allure of the moon.

  Lifting his arm carefully—he was leanly sculpted but apparently his muscle weighed a ton—I slipped out from under it without waking him and slid my legs over the side of the bed.

  Tiptoeing from the room, I wasn’t sure about the outcome of this week-long experiment with us, but I knew one thing. My life couldn’t go on the way it had before with me blown back and forth by the whims of fate. I had to own my life and the circumstances that surrounded it. I needed sturdy roots and a strong foundation to do that, which for someone else might mean something different, but for me meant one thing.

  Yoga.

  In the bathroom linen closet, I found a beach towel and padded softly across the living room and out onto the porch. The sun wasn’t up, but the horizon was softening from deepest black to dove gray. I laid the towel on the floorboards just to the left of the table where Diesel kept leaving breakfast for me.

  Wearing his tee and some panties in lieu of yoga gear, I lowered myself onto the towel rather than a mat, then pressed my palms together and centered them over my heart. The accoutrements weren’t important. It was the energy inside me that mattered.

  Beginning, I closed my eyes and breathed in salt and the promise of sunshine just over the edge of the ocean. One. Two. Three. I focused on the mantra: You cannot always control what goes on outside of you, but you can control what goes on inside.

  For three seconds, I exhaled the stuff inside me that didn’t belong—fear, sad thoughts, and anxiety. And then I repeated the process. Over and over, until I felt warmth on my cheeks from the rising sun, my muscles relaxing, and peace inside my heart.

  “I wondered where you were.”

  I opened my eyes to see Diesel set his board down. He lowered himself to the floor beside me.

  “How long have you been up?”

  “I’m not sure.” I squinted to peer through a gap in the railing. The sun was a half circle of bold gold. The horizon was a deep line of sapphire beneath it, and the sky above was powder blue with streaks of fuchsia and cotton-candy pink. “Oh my, that’s a gorgeous sunrise.”

  “It just got started.”

  “It gets better?”

  “Uh-huh. Be patient.” He moved behind me and pulled me between his legs. “Just relax and wait for it.”

  “I can do that.”

  I settled back into him, using his solid chest as a pillow. He cocked his knees up and placed his warm hands on my shoulders.

  It seemed like it took the sun forever to fully appear, but it was a forever that I wanted to last and last. The colors were beautiful pinks, blues, and gold with the overspray of the waves providing a magical sparkle, but the real magic was the man who held me, and the miraculous way he made me feel.

  I’d come to the island broken. I would leave it mended. I might not belong here like he did, but I knew without a doubt that I’d been reborn here.

  “What do you think?” Diesel squeezed my shoulder. “Was it worth waiting for?”

  “Oh yeah.” All of it was, especially him. All the bad that had come before was worth it to be here and share this moment with him. “It was so dark outside before, and now there’s all this color and light.” I spread my arms wide as if to encompass it.

  “It’s only dark until the sun rises.”

  Another parallel to my life. Him being the sun, my life dark before he’d come along. Another deep truth to tuck away and ponder later.

  “You ready to surf?” He squeezed my shoulder again.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Um, no. You know my agenda. Eat. Surf. Fuck. Make music. Sleep. Repeat.”

  “Every day, huh?”

  “Every day definitely, multiples within each one for the necessities.”

  Guessing, I said, “Sex. Surf. Music.”

  “You forgot eating. But you got the order of priority right.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “Sex with you is in the number-one spot. For a guy who was born to belong in the sea, that’s significant.”

  Diesel scooted back and rose to his feet, then moved in front of me and stretched out his hand. I lifted my arm and placed my fingers in his. He pulled me up and leaned down in one seemingly smooth motion to place a soft kiss on my lips.

  “You look beautiful this morning.” He cocked his head, and the long spirals of his curls skimmed the copper-toned skin of his shoulder. “Rested. Peaceful.”

  “It helped talking to you last night about stuff that’s been troubling me for a long time.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You get me. You push when I need a push. You listen. And you give pretty good advice.” He made me feel wild and free, and safe to be me.

  His lips lifted into a slow double-crescent grin. “I think you get me too. How brilliant I am. How unparalleled I am in bed. How unforgettabl
y sexy.”

  “You going to continue to stand here and blow smoke up your own ass, or are we going to surf?” I arched a brow.

  “Get your ass in gear, goddess.” His grin widened. “Fruit offering is on the table.”

  I turned my head. “How did you—”

  “I’m stealthy, and you were meditating. Eat up while I catch a couple of the big ones. They’re firing at eight feet farther out. I’m gonna use my six-foot-six. When I come in, I’ll get the shorter board for you. All right?”

  I nodded. I loved any plan that involved me getting to watch him surf.

  He scooped his board off the floorboards, leaped over the stairs, and loped away down the path and across the sand. Preparing for the show, I took a seat on top of the table and plopped a piece of pineapple in my mouth.

  Behind me, somewhere inside the house, my cell rang. I recognized the ringtone, even though I hadn’t heard from him in a while. Grabbing another piece of fruit, I padded inside and located my phone.

  “Hello, Ernie.” Doing a U-turn after fishing my cell from my crossbody, I headed back to my spot on the porch.

  “Good morning, darling. How’s Hawaii?”

  “It’s stunning.” I stared straight ahead, watching Diesel twist and carve an arc of water from his beloved sea with his board.

  “I heard it’s been good for you.”

  “Fanny told you.”

  “Yes. I called her first. She sounded a little peeved. She told me I should call you.”

  “What’s up?”

  “The Valentine premiere. It’s right around the corner.”

  “Not that soon.” I frowned.

  “Past soon if you’re the designer. I need to order the fabric and do a fitting, because my best friend’s figure has likely changed.”

  “Not yet.” I glanced down. Not that I had noticed. I grabbed more fruit and put it in my mouth, closing my eyes to savor the sweet juice.

  “I guess that’s not unusual in the first trimester. But are you sure you’re eating right and taking care of yourself? I could tell Fanny’s worried about you.”

  “She’s not worried. She’s pissed at me.”

  “Why?”

  I stared at the sexy surfer out in his element, watching him duck his head into an oncoming wave. “Because I’m sleeping with Diesel, and she doesn’t approve.”

  “You’re what?” Ernie shouted, and I pulled my cell away from my ear too late to avoid absorbing the sonic vibrations.

  “You heard me.”

  “Why?” He snorted. “Besides the obvious.”

  “I like him.” I more than liked him, so much more, but the feelings were too new, too raw, too soon to be shared, even with Ernie.

  “Does he know about the baby?”

  “No.”

  “So, it’s just a physical thing. He’s a big player. I know you’re already pregnant, but are you using protection?”

  I blushed. “Of course.”

  “What about your sweet heart, dear one? Are you protecting it?”

  “No.” It was too late for that.

  “Oh, Hollie.”

  Tears threatened that I didn’t want. I wasn’t willing to give up my current Zen.

  “Listen, I’ll be back to LA in less than a week.” Despite all of Diesel’s assurances, I didn’t have high hopes for how he would react when I told him about the pregnancy. “I don’t want to go back to the condo. There are too many memories there. I’ll need someplace to stay.”

  The condo’s lease was coming up to renew, but I would just let it lapse. That part of my life was over. It would be just me and my baby.

  “You’ll stay with me.” Ernie sounded like Fanny.

  “I’m a lot of work. I’ll have obstetric appointments, and birthing classes soon.”

  “You’re always welcome. I’ll be the best uncle, significant other, whatever you need me to be.”

  “You’re a significant light in my life. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Ernie clicked off, and I glanced down at the display on my phone to see a lot of missed calls and texts from my sister. Pulling in a breath, I texted her.

  HOLLIE: Please don’t be mad and don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Diesel makes me feel that way, so don’t be mad at him either. I’ll be back soon. I’ll call you then and we’ll talk. I love you.

  Setting down my phone, I popped a couple more pieces of banana into my mouth and covered up the fruit. I’d have more later.

  I stood and padded quickly across the porch, noticing Diesel was coming in. I had only a little more time for him and me. I was going to hold on to it with everything I had in me for as long as I could.

  Chapter Forty

  * * *

  Diesel

  “I would get it easier if you didn’t distract me.” Water dripping down her drenched face, accentuating rather detracting from every lovely contour, Hollie tossed her wet ponytail behind her shoulder.

  “You like my distracting.” I cupped her ass and brought her more firmly into me.

  “I love it.” She twined her arms around my neck, her tits crushed to my chest as the surf rocked her sexy body against mine.

  I lowered my head, licked the salt from her lush lips, and kissed her. My cock lengthened as she tugged on my hair and made little appreciative sounds against my mouth.

  “Enough stalling.” I broke the kiss and set her away from me. “Get back on the board and stop overthinking everything you already know. Just go with the flow.”

  “Yeah, right. That’s easy to say when you’re a professional surfer who’s been out in the ocean your entire life.”

  “Are you seriously making excuses before you even try?”

  “I’m being realistic.”

  “If you have the mindset of a loser, you’ll become one.”

  Hollie growled at me and blew out a frustrated breath. “You sound like a yogi. Give me the damn board.”

  “Not yet. Explain yourself.”

  This was interesting. I’d never thought of yoga and surfing being similar, but the peace she’d found after one morning meditating on my porch seemed a lot like how I felt after one really good session on the water with my board.

  “In yoga, we say be what you want to become.”

  “Sounds about right. It’s all about you and being in balance with your surroundings. Don’t fight the current. Connect. Be one with the earth, wind, fire, and water.”

  “There’s no fire in the water,” she grumbled, but nevertheless climbed back up on the board. I had yet to see her back down from a challenge.

  “The sun heats the water. Plus, you’re the fire, pele. It’s inside you.” I slapped her sexy rear. “Show me.”

  She paddled out and ducked through an oncoming wave while I treaded water nearby and watched her.

  Sitting up, her shapely legs dangling off the board, she watched the swells like I’d taught her to. She let one go by, then another. My lips lifted. She was getting a feel for the pattern. Three more swells went by. On the fourth, she anticipated and steered into it at just the right spot.

  Turning, Hollie popped up into her stance, wobbling a bit, but stayed upright. She stretched out her hand and ducked into the wave as it developed into a curtain and curled over her. I could see her through the wall of water. She was glorious—not a goddess, but a sea nymph.

  She shot out of the barrel in an exhale of spray, and I heard her pealing laughter as she threw herself off her board into the rising swell of another wave.

  I swam over to her. She stopped floating, sat up, and was treading water when I reached her.

  “You were right.” Her smile was as beautiful as she’d been inside the wave.

  I grinned. “I’m always right.”

  “You were right this time.”

  “Ego buster. C’mon.” I hopped on the board and gestured for her to get on behind me.

  “Hey,” she said sassily. “I’m the one
with a leash to this board. You should ride behind me.”

  “I’m taking you in to fuck you.” I glanced down at her. She had her delicate hands on the board, and her pretty face tipped up to me. “Get on. I can get us in faster.”

  “All right.”

  Her eyes lighting up like sparklers, she climbed on, and I caught the next wave. In the shallows, I hopped off, tugging her and the board in.

  “I’ve got it from here.” She slid into the water where it was knee level on her and grabbed the rails to pick up the board.

  “Not done with this or you. Put your ankle up so I can unfasten your leash.”

  “Okay.” She lifted her leg and put her foot on the board.

  Placing my hand on her upper thigh, I took the scenic route, slowly gliding my fingers down to her ankle.

  “It’s a long way to the house.” Her voice was husky, telling me what I already knew.

  “I realize that.”

  She glanced around. The hollow of land the house sat on wasn’t visible from the road or the adjacent park. Only from the water. And it was still relatively early. There weren’t any other people out in the ocean yet.

  “Gonna fuck you on my board, babe. Right here in the sun. Out in the open. Me and you. Wind, water, earth, and a lot of fire.”

  I laid the board down on the incline of sand and moved toward her. Hollie didn’t back away but remained standing in her current position in the ankle-deep water.

  “Someone might take a picture.” Her expression contemplative, she snagged her bottom lip with her teeth.

  “They might. But I don’t care.” I reached for the bow around her neck and untied it. Her top dropped, the strings from it dangling to her waist. “Fucking beautiful,” I whispered, admiring her perfectly formed tits.

  “My turn.” Her lids lowered, she reached for the tie at my waist.

  “Not yet.” I took her hand and led her to the board. Once there, I reached around her narrow waist to release the remaining bow on her top, then shimmied off her bikini bottom.

  “How is this going to work?” Her gaze went to the board and then back to me.