Page 39 of The Sailor

Marit went willingly and held on tightly, resting her cheek on his chest. She needed this hug as much as she thought Zach did.

“What did you say to him there at the end? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I told him that if he so much as said one word to you ever again, I’d rip his balls out and fry them up and shove them up his ass.”

Marit blinked in surprise, then her lips twitched. She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped.

“You’re laughing?” Zach asked in surprise, pulling back and trying to catch her gaze.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. Only you would intimidate someone by threatening to fry his balls before shoving them up his ass.”

Zach closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, he was smiling. “I don’t know how, but somehow you’ve made me feel better.”

“Good. Because I don’t want to waste any more time thinking or talking about Lucas. Do you still want to go swing at Lobster Cove? I understand if you don’t.”

“Yes. Absolutely. I think we both need to forget about this morning and have some fun.”

“As long as we don’t forget about everything. That kiss you gave me after I showered was pretty darn nice.”

“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it? We could forget the swing and go back to my place,” Zach said with one brow raised.

Marit laughed. “You were the one who brought up the swing. You can’t go back on that now.”

“You like swinging that much?”

“Yup. And it’s Maine. We don’t have that much longer to play in the water until it gets too cold.”

“True. All right. Lobster Cove it is.”

But instead of taking her hand and leading the way back to his apartment and his SUV, Zach put his hands on either side of her face and tilted her head back. “I’m proud of you. I think you’re amazing. And anyone who doesn’t see it must be blind, drunk, and have an IQ of four.”

Pleasure bloomed inside Marit. He was being ridiculous, but she didn’t even care. She went up on tiptoe, trying to reach his lips. Thankfully he leaned down, giving her access. The kiss started out chaste and heartfelt, but quickly morphed into pure passion. If they weren’t in a public place, she was pretty sure they would’ve ended up naked, having sex.

As it was, they were both panting by the time Zach straightened. “Swing,” he muttered, as if reminding himself more than her.

“Swing,” she agreed.

Even though she really wanted to go back to Lobster Cove and see the entire property, and she really did want to see this swing and experience it for herself, she also looked forward to that evening, when she and Zach would go back to his apartment and could pick up where they’d just left off.