have been a turnoff. A douchebag, according to the other girls at school.
Now she found that they weren’t as one-dimensional as she would have expected. There was something elemental about them—their desire to protect, to win, to dominate. And maybe there was something primitive about the fact that it turned her on, too. Maybe there was something buried in the psychology of the species, something that couldn’t let go of the survival instinct that had forced man to protect his tribe and had made women seek out that protection.
Did that make her some kind of simpering idiot? A throwback to a time when women were consigned to the kitchen and the bedroom? She didn’t think so. She still wanted things for herself. Still valued her intellect and her ability to contribute.
But damn. She kind of liked these alpha males.
“I have to leave in a bit,” Locke said. “But first I’m going to catch some waves. Want to come down to the beach?”
“Can I get cell service down there?” She didn’t want to miss Luca’s call.
“You can,” he said.
“Okay.”
She changed into her bathing suit, glad she’d thought to bring it, and met Locke in the living room. He looked like a bronze god, his muscled torso exposed over an unzipped wetsuit that hung around his lean hips, a very pronounced “V” pointing downward. She couldn’t think about any man but Nico with lust, but if she’d been able to, Locke would probably do the trick.
They exited through the patio doors and past an open-air shower at the top of the hill. He grabbed a surfboard leaning against the wood that held the shower head and started down the winding pathway.
The sun was ocean was churning gray under the overcast sky, but the air was warm, the breeze gentle. It felt wrong to see the beauty in it when she didn’t know what was happening to David. She was thinking about turning around, waiting for Luca’s call in the house, when Locke spoke.
“Coastal eddy,” Locke said.
“Excuse me?”
“The clouds.” He tipped his head to the sky. “Everyone thinks it’s always sunny in Southern California, but the coastal eddy creates a marine layer that lasts through June. Sometimes into July.”
“I didn’t know that,” she said. “Although I don’t mind it. I’m definitely an east coast girl.”
“Well, east coast girls are hip, I hear.”
She smiled at his Beach Boys reference.
“Yeah, but California girls…”
“… are pretty hot, too,” he said.
She kept walking with him to the bottom of the hill. Staying inside wouldn’t do anything to help David. She would only stare at the clock, count the minutes left to help him. He wouldn’t want her to punish herself that way.
The cove was private, marked at either end by high, craggy cliffs that blocked off the property from surrounding homes and centered by a perfect strip of sand.
“How long have you had this place?” Angel asked, laying down the beach towel Locke had handed her on their way out.
He started pulling up his wetsuit. “About four years.”
She tried to hide her surprise. He already looked so young. How had he been able to afford such a place in a real estate market that commanded millions for even the smallest patches of beach front property?
“It’s really beautiful,” she said. “I’m surprised you leave at all. I’m not sure I could.”
“I’m more or less at home anywhere,” he said, zipping the wetsuit. “But this place does have a special kind of energy, doesn’t it?”
“It does.”
He picked up his board. “Catch you on the flip side.”
She sat on her towel, tucking her phone into one of the corners, and watched him sprint down the beach. She loved Nico. Wanted him like no other. But she wasn’t dead yet.
Leaning back on her elbows, she watched Locke paddle out to deeper waters. He moved effortlessly, catching the waves at just the right moment, maneuvering the board like it was an extension of his body. He looked so free, and for a
Now she found that they weren’t as one-dimensional as she would have expected. There was something elemental about them—their desire to protect, to win, to dominate. And maybe there was something primitive about the fact that it turned her on, too. Maybe there was something buried in the psychology of the species, something that couldn’t let go of the survival instinct that had forced man to protect his tribe and had made women seek out that protection.
Did that make her some kind of simpering idiot? A throwback to a time when women were consigned to the kitchen and the bedroom? She didn’t think so. She still wanted things for herself. Still valued her intellect and her ability to contribute.
But damn. She kind of liked these alpha males.
“I have to leave in a bit,” Locke said. “But first I’m going to catch some waves. Want to come down to the beach?”
“Can I get cell service down there?” She didn’t want to miss Luca’s call.
“You can,” he said.
“Okay.”
She changed into her bathing suit, glad she’d thought to bring it, and met Locke in the living room. He looked like a bronze god, his muscled torso exposed over an unzipped wetsuit that hung around his lean hips, a very pronounced “V” pointing downward. She couldn’t think about any man but Nico with lust, but if she’d been able to, Locke would probably do the trick.
They exited through the patio doors and past an open-air shower at the top of the hill. He grabbed a surfboard leaning against the wood that held the shower head and started down the winding pathway.
The sun was ocean was churning gray under the overcast sky, but the air was warm, the breeze gentle. It felt wrong to see the beauty in it when she didn’t know what was happening to David. She was thinking about turning around, waiting for Luca’s call in the house, when Locke spoke.
“Coastal eddy,” Locke said.
“Excuse me?”
“The clouds.” He tipped his head to the sky. “Everyone thinks it’s always sunny in Southern California, but the coastal eddy creates a marine layer that lasts through June. Sometimes into July.”
“I didn’t know that,” she said. “Although I don’t mind it. I’m definitely an east coast girl.”
“Well, east coast girls are hip, I hear.”
She smiled at his Beach Boys reference.
“Yeah, but California girls…”
“… are pretty hot, too,” he said.
She kept walking with him to the bottom of the hill. Staying inside wouldn’t do anything to help David. She would only stare at the clock, count the minutes left to help him. He wouldn’t want her to punish herself that way.
The cove was private, marked at either end by high, craggy cliffs that blocked off the property from surrounding homes and centered by a perfect strip of sand.
“How long have you had this place?” Angel asked, laying down the beach towel Locke had handed her on their way out.
He started pulling up his wetsuit. “About four years.”
She tried to hide her surprise. He already looked so young. How had he been able to afford such a place in a real estate market that commanded millions for even the smallest patches of beach front property?
“It’s really beautiful,” she said. “I’m surprised you leave at all. I’m not sure I could.”
“I’m more or less at home anywhere,” he said, zipping the wetsuit. “But this place does have a special kind of energy, doesn’t it?”
“It does.”
He picked up his board. “Catch you on the flip side.”
She sat on her towel, tucking her phone into one of the corners, and watched him sprint down the beach. She loved Nico. Wanted him like no other. But she wasn’t dead yet.
Leaning back on her elbows, she watched Locke paddle out to deeper waters. He moved effortlessly, catching the waves at just the right moment, maneuvering the board like it was an extension of his body. He looked so free, and for a
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