On the Surface (In the Zone) by Kate Willoughby

he felt her hands on his skin. She had a lighter, more hesitant touch than he expected from a nurse. He hoped it was because this time she was touching him as a woman, not as a health professional. He was sure as hell feeling it as a man. Fuck. She slid her palms over his shoulder blades, over his ribs to his lower back, spreading heat over his whole body, heat that had nothing to do with the California sun. His cock hardened in a matter of moments. Was she feeling the same simmering need, the need that had flared to life only hours before in his hotel room when he’d had her ass clutched in his hand? God, he hoped so.
    “Okay, you’re all set,” she said in a neutral tone.
    He cleared his throat. “You want me to do your back too?”
    “Oh, sure,” she said. Her eyes darted to his and then away, like a hummingbird investigating a flower.
    She presented her back to him and he took in as many details as he could. Her skin was flawless. He wanted to lick her and taste her, starting at the base of her neck and going all the way down to the twin dimples just above her bikini line. He wanted to wrap an arm around her and hold her so he could nip her shoulder and breathe in the coconut scent of her hair.
    “You know, this is kind of porn flickish,” she said.
    He chuckled and played dumb. “What do you mean?”
    One of her shoulders lifted then fell. “You know. Sleazy girl asks all innocent-like, ‘Would you put sunscreen on me?’ Then the mustachioed muscle man, complies and oops! Her top comes untied.”
    “And then they have wild monkey sex in twenty different positions like acrobats from Cirque du Soleil. I’ve seen that movie, or some version of it.”
    “Monkeys are probably more interesting to watch,” she said.
    He capped the sunscreen tube with reluctance. There was a limit to how long he could pretend there were spots he hadn’t reached yet.
    Changing the subject, he asked her how long she’d lived in San Diego, and as they ate the sandwiches he’d bought, they talked about the places he’d lived. Having been born and bred in California, she envied his many travel opportunities. He pointed out most of his travel was limited to the U.S. and Canada which led to a discussion about places they wanted to visit someday. On his list were Costa Rica, Australia, Japan and Peru. She wanted to see all the major European cities. They’d both been to Hawaii and planned to return.
    Eventually, they stretched out on the towels and dozed off in the sun. When Tim woke, a few clouds had moved in, making it much cooler. He rolled on his side to see Erin asleep again. Her dark lashes rested on her cheeks and a smile curved her lips. Unable to help himself, he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth, once, twice.
    Her eyes opened slowly and she focused on his face and her expression was part confusion, part uncertainty. He kissed her again with a little more intent. She kissed him back. Despite the clammy chill in the air, he felt warm. More than warm. She wrapped an arm around his neck. He slid his behind her back and pulled her closer. She tasted so good, a little salty, a little sweet. He felt her small breasts against his chest, and the thought of cupping one of them sent a surge of desire to his already hard cock.
    Just as he parted her lips with his tongue and was about to go in deep, someone said, “Get a room!” as they walked past.
    Erin stiffened in his arms and broke the kiss. She touched her lips and smiled apologetically.
    “We better go,” she said. “It’s getting cold.”

Chapter Ten
    On the ride back to her house, he realized this was the most relaxed he’d been in months. Being traded, needing to prove that he still had what it took, moving to a new city—he’d forgotten about all that for a few hours all because of Erin. He wanted to see her again and when they got to her apartment, he carried the beach gear up the stairs.
    “You can just leave that stuff there,” she said, pointing