Read In the Line of Duty: First Responders, Book 2 for Free Online

minutes up the road.”
    He shut off the truck and turned in the seat, feeling suddenly sheepish. He’d thought a little privacy might be good—away from the prying eyes of people who were too nosy for their own good, and the general busyness of a public beach. Now he wondered what the heck she might read into his idea. He cleared his throat.
    “Warm Sunday like this, the beach is bound to be crowded. A friend of the family lives here and told me ages ago I could use his access whenever I wanted. I thought you might like it better than fighting for beach space.”
    He grimaced inwardly at how lame it sounded coming from his lips, but there it was. For a moment Kendra hesitated, but then she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. “Come on then,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “High tide isn’t going to last all day.”
    He flashed a grin as he got out and grabbed the cooler. Mark and his wife were gone camping for the weekend—Jake had called ahead—so they had the place to themselves. Kendra had already found the rock-bordered path leading to the edge of the grass and then the natural steps that dropped to the sandy beach below. He watched her from behind, admiring her form. She might be small-town law enforcement, but she took care of herself. He didn’t exactly mind muscles in a girl, especially when they were packaged with some feminine curves like hers were.
    She spread out a towel and put her tote bag on it. “Swim first?” she asked.
    “If that’s what you want.” For a woman who was so hesitant, she sure was in a hurry to get to the water. He wasn’t about to complain though, or think too much about it, because the next thing he knew she was stripping off her shorts and T-shirt.
    His mouth went dry looking at her, and his tongue felt twisted into knots. There was nothing spectacular about her suit. It wasn’t particularly revealing in the general way men liked a bathing suit to be revealing. It was simple and solid black. But the bottoms skimmed her butt, curving over her hips deliciously. He’d bet a week’s profits that her ass was tight and muscled, just like the rest of her.
    Well, almost all the rest. As she dropped the T-shirt onto the towel, his gaze dropped to the demure hint of cleavage revealed by the V-neck of the halter top. Her breasts were fuller than he expected, and the lycra suit skimmed her ribs and waist.
    He was in big, big trouble. The flicker of attraction he’d been feeling was suddenly an all-out flame. He had the hots for Kendra Givens. Wasn’t life just full of surprises?
    “Well, are you coming or not?”
    He bit back the suggestive reply that rose to his tongue—she’d already formed an opinion about him and he certainly didn’t need to reinforce it. “Right behind you,” he said, slipping off his flip-flops and pulling his T-shirt over his head. People swam every day. People wore bathing suits every day. But today—with Kendra—he was pretty aware there wasn’t a whole lot of clothing between them.
    The water was warmer than he expected, and he followed Kendra out into the waves. The roar of the ocean filled his ears, followed by the rhythmic splash of the breakers on the sand. She turned around and smiled at him a moment before taking a huge plunge and disappearing beneath the waves.
    He followed her, diving under. The cold covered his body and the salt buoyed him so that he surfaced, catching his breath. She was treading water several feet away, watching him with mischief in her eyes. Mischief and something more, something darker and seductive. Awareness. They’d always maintained this barrier between them—the cop and the barman. They’d been on opposite sides and it had been easy to arm themselves with banter and differing opinions.
    That barrier had slipped this afternoon, just as he’d wanted it to. Still, the curiosity that gleamed in her eyes came as a surprise, and he very deliberately put his feet on the ground and stood,