Read Online Embrace the Night by Caridad Pineiro - Free Book Online Page A

woman she was.
    Independent.  Determined.  Capable.
    Ex-Navy, she was now in the Coast Guard and used to dealing with men on all levels.
    He’d thought she’d be a little more direct about what she wanted.
    But then again, maybe he could be a little more direct as well.
    He wanted to get to know her better.  Emotionally.  Physically.
    The latter thought made his gut twist painfully.
    He glanced down at lefty and wondered what she would think when she realized.  How she would handle the revelation.  Would she not care or shy away?
    Fuck that , he thought.
    Today was going to be a day for firsts.
    His first time surfing in two years.
    His first time asking a woman out since he’d been wounded.
    Maybe even another first if they hit it off.
    A man could dream after all , he thought and as the ocean surged beneath him, he flattened onto the board and paddled into the wave.
    As he caught it just right, he popped to his feet and flew toward shore, smiling all the way.
     

Chapter 2
    Samantha Whittaker had never seen Zack surfing before.  Some of the people at their beach parties would arrive early and paddle out if the waves were good, but not Zack normally.
    It occurred to her that he was obviously not a beginner, but he seemed a little uncomfortable, as if it had been a long time since he’d been on a board.
    She laid out her blanket, sat, and leaned back on her arms, trying to appear cool as she took in the sight of him out in the water.  At six years his senior, she felt like a cougar admiring his lean muscled body, but then again, she hadn’t made a move on him and he hadn’t made any moves either.
    But she wanted to, hell yeah, she wanted to despite the age difference and despite the fact that she wasn’t sure if she was ready for any kind of relationship now or ever.
    She had a lot of baggage.
    It would take a strong man to shoulder that kind of burden.
    Zack was physically strong.  She suspected he was emotionally tough as well.  The war had damaged him as it had so many others, but in the six months since he’d started working for Mark and hanging out with them, she’d discovered a man who seemed at ease with himself and with others.
    A man who carried the scars of war on his body and yet could smile with unabashed joy, as he was doing now as he rode in a wave, his big body more graceful than it had been just moments earlier.  Almost poetic as he cut back and forth on the crest of the wave until he kicked out of the wave and eased into the water.
    After he retrieved his board, he paddled a few feet toward the beach, got to his feet, and picked up his surfboard.  With powerful strides he cleared the wash near the shore, but stumbled slightly on the softer sand before regaining his balance.
    His grin broadened boyishly as he saw her and he sauntered to the foot of her blanket, every inch of him radiating male confidence.
    “Hey, Samantha,” he said and scrubbed his hand across the glistening drops of water sticking to his shaggy caramel brown hair. The summer sun had lovingly kissed the longish locks with golden highlights.
    “Hey, yourself, Zack.  You looked good out there,” she said and motioned to the waves.
    He glanced back toward the ocean and nodded. That enticing boyish grin deepened, displaying a dimple in his right cheek.  “Thanks.  It’s been a while since I surfed.”
    Which confirmed her first impression of him out on the waves.  He was no beginner.
    “Why?” she asked.
    His grin deflated a bit and the earlier joyful gleam in his eyes hardened the light blue to icy shards.
    “Lots of reasons,” he said, but she could tell he wasn’t really prepared to discuss them.
    She understood.  He had his secrets much like she had hers.
    “Are you staying for the games?” she asked, although he usually did even though she had never seen him participate.
    He dipped his head to confirm it and gestured toward the boardwalk. “Yeah, I am.  I just need to get changed and put the board