“We’re at a beach?” she asked. The shock that spread across her face was almost sad.

“We are at a beach. My favorite beach as a matter of fact,” I answered, turning into the parking lot and stopping to pay the attendant before finding a space. “I knew this would be different for you, and after our talk on the way down here, I figured you’d enjoy it. So we’re here, at a California beach.”

She was so giddy with excitement that she opened her door and jumped out, snapping more pictures of any and everything. I got out and walked around to her side, picking her up and cradling her in my arms as I walked her to the sand.

“You ready for a dip?”

“No,” she replied, looking down at her clothes. “You should have told me we were coming to a beach. I would have brought a swim suit.”

“Wait here,” I said, kissing her nose before turning and jogging back to the truck. I let down the tailgate and pulled out a duffle bag that held clothes she wasn’t even aware I had. I rummaged through them and pulled out a pair of board shorts and a hot pink two piece for her. Running it back over to her, I found her sitting in the sand, her toes curling while she allowed it to run through her fingers.

“Here you go,” I said, handing her the swimsuit.

Shock crossed her face. “Where did you get this?”

“Natasha helped me out. Go change. I want to get you in the water.”

She took the suit and ran off to the restrooms. I didn’t really give a shit, so I stripped out of my shorts and into my board shorts behind a pillar that held a shade area. When she walked out, my jaw went slack, dropping to the floor as I drank her in. Her perfectly proportioned, toned and tanned body looked radiant in the swimsuit; more than I could have imagined. I knew that I’d be the envy of all the guys at this beach, and it made me happy. Seeing Cassie that way, sexy without even trying, made me realize just how lucky I truly was.

We walked over to a rental hut and grabbed two boogie boards before heading down to the water. The whole way down, I walked with my hand glued to her ass. The bottoms were stringy and Brazilian cut, showing off her beautiful ass cheeks. I knew other pricks were looking at her as we walked by, but keeping my hand plastered there gave more than enough warning without me even having to say a word.

“Okay. You have to show me to how to do this. I don’t have a clue.”

I took her hand and strapped the wrist cuff around her wrist before doing my own.

“You’ll want to go out in the water and wade around… wait for a wave. When you see the wave forming, lay on your board and paddle, then just let the wave take you in.”

Fear shone on her face as she watched a massive wave come through and completely thrash some guy. “He took it wrong. You’ll be okay. I promise.”

I ran out into the water first, diving in when it felt deep enough, then swimming out even further to catch the wave at its inception. She stood on the shore, watching me as I went through all of the steps I had just given her and caught the perfect wave, riding it all the way back in.

“You ready to try?” I asked, anxious to have her in with me.

“Go one more time. Let me get some guts by watching you.”

I shook my head and laughed, then turned and swam back out into the ocean. I went even further this time, hoping to catch an even bigger wave. As I lay on my board, I looked back at the shore, noticing two guys come and stand directly next to Cassie. They were much too close for my liking, so I caught the next wave, even though it wasn’t much, and swam the rest of the way in. I got up and stalked over to where they were standing, my dismay entrenched in my face.

“Hey, Alex. This is Todd and Jeff. They were asking me if I boarded and if I wanted lessons.”

I firmly shook their hands, my intimidating expression never changing. “We won’t be needing your assistance, gentlemen. But have a nice day.”

They walked away, looking back at me as I burned my eyes into their backs. My hand had possessively latched onto Cassie’s ass without me even noticing. I didn’t care. It made them get the fucking clue and leave.

“Time to get you in the water. I think the sharks in there are less predatory than these assholes on the shore,” I said, turning and staring into her eyes. The sunlight was hitting her, putting an extra gleam into them.

“Huh? “ She looked confused. “I’m not so sure I’m ready,” she said, a bit hesitant to walk down with me. I gave her a reassuring look and gently tugged on her hand, finally getting her to move her feet and make her way down into the water with me.

“Holy shit, it’s cold.”

“You’ll get used to it. Come on.”

She finally obliged and allowed me to take her farther out into the water. The first wave that came crashed down on her, making her tumble under the water. She came up, her eyes wide as she gasped for air. After a few seconds she smiled, placating my erratically beating heart. The next few waves she waited too long and missed, but on her next try, she caught it perfectly, coasting all the way back onto the shore. We spent the next couple of hours boarding and swimming.

My stomach was beginning to grumble, so I led her out and back up the sand.

“Wait here. I’m going to get our dinner.”

 I kissed her then ran off, leaving her sitting there looking dumbfounded. The sun was beginning to set, and the people were filing out, leaving us in our own little secluded spot. I pulled out a sea bag and lugged it back to where Cassie sat, pulling out a towel to wrap her up in before tackling anything else.

There was a hole dug in the sand from what looked to be a previous bonfire, so I chucked some wood from my bag into it, lighting it on fire and waiting for the flames to grow before pulling the hotdogs out and sticking them on skewers.

“Gourmet meal right here,” I said, placing my dog into the fire, burning it and forming a crispy, black layer on the outside. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

“It beats chow hall food,” she said, doing almost the same, but pulling hers out a bit sooner. She ate away, asking for a second and burning it before devouring it. Her hearty appetite impressed me. For such a small girl, she could definitely throw down some food.

“So is this your first time at a beach?”

“Yep. First time at a beach. First time eating food on a stick. Well, besides a corndog. I never camped or anything like that.”

Low laughter rolled out of me as I fixed another hot dog. “Is that why you joined the Corps? You wanted to get out and see the world?”

She stiffened a bit, and I could tell that I had hit a sore subject. Whatever her reasons were for joining, they didn’t come easy, and the last thing I wanted to do was sour the trip by making her uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to answer that.”

“No, it’s okay. But may I have something to drink first?”

I reached into one of the iced bags and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to her. She unscrewed the top and took a few long sips.

“I joined the Corps for a couple of reasons. First, I needed to get away from my mother. And two, I wanted to see if I had what it took to be one of the best. I wanted to supremely challenge myself.”

I dropped my skewer and moved over to where she sat, sitting down next to her and pulling her close to me.

“What happened with your mother?”

She blew out a loud breath. “What hasn’t happened with my mother? Let’s see… my mom was once a nurse and got injured at work lifting a patient, so she had to have back surgery. She had the surgery, and for months I had to take care of her while my dad was out on the road making a living for us.”

“What did your dad do?” I asked, wanting to know everything about her.

“My dad was a truck driver, so he was gone quite a bit. Anyway, my mom was on all sorts of pills and got addicted to them. She’d be screaming and ravaging the house for anything she could find. Her pill popping turned into alcohol abuse, and my dad tried hard to get her to go to rehab, but she refused, instead cursing and threatening him every which way, including physically attacking him. He went on a trip one day and never came back. I’ve resented him ever since for not taking me with him.”