Later that week, having handed the communications to Brigs for the day, Ben patrolled the cove in the hope of having Saria in his sight for a while. She and Lydia, along with Liam, had Nico buzzing about as another of their monster sandcastles took form. They’d built so many, one each day and they dotted the white sand of their private beach. He stepped out from under the shady tree line. Out in the bay, one of the inflatable’s motors roared to life and Tyler pulled away from the ship. He cruised in and beached the craft next to the two WaveRunners Dylan and Luke had been blasting about on earlier.
Tyler jogged toward him. “Hey, another update just came in from Gilchrist. One of his techs found a backdoor into Taita Software’s network.” Gilchrist was working every angle he could.
“Has he found anything of interest?” With Taita Software being one of the most secure networks in the country, as yet they’d found very little.
“No, but he’ll let us know how it goes.”
After two weeks of no movement in their case, the whole team felt the pressure to uncover the solid evidence they needed to toss Mia’s butt back behind bars.
Ben loosened the back zip of his wetsuit an inch and ran his finger around the tight neckline. He should head out and do another sweep along the cliffs since Tyler was back.
“You look anxious.” Tyler crossed his arms.
“It’s nothing.” No one-on-one time with Saria during the day sucked, particularly when she was in sight. “Go and spend some time with your girl.” At least Tyler could.
“Thanks. Take it easy, okay?” Tyler strode toward Lydia as she collected a bucket of water from the surf. She and Saria had built a wide moat around Nico’s sandcastle. Lydia sloshed the water in and Liam gave a jubilant shout from the center of the massive structure then high-fived Saria. The two laughed, and then hugged Nico who snuck out of their embrace and danced around them in his red swim shorts.
“This is the best sandcastle ever.” Nico giggled.
Never had Ben experienced a childhood like that, where attention was lavished so freely on one. He’d missed out on so much, and being around Tyler’s family these past few weeks had only nailed that knowledge home.
Saria left the others, wandered toward the surf and rubbed the sand from her knees. The incoming tide splashed her white shorts and she gripped the elastic waistband. Hell, she was going for a swim. He should turn away, only it was impossible. She shimmied her shorts off and kicked them up onto the dry sand, a move so sensuous, his mouth watered. Slowly running her fingers under the lower edge of her red bikini bottoms, she straightened the shiny fabric.
Not going to her made every nerve in his body stretch to breaking point. He wanted to touch her, but instead he remained right where he was as she stepped into the water, lifted her gloriously long brown locks and stretched her body. The two squares of red material hugging her breasts strained over the mounds and he gritted his teeth. When she finally walked deeper, dove and disappeared beneath the water’s surface, he released his breath.
He waited for her to appear, and like a sea nymph, she rose with water running down her body. A loud laugh burst from her, and then she grabbed her foot.
Luke emerged from under the water, lifted her up and tossed her. Dylan was out there too, both of them snorkeling after their jet ski.
She came up for air, shoved against Luke’s chest and pushed him backward. The two disappeared within the water’s depths, and unable to hold back any longer, Ben strode into the waves. As she resurfaced, with Luke’s mask and snorkel in hand, she slid it on and dived with a last laugh.
“Saria!” Luke yelled. “Get back here now, you vixen.”
“Hey, Luke.” He joined the man. “You need me to grab your gear?”
“No, I’ll go and fetch another set from the inflatable. I didn’t get a chance to warn her though. The tide’s turning and it’s rough out near the reef.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Her safety and wellbeing came first, even over their agreement. He swam toward her before she got too far, dived and snagged her hand. As she jerked around, he pointed upward and she nodded her understanding.
They broke the surface together and she eased the snorkel’s mouthpiece to one side. “What’s up, Hammers?”
When she said his last name like that, it always got him so hard. Now was no exception. “The tide’s turning.”
“That tends to happen a couple of times a day, so far as I know.” Grinning, she tweaked his nose. “Do you have anything else enlightening to add?”
“Luke said it’s rough. It’s best I swim with you.” He kept a stern expression, even though he wanted to smile at her cheekiness.