Breathless, he pulled back to look at her. “Sarah, I…”

“Me too,” she said, reading his thoughts.

He wanted her, right there on the beach. There was no one around, but anyone could walk by. Thickening in the front of his shorts was begging for him to think of something, and the look of pleading desire in Sarah’s expression just added that much more pressure.

“I bet the ocean’s warm,” she whispered against his lips.

Holy hell…could they actually do it? He studied her expression to see if she was serious, and she grinned. “Unless, of course, you’re not up for it.”

“Oh, I’m up for it,” he said, getting to his feet. He unbuttoned and removed his shirt. Sarah’s appreciative gaze made him feel that much more confident. She obviously liked what she saw. He’d caught her checking him out over the last few weeks.

“Your turn,” he said. He wasn’t going all in alone. He extended a hand to her and pulled her to her feet.

She didn’t even hesitate as she removed her tank top, slowly lifting it up over her body and tossing it to the sand. Her body was amazing—smooth, toned, soft-looking. It took all his effort not to reach out and touch her.

“You’re up,” she said.

He undid his shorts and removed them, standing there in only his boxers. He hoped the darkness helped to hide the bulge in the front of his underwear. He motioned for her to continue disrobing.

She hesitated only a fraction of a second before sliding the flowy skirt down over her hips and wiggling out of it.

He swallowed hard at the sight of the lacy white thong she wore. Low across her stomach and cut high on her hips, elongating her stomach and illuminating the hourglass shape. Damn, she was smart and sexy.

“I didn’t think geniuses wore sexy undergarments,” he teased, because otherwise he was going to grab her and take her right there on the sand. He didn’t care who was watching.

“Common misconception,” she said, nodding toward the underwear. “Off.”

He hesitated slightly. “Maybe we should move into the water first.”

“You afraid you might disappoint?” she asked, the teasing glint in her eye driving him wild.

“Yes,” he said with a laugh, taking her hands and walking backward toward the ocean. The first cool waves hit the back of his legs, and his breath caught. “It’s cold… You sure about this?”

She released his hands and ran farther into the waves before diving into them.

“Holy shit.” She was all in. No backing out now.