The sun block went on, swift and smooth, then Cole all but shoved her toward the water. He had no intention of letting her get her hands on him with that lotion. He was tough, but he’d have to be dead not to react to Debbie Randall.

He followed her path to the water, watching the way her hips swayed beneath that scrap of red fabric, and glared at a couple of young men who whistled and teasingly made a halfhearted grab for her ankles. They yanked their hands back as if Cole had slapped them and then grinned and shrugged as he stalked past. This was going to be more difficult than he’d imagined. If he took her to the beach again, she wasn’t wearing that damned red bikini. He’d take her shopping himself and see to it that some more of those tender curves were covered.

He was so busy glaring at every male within a hundred yards, he didn’t notice that Debbie had stopped. He bumped into her and sent them both staggering. By the time they’d righted themselves, Debbie had not only stopped, she was backing up. He looked down in surprise at the look of shock on her face and caught her midway in flight.

“Honey! What’s wrong?”

The tenderness in his voice was unexpected, but Debbie was so dumbstruck, she didn’t even hear it. All she could see was water…going on forever and ever. And the waves coming toward her in ruffled abandon. She swallowed and pointed.

“It’s so big!”

Cole wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest. “It’s the ocean, Little Red. It’s supposed to be big.” And then something occurred to him. “Haven’t you ever seen the ocean?”

She shook her head, unable to speak for a moment.

“I’ve seen ponds. I’ve seen creeks. I’ve even seen rivers in flood. But every time, I could see land on the other side, too. I’ve never seen water and not seen it’s boundary.”

“Well, you have now,” he said. “Deborah Jean, welcome to the Pacific.” He scooped her up in his arms, and began walking with her toward the waves lapping at the shoreline.

Her arms tightened around his neck. “Cole?”

“I wouldn’t scare you on purpose, and you know it. Calm down. We’re just going to meet it together.”

The look on his face told her more than he’d meant to tell. She saw trust. She saw strength. And she saw something else Cole Brownfield never knew was showing. She saw tenderness…and desire.

At first the water felt cold. But the sun was hot, and the water refreshed them. Cole held her close against his body and let the waters tease her until Debbie felt comfortable with its rhythm.