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.He came down with the disc, but he landed in two feet of water, and a rolling wave took him down on his ass.He struggled to get up, the disc in his hand but murderous intent in his eyes."Good catch," she said, laughing at his sopping clothes and disgruntled expression."You did that on purpose, Olivia.""We didn't have any boundaries." She backed up as he stalked toward her."The ocean was an implied boundary.""You never said that." Another laugh slipped past her lips as he paused for a moment to wring out the edge of his t-shirt."You're enjoying this a little too much," he said.She was enjoying herself.The tension of the last three days had completely disappeared with the crashing of the waves, the salty sea breeze dampening her cheeks, and the occasional squawk of a seagull.The beach had worked its magic.Or maybe it was Colton, the man who was stomping deliberately in her direction.And judging by the expression on his face, he was about to exact payback.She took off running down the beach, knowing she was probably only postponing the inevitable.Colton ran every day.He was in excellent physical shape, and while she occasionally made it to the gym and got on the elliptical for an hour, most of her days were spent sitting at a desk and working on her computer.Flinging a quick look over her shoulder, she saw he was closing in on her.Probably the only thing slowing him down was the fact that his jeans and shirt were soaked and heavy with water.She tried to speed up, but she couldn't get enough traction in the slippery sand.A second later, Colton grabbed her around the waist, and before she could react he had flung her up and over his shoulder like she was no heavier than a rag doll.Then he headed straight for the sea."Don't," she squealed, trying to squirm out of his hold, but the man had a grip on her.He was used to carrying people out of burning buildings, so this was probably nothing for him.He ran right into the water.She could see it swirling around his ankles, and she put every last ounce of energy and guile she had into staying out of the ocean."I'll do whatever you want," she pleaded."Just don't drop me.""Whatever I want?""Well, within reason," she quickly amended."I was going to give in until you said that.""Colton, you can't throw me in.""You didn't hesitate to get me wet," he retorted.Up until the second the icy cold water hit her feet, she thought he would save her, but the next thing she knew she was sitting in three feet of freezing water, her eyes blurred from the spray, her heart almost stopping from the cold, and a pile of seaweed wrapping itself around her hand.As the current began its pull toward the ocean, Colton grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet.They half ran, half stumbled to dry land.Once her toes curled in the warmer dry sand, she stopped to catch her breath.Then she looked at Colton, who had a huge smile on his face."I can't believe you did that.""I owed you, and you said you didn't want any favors because you're a woman," he reminded her."Yeah, but…" She couldn't really finish that sentence because she had no real defense.She had been cocky enough to say that earlier, and she had been the one to send him into the sea first.He laughed."Can't think of anything to say? This must be a first."She thought for a moment and then realized the plastic disc was no longer in his hands."Actually, I have two words for you—I win.""What are you talking about? I caught it before I landed in the water.""But where is it now? You must have dropped it.""I didn't drop it.I put it down over there," he said pointing down the beach."All I know is that it's on the ground and you didn't throw it to me, so I win.And winner buys dinner, remember?"He stared back at her, his brows drawing into a frown."Well…""Nothing to say?" she prodded a moment later."I think you're winning on a technicality.""A win is a win." She wrapped her arms around her waist as another chill ran through her."I need to dry off.""Let's go back to the car.We can argue with the heat on."As they started to walk, Colton put an arm around her shoulders, and she couldn't resist snuggling up to his side as they made their way down the beach.She told herself she was only being practical and trying to share some of his body heat, but that was a lie.She liked his arm around her.Liked being next to him.She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]