“Are you sure you don’t want to join me in the water?” He stood ankle deep at the tide pool’s edge.
“Are you crazy? It’s got to be flipping freezing.” She held her ground on the dry sand, well above the grasping reach of the oncoming waves. Even with the sun doing its best to shine through the clouds there was a chill in the breeze coming off the ocean and she was sure the brisk temperature of the northern ocean was well beyond her wimpy tolerance.
“ ‘Tis cold to be sure, but I have lived my life in these waters. They can no frighten me away by their chill.” He stripped to the waist dove off into an oncoming wave, submerging his entire body under the water. He resurfaced waist deep in the receding waves, shaking droplets of the sea from his hair.
She caught her breath. He was magnificent, rising like the sea-god Poseidon from the ocean, water dripping from his hair and broad shoulders. Oh-my-word, she thought watching the blatant display of male physique, he’s a god and I’m a goner.
He reminded her of the surfers so at home on the beaches of Southern California where she had spent many fun-filled summer vacations. They had always appealed to her as some of the fittest athletes. Watching him now, as he swam among the waves, moving effortlessly from rock to tide pool and back again, she laughed easily with outright joy at his grand display of masculine prowess. Apparently Rory had no need for false modesty. Likewise, she had no qualms about enjoying the physical appeal of a good looking man, and Rory was certainly a man worth enjoying. For the moment, life was good.