Crashing Waves (25 page)

"I can't even begin to imagine what that was like," Austin whispered.

"I don't remember it," Rory sighed. "I actually don't remember the days leading up to the competition either. Martie and I were living in the beach house and traveling the world with the tour. We'd just returned from a pro event in Portugal. I was riding the high from that win and we were heading into Pipe Masters in a few weeks, which was the final event of the tour. I was leading the points up to that point and it was the first time that had happened in my career. I'd always done well at Pipe, winning all of my championships right here on these waves. Hell, how could I not? It was my own backyard." The corners of Rory's mouth tried to smile as she thought about the amazing times she'd had on that stretch of beach, winning multiple championships, but the smile never actually formed.

"We'd always surfed the Pipeline Invitational which was held two weeks before Pipe Masters every year. It was like easy practice and we looked forward to the event and finally coming home after traveling so much all year." She paused.

The last time I remember surfing wasn't even in this water. We had stopped in Brazil for a Boarder Classic at the last minute, which Martie won by the way, beating me by half a point. We joked about that all the way back to Hawaii. I teased her about letting her win one since I was pretty much about to wrap up my fourth title." Rory did smile then, thinking about the last time she and Martie had surfed together. "That's the last time I remember surfing."

"Wow," Austin replied. "That's...that sounds really special. At least your last memory is a good one."

"Yeah. So, I remember flying here and everything, but not really anything after that. Martie told me we surfed Pipe and Backdoor for the next three days straight. Then came the Invitational. I've seen all of the videos. I know the barrel had to be at least thirteen feet with the face of the wall topping out over fifteen. Pipe was going off that day. I think I read somewhere that those were record waves for the Invitational. Anyway, you've probably seen the video. I slid out in the mushy bottom and well, according to the reports, I hit my head on the reef and was held under the water for at least two minutes." Rory subconsciously rubbed the scar on her head.

"I died out there in that water," she sighed. "I have no idea why I'm sitting here, alive today. I owe my life to the extraordinary medics that brought me back to life in this very same spot."

Austin felt a chill run through her body.

"My body was revived, but I stopped living that day. When I awoke from the coma, I no longer felt the power of the ocean pulling me in and the call of the waves fell on deaf ears. It took me a while, but I learned to live this new life." Rory looked at Austin, who was sitting with her arm around Rory's waist.

"Then, I met you and my world turned upside down all over again."

Austin raised an eyebrow and Rory continued. "Life is like a game of poker. You're dealt one hand and given chips to play with. It's all about how well you bluff and play the game. I don't know why or how, but I truly believe I was dealt a new hand after going all in and losing everything in the last one. People generally don't get a second hand and I've been holding this hand very close, barely playing any of my chips. You entered the game and began calling my bluff over and over, tempting me to go all in. Bloody hell, you scare me to death."

Rory ran her hand over Austin's cheek.

"You came into my life for a reason, Austin. You…" Rory paused. "I hear the waves and feel the ocean for the first time in years. I can't explain it, but somehow you made me feel alive again. You've awakened the soul inside me that I thought was dead and gone. You excite me, terrify me, and drive me wild all at the same time. I've fought this for so long and I'm done. You win," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing her lips to Austin's.

The kiss was gentle and probing at first, but heated quickly as Rory pushed Austin onto her back, sliding her hand under her t-shirt and over the silky smooth skin of her taut stomach from the waistband of her shorts to the bottom curve of her breasts. The moonlight cast a soft glow around them and the massive waves in the distance crashed against the shore, drowning out the soft moans echoing between them.

Austin rolled Rory onto her back, pushing her shirt up as she ran her tongue over the soft skin around her belly button. Rory hissed, watching the gray eyes looking at her, as Austin moved up her body, laying half on top of her. Rory reached down, running her hand down Austin's waist to her hip, then over her tight ass. Austin gasped, feeling herself growing wetter as she moved against the woman under her.

Rory slipped her hand under the bottom of Austin's shorts, sliding it up her thigh as Austin pushed her hand under the waistband of Rory's shorts. Each woman found what she was searching for. Austin kissed Rory passionately as she slid her fingers inside of Rory for the first time. Rory pulled away from the kiss, groaning with pleasure. Austin felt so good inside of her. Rory slipped her fingers through Austin's wet folds, easing inside, matching her stroke for stroke.

Their lips met frantically once again, tongues danced and teeth nibbled, fanning the flames of the fire burning between them. They thrust into each other roughly, grinding faster and harder until they were panting, gasping for breath and climbing the walls of desire.

Rory came first, crying out into the night as her body convulsed. Austin groaned loudly, collapsing on top of her. Their hearts pounded together as they floated slowly back to reality.

Rory rolled Austin to the side, sitting up slightly. "Did I hurt you?" she asked.

"Really?" Austin shook her head, running her hand through her hair to push it out of her face. "If you don't stop asking me that, I'm going to hurt
you.
"

Rory smiled.

"You have no idea what you do to me. I…I've never loved anything as much as surfing and I thought that love had died. I found it again when you came into my life. Austin, I found it in
you
. I love you so much that it hurts to breathe," she whispered.

 "I love you too," Austin said, closing the space between them and kissing her with a little more intensity than she'd meant to. Rory returned the kiss, pushing Austin onto her back before pulling away slightly.

Staring down into deep gray eyes, she said, "We better get out of here before we get caught. There are houses on the other side of those dunes."

Austin grinned, biting her lower lip between her teeth seductively.

"I knew you were trouble the moment I laid eyes on you," Rory laughed, getting up and pulling Austin to her feet. They stood on wobbly legs for a second as the blood rushed back down.

"Is that so?" Austin teased.

"Yes. Now, come on." Rory folded up the blanket and walked down to the water. She stepped in, allowing the warm water to cascade around her calves as she reached around her neck, removing the pendant.

Austin watched from a few feet away as Rory stretched her back, tossing something way out into the surf.

"What was that?" Austin asked.

"Letting go," Rory smiled.

Austin shrugged and fell instep next to her as they walked back up the beach towards the house.

~ ~ ~

Three days later, Rory watched from the shore as the final round began. Each of the four surfers in the water was wearing a different color rash guard. Austin was out in the line-up, sitting on her board in a hot pink one. She'd barely made it out of the first heat, catching only two waves and wiping out hard on the first one. Her second heat had been much better and she scored high enough to make the final round.

You can do this. Concentrate, Austin. Find your center. Go...go damn it!
She saw the perfect swell coming towards her and began paddling as hard as she could, dropping on the face of the wave. She carved quickly to her right, riding up the face of the wave into a snap, then a floater along the lip of the wave before tail sliding back inside. She carved up and down the face of the wave laying back on the board to drag her hand through the water before dumping off as the wave flattened out. She did a quick duck dive under another wave and paddled back out to the line.

Two more surfers rode the next pair of waves and the forth surfer saw Austin prepare to paddle for the swell behind them and she took off paddling to cut in on her. Austin saw her and backed off the wave. The girl rode half of the wave before wiping out. Rory had seen the entire incident and cheered loudly when she saw Austin make the right choice. If she'd popped up, the other girl would've run right over her.

The horn sounded a short blast, signaling one more minute in the heat. Austin watched the line-up closely, waiting as each wave rippled past her, until she saw the one she wanted. She paddled hard and dropped on the wave. Once again, performing a few smaller maneuvers along the face of the wave, then she cut back, using her speed to pop her up off the lip of the wave into an aerial. She held her hand on the edge of the board as it slid sideways in the air, then back down on the rail, slicing through the water. She rode back up the wave into a floating tail slide, before dumping off the back of the wave when the long blast of the horn indicated the heat had ended.

The scores were being tallied as the surfers paddled in. Rory stood near the judge's booth, waiting patiently. She'd been wearing a ball cap and dark sunglasses the entire day, trying desperately to not get recognized.

"This is a huge surprise. Rory Eden has returned to the North Shore," the young guy next to her held up his camera. "This is going to be the comeback story of the decade."

"I'm not…" Rory was cut off by the loudspeaker as the results were announced. Austin had just set her board down in the sand as her name was called out in first place. The official standing nearby slipped the medal over her head and she took off, jogging towards Rory, screaming with excitement.

"That's who you should be interviewing," Rory said. "She's going to be better than I ever was."

The reporter flashed the camera the second that Austin flung herself into Rory's arms, kissing her deeply.

"I love you so damn much, Rory Eden!" Austin grinned.

"Care to comment now?" he asked.

Rory laughed. "I think you just outed me," she said to Austin, smiling and kissing her again.

About the Author

Graysen Morgen is the bestselling author of
Falling Snow
,
Fast Pitch
, and
Bridesmaid of Honor
, as well as many other titles. She was born and raised in North Florida with winding rivers and waterways at her back door and the white sandy beach a mile away. She has spent most of her lifetime in the sun and on the water. She enjoys reading, writing, fishing, and spending as much time as possible with her partner and their daughter.

You can contact Graysen at [email protected] and like her fan page on facebook.com/graysenmorgen
.

Go to www.tri-pub.com to get information about Triplicity Publishing or to submit your manuscript.

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