Perfectly Able (8 page)

Gently, she placed her
soft palms on my shoulders. “I’m going to kiss you, Ridge Sutherland.”

It surprised me how much I liked the sound of that
. I remained still, allowing her to be in full control. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against mine, sending an unexpected surge of desire through my body. Her lips were soft and warm and supple, and I could smell her tropical scent.

I put an arm around her waist, pulling her to me, assuring her that I wanted it, too,
but I refrained from taking over. I had won a kiss from her, but my prize would be taken at a time of my choosing. This one was all hers.

Her lips grazed mine, and they moved across my jawline, down to my neck
. The canoe shifted with her movement, and she froze, waiting on it to calm before she continued. Clenching my shoulders with her fingers, her lips teased my Adam’s apple. Her warm tongue flicked across my skin, and she gently sucked my neck, her breasts brushing against my chest. I groaned softly as her movement caused me to harden.

I suddenly wished we were anywhere but on a canoe. She was driving me wild with her soft, sensual movements, and she had barely even kissed me
. I had the urge to grab her by the waist and kiss her like she’d never been kissed before, but I could wait to claim my prize. Besides, the teetering canoe prevented me from doing any of the things I wanted.

So I remained still while her maddening lips explored my body
. She straightened, and her lips were on mine again, her tongue teasing me. More than happy to allow her entrance, I parted my lips, and her tongue slipped into my mouth. She rose higher, repositioning herself, her lips never leaving mine. The canoe began teetering, and then, she jerked back and let out a shriek as it wobbled dangerously. I reached out to steady her, but she evaded my grasp as we both toppled into the water.

The numbing shock of freezing water assaulted me as I was submerged beneath the black, glassy surface. When I got my bearings,
I rose to the top, taking a breath as I shivered in response to the lake’s late-night chill.

“Ava?”

She broke the surface of the water, sputtering and coughing.

I swam to her
. “Are you okay?”

She coughed again
. “I’m fine. Just got a little water down the wrong pipe. Remind me the next time I decide to flop out of a canoe to close my mouth first.”

Luckily, the canoe hadn’t capsized, and I checked to make sure the paddles were still inside
.

“So much for being spontaneous,” she grumbled to herself.

I smiled into the darkness. “I don’t know. Getting dumped in the lake is pretty spontaneous, don’t you think?  I, for one, didn’t see it coming.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I put too much of my weight on the left side of my body, and well,
on an unstable surface like the bottom of a canoe and with no foot to help me regain my balance….”

I chuckled
. “Don’t sweat it. I needed a good dousing, anyway. Some chick was getting me all hot and bothered.”

“
Was she now?”

“Indeed she was.”

There was an awkward moment of silence.

“
I’ll hold the other side of the canoe while you climb in,” I said, paddling to the opposite side. I grabbed the edge with both hands. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Ava climbed over the side easily and used her weight to our advantage as I climbed in on the other end.

“This has definitely been a memorable canoe ride,” I said, as the cool night air licked my skin.

“I’m sorry,” she said again
, her voice sounding jagged as she spoke around the chills that racked her body.

“You’re freezing.
Grab your paddle and let’s get you back to the cabin. And there’s no need to apologize.”

We quickly paddled back to the shore
. For someone who had never been in a canoe, Ava paddled effortlessly, working in perfect unison with my strokes. I admired her athleticism, and I had the feeling that she was the kind of girl who could hang with me no matter what sport or activity I was doing.

When we arrived back at shore, Ava worked her way to the grass, while I tugged the canoe onto land
. She waited patiently for me to finish, and then I scooped her in my arms.

“Oh,
my gosh!  Your hands are so warm,” she said. “How is that possible?”

I grinned as she turned her body into my chest, soaking up my warmth. “
Someone started a fire back on the canoe. You don’t know anything about that, do you?”

“When I was imagining that moment, it didn’t turn out quite like this,” she said softly.

I laughed. “Now you know why I’m not very spontaneous. I like everything to go according to plan.”

“
This wasn’t how I imagined it,” she said softly, “but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like how it turned out.”

I looked down at her then, stopping just in front of the deck steps. “You like getting dunked in a cold lake?”

“Surprisingly, yes. This whole evening is a happy memory that I’ll never forget. I figure the more happy memories I have, the less room there is in my head for bad ones.”

“Holding on to a bad memory can make the happy ones shine that much brighter,” I countered.

“I’ve never thought about it that way,” she said, as I climbed the stairs to the deck. “I’ll pick one to hold on to, and I’ll let the rest go.”

I paused before setting her on the chaise lounge, my arms still wrapped firmly around her
body.

“Do you have a bad memory that you’re holding on to?”
she whispered.

Her question punched me in the gut
. I never spoke of the circumstances surrounding the one bad memory that I refused to release. I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Would you share it with me?” she asked.

I released her, gently holding her upper body against me as her right foot reached the deck. “Maybe someday,” I replied, my voice sounding hoarse.

“Can I finish my kiss?” she whispered, her face upturned.

“I don’t know. You’re not gonna throw me off the deck, are you?”

She smiled and shook her head
. “No. I promise that I’ll be gentle with you.”

“Then yes, you can finish your kiss.”

She rose up on her toes, her hands fastened behind my neck. Goose bumps covered her body, and I could feel the hardened tips of her breasts through her thin bikini top as she pressed against me.

She kissed me softly at first, her lips grazing mine gently like a balmy breeze, but then her tongue slipped into my mouth. I held back, allowing her to
lead. Resisting the need to make the intensity of the kiss match the urgent desire cascading through my body proved to be difficult, but I would not take this moment away from her. Her mouth was as hot as her body was cold, and I found myself caressing her back to satisfy my overwhelming need to warm her.

When she finally pulled away,
she buried her face in my neck, avoiding any eye contact. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I wasn’t sure why she was thanking me, so I changed the subject altogether
. “You’d better get inside, so you can warm up.” I released her, and she lowered herself to the chaise lounge where she had left her prosthesis.

Allowing her privacy, I went inside and showered.

When I finished, I went into the kitchen and made two cups of hot chocolate, glad that Kelsey had thrown it into the grocery buggy despite the fact that I’d told her that I didn’t want it.

I waited for Ava to make an appearance, but when she never came out of her room, I emptied her cup of cocoa into the sink and went to my room, locking the door behind me.

After stripping down to my boxers, I sat in the carved wooden chair in the corner of the room and watched the moonlight glisten off the surface of the lake. An owl flew across the night sky, its large wings flapping majestically, and I wondered if Ava had seen it.

Not yet sleepy, I found myself wondering about her, what her life had been like up until now, how she had lost her leg, whom she had been dating
.

Even though I found her beautiful the first day that I’d come to the cabin, I hadn’t expected to be drawn to her. I had intended to ignore Kelsey and Brandy’s obvious attempt to make a match and concentrate
on training. But the truth was Ava intrigued me.

Training would still be my focus because nothing would keep me from meeting my goals, but I only needed to train so many hours on any particular day, which left plenty of time to learn more about Ava Nottingham. She was quite different from any of the other girls that I knew
. Perhaps one of the things that appealed to me most besides her sweet nature was the fact that she was an athlete. Hell, she was more than a little athletic. She was seconds away from completing a triathlon. That said a lot about her and the kind of person that she was.

Damn, but I couldn’t help but admire her.

I smiled as I thought about the two of us being dumped in the lake. Out of the girls that I’d made out with, that was definitely the most memorable first kiss.

And as much as I enjoyed it, I thought that maybe tomorrow it would be my turn to kiss her.

***

I rose early and went running
. When I came back, I followed it with a long swim. Swimming in open water was a much different experience than swimming in a pool, and I was glad that I had the opportunity to practice. No doubt that being packed in with dozens of other swimmers on race day would still be much different, but at least, I could get some kind of feel for it.

I arrived back at the cabin around lunch time
. After showering, I went to the kitchen, but I didn’t see Ava. A quick check in and around the cabin failed to produce any sign of her. Baffled because she hadn’t made an appearance, I knocked on her door.

Her muffled voice called to me. “Yes?”

“Ava, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“
Can I come in?”

She hesitated
. “Yes.”

I opened the door to find her bed neatly made
. She was sitting on a beige loveseat, a throw pillow in her lap. “Hey,” I said, as I entered the room.

“Hey.”

“Are you sick or something?” I asked.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Okay. I just wanted to check.” Her mouth was pulled into a slight frown, and she seemed distracted. Dark circles rimmed her lower lids. Something was definitely wrong. After a brief internal struggle, I decided to ask, “Did I do something to offend you?”

“What?” She looked surprised as she sat up a little straighter and looked at me, her dainty eyebrows knitted with concern
. “No, definitely no. It’s me.” She waved her hand in front of her as if she were trying to explain more clearly. “I just…I just have something I’m trying to work through, that’s all.”

“Have you eaten?” I asked, not having seen any sign that she’d been out of her room today.

She shook her head. “I’m not really in the mood.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to work through whatever it is if you had something to eat?”

She laid her hand on her stomach. “I feel a little queasy.”

“Why don’t I make you something simple like some toast and scrambled eggs? That should help settle your stomach and
give you more energy to…think.” I left the room, not waiting for her to answer. I didn’t know what was going on with her, but she looked so sad, and it tugged at my conscience. Maybe Ava needed someone right now, and seeing as I was the only person around, I would feel guilty if I didn’t intervene.

Finding my way around the kitchen, I
whipped us up some breakfast for lunch. When it was ready, I carried it out to the deck, thinking that being outside might help Ava to feel a little less gloomy.

She nibbled on her toast while I quickly downed my meal
. “So you wanna talk about it?”

“Don’t worry about me
. I’ll be fine.” She pushed her eggs around the plate with her fork.

“I know you will, but you might be fine faster if you talk about it.”

She gave me a small, sad smile. “Do you ever feel down in the dumps?”

“I guess everybody has their moments, but for the most part, I’m pretty upbeat
. Does this have to do with the guy that you were dating?”

“It does, but really it’s more about me, about what I know I should be feeling and what I’m actually feeling. I don’t know
. Maybe I’m just wallowing in self-pity.”

“We all do from time to time, and that’
s okay. Do you feel like you’re having a serious problem, like with depression or something?”

“No, nothing that serious.”

“Well, you know what they say about laughter,” I said. “Maybe you just need to do something fun. Sometimes when I’m stressed, I take a break and do something enjoyable. Whatever the hell it is that I want to do.”