“Then why do I have the feeling you’re going to catch a wave and dazzle us on your very first try?”

“Maybe I just have an exceptional teacher.”

She snorted. “Flattery will get you nowhere, sir. I have a brother that tries the same thing at home, so I am immune to such charms.”

But she was blushing while she said it, and I resisted the urge to smile.

“Moment of truth, then,” Lexi stated, picking up her board and grinning at us. “Time to let him try the real thing.”

Ember

Garret picked up his board and turned to me, waiting. And for about the hundredth time this afternoon, as I looked at him, my stomach gave a weird little jolt. His hair shone in the sun, and his sculpted arms and shoulders were highly noticeable without his shirt. As was the lean, tanned, washboard stomach and chest. The boy definitely worked out or did something strenuous in his free time. One did not get a body like that from sitting around.

And even though he denied it, I couldn’t help but think he had done this before. He was so graceful, knowing exactly where to put his feet, how to balance himself on the board. Even on land, with the board stationary, I could tell he would do fine in the water, maybe more than fine.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he would wipe out, as I had on my first day of surf lessons. Granted, I wasn’t going to let him try the monsters just yet, but one did not just pick up a board and surf merrily down a wave on the very first try.

“Come on,” I told him, grabbing my board. “I’ve shown you everything you need. Now you just have to do it.”

He followed us into the water without hesitation, paddling about a hundred yards from shore. As always, while floating on my board in the middle of the sparkling ocean, I felt a familiar rising excitement. Maybe I couldn’t fly anymore, but this—the rush, the prickle of danger, the adrenaline—certainly came close. At least I didn’t have to give this up just yet.

I suddenly remembered Cobalt, soaring with him over the crashing ocean, racing the waves, and felt a twinge of sadness and regret.

I’d never do that again. Which meant I’d probably never see him again, either.

“Ember?” Garret’s voice broke through my melancholy. He sat very close, bobbing on the surface of the water, and his metallic gaze was fastened on me. “You all right?”

That same prickle again, but I ignored it. “Yeah,” I said, giving him a bright smile. “I’m fine. Just…looking for waves.”

“That’s a relief.” He actually smiled back. “Because I’m depending on you to show me how to do this. The lesson isn’t over yet, I hope.”

Those eyes. I felt like they pierced right through me; that if I didn’t break away now, they would peel me open to see what lay beneath. Deep within, the dragon stirred, growling. She didn’t like this human, I realized. Maybe he scared her, or the intensity of his gaze reminded her of a predator. Or maybe she felt that, if I stared at him much longer, I would lose myself in those stormy eyes and forget all about a certain golden-eyed rogue, waiting for me in the darkness.

“Here comes a good one!” Lexi announced.

I tore my gaze away and stared out over the water. Coming right at us, getting larger as it approached, was the familiar swell of our next ride. And, by the looks of it, it wasn’t a small one. Not gigantic, per say, but definitely not the “baby” wave I’d promised Garret.

Oops. So much for easing him into it.

I jerked my board around as Lexi did the same, and Garret followed our example. “When I say go,” I told him, lying flat on my stomach, “paddle just like I told you. Paddle like your life depends on it, and don’t look back.”

Briefly, our gazes met. I didn’t see any fear or doubt on his face, just confidence, excitement, and trust. My breath caught under that look, but then the swell loomed over us, and I hollered for everyone to go.

We paddled. I hit the top of the wave first, and for just a moment, perched on the rim of a mountain, my board teetering on the edge.

Then the nose of the board plunged downward, and I leaped upright as we began to fall.

Wind and spray whipped around me, buffeting my hair. I didn’t see anything but the ocean and the front of my board as it sliced through the water.

And then, Garret sliced past me, his board sending up a spray of foam. Startled, I nearly fell, but quickly regained my balance and watched him from the corner of my eye. He stood on the board just as I’d taught him, knees bent, arms slightly raised, the wind whipping at his hair as he careened down the wave. A thrill of pride zipped through me, and I steered my board in his direction, pulling alongside him.

“You’re doing it!” I called, though my voice was probably drowned out by the roar of the wave behind us. But then Garret looked over with a brief, dazzling smile, and my heart nearly stopped. I’d never seen him smile before, not a real one, and it transformed him completely. He was a creature of light, of energy and power and adrenaline, and absolutely beautiful.

Behind us, the wave curled over and crashed in a roar of foam and spray, losing fury as it petered out in the shallows. Still on our boards, we cruised toward the beach until our momentum gave out and Garret hopped off the board into waist deep water. He was panting, breathing hard, his whole face lit up again with an eager, excited grin as he spun to me.

“That was amazing,” he exclaimed, as I grinned back and splashed beside him, our boards bumping noses as they floated behind us. “I never felt…I mean…” He shook his head, sending droplets flying from his wet hair. “Just…wow.”