Covertly Strong (The Strong Series Book 1) (3 page)

“Hey!” she called out past the water as her fingers motioned him towards the sand. “Come here for a minute!” she shouted with both hands cupping around her mouth.

“
Sloan
!” Stephanie whispered-yelled from behind her. “What are you doing?” Her shock was apparent in the urgency of her voice.

Sloan glanced over her shoulder and waved her friend off with a wink and a smile. Stephanie merely sat there in shock with her jaw nearly touching the sand. Obviously, her friend wasn’t used to this kind of forwardness from her. Once Sloan’s eyes focused back on the three surfers, she noticed that all of them were looking at her with mild intrigue.

“You!” She pointed towards the brown-haired guy who had so easily caught her attention. “Come here for a minute!” From the distance, she could make out the small crest of a grin at the corners of his lips as he started to leisurely make his way through the water.

Within a few minutes, he was standing in front of her, surfboard in hand and curiosity shining through his dazzling eyes—eyes that stood out like a neon billboard in a dark room, irises as blue as the ocean water that moved at their feet. Those eyes might as well have been thieves, stealing her breath straight from her lungs.

She had the shocking urge to trace the lines of his chiseled jaw and run her fingers through his thick, brown hair. The crazy sensations this stranger was igniting within her body had knocked her equilibrium out of whack.

No one had ever spurred these kinds of feelings from her—
ever
. This was completely foreign territory for her teenage brain and she wasn’t quite sure how to process the unfamiliar emotions. While Sloan tried to rein in her newly acquired traitorous thoughts, her eyes just continued their greedy appraisal…

And my oh my was he big.

Tall, broad, and undoubtedly the most perfect specimen of a boy she had ever seen in her life. His looks were smoldering and his piercing, blue eyes added an edge that made it impossible for Sloan to pull her gaze away. He was just…
perfect
.

And her mind was already convinced that he was perfect for her.
I’m going to fall in love with you…and I’m going to have all of your babies.

“So, what can I help you with?” he asked.

After a few moments of gawking, Sloan regained her sense of rational thought, straightened her spine, and picked her jaw up off of the sand. Her mouth crested into a slow, sly smile.

“You’re going to teach me how to surf,” she demanded as she nodded her head towards his board.

He chuckled loudly. “
I’m
going to teach
you
how to surf,” he said, repeating her words, motioning to himself with one strong hand. He was visibly amused by her forwardness. With a raised eyebrow, he curved his lips into a wickedly sexy grin. “Is that so? Do I at least get an introduction first?”

A giggle escaped her mouth as she shifted on her feet, one hand going to her hip, the other held out towards him in the offer of a handshake. “I’m Sloan Walker.”

“Nixon West. My friends call me Nix,” he responded with a warm, inviting smile as his free hand encompassed hers.

His muscular fingers engulfed her tiny ones as droplets of water transferred from his tan skin and ran down the palm of her hand to her wrist. The feel of his warm fingers touching her skin caused her breath to stay lodged in her throat. She could only manage a small smile as she swallowed past the overwhelming emotions he had spurred inside her. Tiny butterflies fluttered around in her belly as her body responded to him on a completely foreign level.

His touch didn’t cause a fast, lightning-quick reaction. It was a slow burn. It reminded her of standing under the warm spray of a shower head as water heated up to maximum capacity. All of sudden she was acclimated to the hot temperature and couldn’t imagine going back to lukewarm.

And all her brain could think was,
Holy mother of pearl, he has a nice smile.
Straight, white teeth and full, perfect lips.

Oh the things she wanted to do to those lips…

She cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you, Nix,” she offered as her eyes stole another more-than-friendly perusal of his undeniably fit form.

Muscles upon muscles—perfectly lean and well defined. He had the kind of body that demanded attention and instant whistles of approval from the female population. This guy took care of himself. There was no doubt that teenage girls everywhere would appreciate the beautifully masculine physique of Nixon West. He was just
that
damn good-looking. Hell, he was hot—
smoking hot
. Un-freaking-believable.

“Do you go to McKinley?” he asked as he took in the sight of her.

His gaze moved from her petite, yellow toe nails to the very top of her heart-shaped face. Nix was mesmerized, completely entranced by this pretty girl and he probably would have done anything she asked. Hell, he would have done
anything and everything
for the dark-eyed, dark-haired beauty who stood before him.
No doubt about it.

What hot-blooded, American, teenage guy could have said no to her?

Definitely not him. No way. No how. This girl was what wet dreams were made of.

He observed her long, brown hair, which was tousled and wavy in the most alluring way. Her perfect curves were accentuated flawlessly by the olive tone of her skin. Her soft, full lips seemed ready and ripe for kissing—as well as many other things. But more than that, her demeanor was pure sass, undeniably feisty. There was a fire that burned behind her pretty little eyes.

“Yeah, but I’m pretty new to Honolulu. My family just moved here at the beginning of April.”

He nodded in understanding. This was the kind of girl he would notice—the kind of girl who would definitely warrant his attention—and now it was all beginning to make sense. “That explains why we’ve never met. How old are you?”

She smiled up at him. “Sixteen. I’ll be a junior next year.”

“Me too.” A slow, lazy smile appeared on his handsome face. “Looks like I’ll need to take you under my wing and show you around Honolulu,” he answered with pure confidence.

“Who says I need showing around? I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Damn, she’s sassy,
he thought to himself.
And I want her and all of that sass forever.

Nix cleared his throat to hide the laughter that threatened to bubble past his lips. If there was one thing he enjoyed in the opposite sex, it was attitude—and Sloan had it in spades. “I never said you couldn’t take care of yourself. I just want to make sure you’re well acquainted with the best hangout spots—and, of course, all of the places and people to avoid.” A knowing grin spread across his mouth.

“Such a gentleman,” she responded with a laugh. A gust of wind blew in from the water, whipping errant strands of hair across her face.

He was thankful for that wind. It threw him a god damn bone. It mussed her up, made her seem more obtainable by process of disheveling. She was adorable disarray.

“I’m
always
a gentleman. Don’t ever forget that.” He reached out, tucking pieces of her brunette locks behind her ear. “So you want to learn how to surf?” he questioned as he gripped his board with one hand, adjusting it in the sand.

Nix tucked his board underneath one arm, reaching his free hand out towards her and grabbing her hand with ease. “Well, what are you waiting for? We have a lot of work to do, sweetheart.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

Her feet kicked up water behind her as they both made their way farther into the sea. Once the water had reached their waists, Nix set his board down. His strong hands gripped her tiny hips, lifting her above the waterline. A small squeal of surprise jumped out of her throat as her hands flew to his shoulders, grabbing on for dear life.

“Don’t get shy now, Sloan,” he chuckled in response, more than pleased by her reaction to his touch. “Now straddle the board, pretty girl,” he instructed with a wicked glint in his eyes as he helped adjust her position.

She followed his instructions, her long legs hanging off either side of the surfboard. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she questioned.

He liked her cute ass on his board.
Loved it, actually.
It stimulated a lot of things, including a flash flood of nefarious thoughts into his randy, teenage brain.

C’mon, you horny bastard, get your head on straight
, he thought to himself. He could tell a girl like Sloan wouldn’t be impressed by a drooling, gawking idiot. She needed confidence, she needed swagger, and that was exactly what he would give her.

“I
always
know what I’m doing.” His answer was laced with one hundred percent male cockiness.

She took the bait, visibly enjoying Nix’s brand of cool. A smirk covered her mouth as her gaze moved to his face.

He merely grinned back, mentally patting himself on the back for the small victory.

A minute of knowing silence passed between them, their eyes communicating all that needed to be said. And right there in the water, with the Hawaiian sun hovering over them, was
the moment
—the poignant point in time when Nixon West realized that he had found the one girl who would turn his world upside down.

NIX AND THREE OF HIS buddies had come to a truce. There was only one girl left in the infamous Nerf Wars (NW) and they weren’t going to let her win. They would rather cut of their balls than let a
chick lay claim to the prestigious NW trophy. It was called The Brophy for a reason for Christ’s sake.

If a girl had been the mastermind behind this amazing sport, then
maybe
they could have named it
The Chickphy,
but such wasn’t the case. This was a guys’ sport, and the male population of McKinley High took their Nerf Wars seriously. They refused to let a girl carry bragging rights to The Brophy for their entire senior year.
Not happening.

The rules of Nerf Wars were simple.

1. Each player has one Nerf Blaster.
   
2. Nerf Wars begins at midnight on Aug 1
   st
   and ends at midnight on Aug 14
   th
   .
   
3. One hit and you’re out of the game.
   
4. Every man (or woman) for themselves.
   
5. Last one standing wins The Brophy and bragging rights for the entire school year.
   
6. The only time you’re safe is if you’re naked.
   

Four teenage guys sat outside Sloan’s house, ready and waiting. Since she and Nix had gotten very close over the past two months, they had insider information on her weekly schedule. She was due at The Aloha Café for a lunch shift of serving coffee to the locals. Any minute, she would be walking out that front door…

And they were strategically hidden in her front yard—Nerf Blasters against their chests, ready to pounce on the opportunity.

“What’s the time, Billy?” Nix whispered from behind Sloan’s car, which was parked in her parents’ driveway.

“11:45,” Billy quietly updated him as he crouched lower behind a rosebush in front of the Walkers’ home.

“Lock and load ‘em, boys!” Adam hissed under his breath as his finger inched towards the trigger of his plastic weapon.

Nix knew he should feel a little guilty for throwing Sloan to the proverbial NW wolves, but…
This. Was. War
. And there was no way in hell he was going to let a girl win The Brophy. Yeah, there was definitely a small sense of pride that flourished inside his chest because
his girl
had made it this far, but that’s about as far as it went. He was going to win this year, and he would do anything to make that happen—including setting his
girlfriend
up for the surprise of a lifetime.
Shit
, he thought to himself.
Did I really just think the word girlfriend?

They weren’t officially together, but everyone within a hundred-mile radius
knew
that Sloan belonged to Nix. He just needed to get her feisty ass on board with that mindset.