Chapter 36
The morning dawned bright and sunny on the eastern shore of Maryland. The first twenty-four hours for the beach house occupants went off without a hitch and several new friendships had started to blossom.
Despite the late night before laughing and talking with the others, Michael awoke early for a morning run. Growing up on a ranch in Texas, he'd gotten used to rising early to feed and tend to the horses before school.
Later in college on a rodeo scholarship and continuing through his time at the Bureau, he still spent most early mornings exercising his horses. When he didn't have his horses around, he generally liked spending that time alone working out the stress of whatever assignment he might be on at the time.
The house was still quiet as he made his way down the steps in his navy blue jogging shorts and 'F.B.I. Academy' t-shirt. At 6'4", Michael easily threw his muscular leg up onto the porch rail to stretch before taking off down the beach.
He'd just begun to lean over his outstretched leg when he realized the beach wasn't deserted this morning like it had been yesterday. One leg still in the air, Michael's eyes traveled over the long legs of the beauty staring out into the ocean.
Obviously having just finished a swim in the ocean, her low-cut hipster yellow bikini accented her tan trim legs as she stood, feet apart, in the sand. When she lifted her hands to her wet hair pulling it up into a ponytail, the light glistened off the droplets of water on her flat stomach.
As his eyes continued to travel up her body, Michael's jaw dropped when he realized he was standing there gawking at Annie. Wow, who would have thought she had a body like that under those baggy clothes she wore, he mused unable to take his eyes off her.
When she bent over to pick up her towel from the sand, Michael almost fell over, forgetting he was still standing on one leg. Dropping his foot to the porch he continued to watch her as she dried off, knowing he should tell her he was there but unable to find his voice.
When Annie's head snapped around, Michael thought he'd been caught. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized she was looking farther down the beach and not at the house. Following her eyes, he tensed when he saw two beachcombers making their way in her direction.
Their 'daddy's money' attitude was evident even from this distance, and he bounded off the porch towards the beach to head them off. As he got closer, Michael could see the defiant glint in Annie's eyes as she stared at the approaching men and his footsteps faltered.
"Hey, beautiful," one of the men called as they got closer, their leering clearly noticeable to even Michael as he stood several yards away. His anger rose as he observed from a distance until he realized regretfully he was doing the same thing just moments before.
"Morning," Annie greeted them stiffly, her rebellious nature causing her to lower her towel to her side, allowing them to look all they wanted. Michael could see her eyes flash fearlessly as she met the men's stares head on and he stopped to see what she had planned.
"Wow, with those eyes and that blonde hair," the other man proceeded to say. "I bet you were a cheerleader growing up," the snickering between the two men clearing indicating they'd successfully used that line before.
"Oh, I wish," Annie replied sarcastically, putting one hand on her slender hip. "There was just too much spelling," she choked back a laugh as the men looked at her in confusion. "And then a friend convinced me to go back and would you, like, believe they were there…2-4-6-8," she clapped along with her counting. "Math too…ug…that was just too much for me."
As the men stood there jaws dropped, Annie spun throwing her towel over her shoulder and headed for the house. Only the slight hesitation in her footsteps told Michael when she realized she had an audience.
Their eyes locked as she passed him, a slight smile playing on her lips. Unbelievable, Michael thought amazed. That is one awesome lady, he smiled, watching her continue towards the porch, her hips swaying seductively as if she knew all three men were still watching.
As if coming out of a trance when her slender form disappeared into the house, Michael blinked, turning towards the men still staring from their place on the beach. A glare from him sent the two boys running and with a satisfied grin, he started out on his run. However, he didn't think even the exercise was going to relieve the kind of stress he was feeling now.