Below the Barrel (Saltwater Springs #2)

15. Koa | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

FIFTEEN

KOA | RIO DE JANEIRO, brAZIL

Surfing Saquarema is an adrenaline rush. The beach break here is wild—powerful, unpredictable, and constantly shifting under my feet. Every second on my board feels like a battle between chaos and control.

The waves are peaking high, coming in strong and fast. I feel the energy in the air, the raw power of the ocean, and it has my blood pumping. Maliah is quiet, but I see the same determination on her face that she always has when we’re about to compete. It gets me going, seeing her like that—focused, eyes sharp, and completely in her element. There’s something about knowing we’re about to take on the same beast together that makes the whole experience electric.

We have enough time this competition to catch a few waves each. The first one I catch throws me into the barrel faster than I expect. The walls are thick, but I stay low, carving through the lip as it begins to close in. Not my best start, but enough to give us a solid base to work with. My next wave will be better.

I watch as Maliah takes on the next set with confidence. The wave is steep, but she handles it effortlessly, sliding into a perfect roundhouse cutback. I can’t take my eyes off her. Every time she takes a wave, it’s like she’s dancing with it—reading every shift, every swell like it’s second nature. And she makes it look easy. She always does.

We spend the rest of the heat picking off waves, feeding off each other’s energy. The final waves are nothing short of perfect. I go for the most technical part of the wave, where it’s bigger, faster, and more unpredictable. I catch one of the biggest waves of the day, riding the lip before tucking into a clean barrel. The spray hits me in the face as I come out and I hear the crowd on the beach losing it.

When Maliah catches her final wave, she angles her board just right to carve through the section, hitting a sharp bottom turn that leaves a clean spray behind her. The way her body shifts and her eyes lock onto the next section of the wave is flawless. She even pulls off a cheeky cutback before heading to the shore, a signature move I’ve seen her do a hundred times, but it never fails to impress me.

The whistle blows and we paddle back to shore. I’m not surprised to learn we’ve managed to keep our spots in first place.

“That was insane,” Maliah says, breathless but smiling wide. “I can’t believe we nailed it.”

I smirk, pushing my hair back as I shake the water from my face. “You crushed it out there.”

She glances away, a modest shrug lifting her shoulder, but I can see the pride in her eyes. “You weren’t so bad yourself.”

We start walking to our rental van with the rest of the production crew, but I let myself fall back so that my gaze can wander over her as she walks ahead of me. My mind drifts back to Fiji—to the feel of her body against mine, the heat of that kiss, the way she had looked at me right before I?—

“Are you even listening?” the cameraman beside me asks, his voice breaking through my thoughts and snapping me back to reality.

“Huh?” I blink, realizing I’ve been zoned out, staring at Maliah’s ass. “Sorry, I missed what you were saying.”

Maliah looks over her shoulder at me, raising an eyebrow curiously. I shove my hand into the pocket of my wetsuit, trying to look casual.

“I was saying the production team is wrapping up early here so we can prepare for later tonight, we’ll catch a different car to our accommodations,” he repeats.

“Right,” I say, pulling my gaze away from Maliah and back to him. “Okay then, have a good night,” I say before rushing away from him toward the van.

We load our boards into the van and climb into the back of the car, our driver not bothering to wait for us to fasten our seatbelts before he starts to drive. I glance at Maliah out of the corner of my eye, wondering if she’s been thinking about what happened in Fiji too, or if she’s doing everything she can to forget it.

We never spoke about it again for the rest of our time there. Each night, she would slip under the sheets quickly, lying silently until her breathing slowed, signalling she’d finally fallen asleep.

My heart stutters when Maliah turns her head and catches me staring.

“What’s going on with you?”

I ponder whether I should tell her the truth or make something up, but curiosity gets the better of me. “I’ve been thinking about what happened in Fiji.”

Her eyes flick up to mine, guarded but curious. “Is there something you want to say?”

I open my mouth to respond but close it again, the words getting stuck. “Not yet,” I say, keeping it simple.

She doesn’t push me on it, instead giving me a small nod before returning her attention out the window. I follow suit, wondering how long we can keep dancing around what’s been happening between us.

Once we get back to the tour house we’ve been assigned, Maliah barely spares me a glance before heading straight to her room, shutting me out like she’s always done. I watch her disappear down the narrow hallway, her door clicking shut behind her, and it hits me harder than I want to admit.

I stand there for a moment, still holding my board, staring at the closed door. Did I push her too far? Did I cross a line back in the forest that we can’t uncross?

The tension’s been building between us for weeks—hell, maybe longer than that. It’s like every time we’re together, the air gets heavier, thicker, charged with something neither of us can fully control. And then the kiss. The way her body felt pressed up against that tree, her breath warm and uneven against my lips, the sound of her moaning while she came for me…it’s all I can think about.

But now, she’s avoiding me, and I’m left here, wondering if I’ve completely messed this up.

I drag our boards to the back deck, the warm Rio air wrapping around me as I hang them on the board hooks out here. I pull my phone out of my pocket and call Griffin and Colton in a group video call, hoping for a distraction.

Griffin picks up first, his voice crackling through the speaker. “So you finally decided to call,” he says in mock annoyance. “How’s Brazil treating you?”

I lean against the railing, looking out at the pool as I talk. “Not bad. We placed first again today at Saquarema.”

Colton’s voice cuts in next. “Hell yeah! I knew you two would kill it.”

They start filling me in on what’s been going on back home, updates on the surf scene, parties, some new faces at our usual spots. I’m listening, kind of, but I keep my responses vague, not really wanting to dive into what’s been happening between me and Maliah. I’m not even sure what I’d say. Griffin and Colton are like my brothers—they can tell something’s up.

“You good, Koa?” Griffin asks after a beat, his tone softening. “You seem off.”

I open my mouth to respond, but then the sliding doors open, and out walks Maliah in a black bikini, her skin glowing in the soft light of the pool. My throat goes dry instantly. She’s all legs, hips swaying as she walks with a sort of quiet confidence, and I can’t take my eyes off her.

I hear Colton and Griffin whispering to each other, their voices distant now, but I’m not listening. My attention locked on her. She steps into the pool, the water lapping around her waist as she turns to look at me. The way her eyes find mine—like she’s daring me to follow her.

She leans back against the edge of the pool, water glistening on her skin, and gives me this look, her eyes filled with something that sends a jolt straight to my cock.

“Bro, is he drooling?” Colton’s voice cuts through the fog in my brain.

“Yup, definitely drooling,” Griffin agrees, his voice filled with humour.

I blink, realizing they’ve caught me staring at Maliah like an idiot, mouth half-open.

“I’ve got to go.” I hang up the call, not even bothering with a goodbye.

Maliah watches me, her lips curving into a small, knowing smile. “Are you coming in?” she asks, her voice low, almost teasing.

Hell. Yes.

I don’t waste a second, running inside to change out of my wetsuit and into my swimming trunks before running back out to the pool and diving in, the water cooling the heat that’s building inside me. When I surface, I swim right up to her, water dripping from my hair, and place my hands on either side of her head against the pool edge. I lower myself to her level, close enough to feel the warmth coming off her skin despite the cool water.

She stares at me for a moment, her eyes flickering with something I can’t quite put my finger on—lust, maybe curiosity or desire. Her breath hitches slightly, and I notice the way her chest rises and falls, like she’s trying to control it.

I’m so close, I can see the tiny flecks in her eyes, gorgeous shades of blue. She shifts slightly under my gaze before asking, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

I tilt my head, smirking. “Like what?”

“Like that,” she repeats, her voice a little breathless now.

I let my gaze travel over her face slowly before I meet her eyes again, my tone playful. “Your eyes are really pretty up close.”

She narrows her eyes, lips pursing slightly. “Shut up.”

I grin, my voice dropping lower. “Make me.”

She scoffs, but there’s no real anger behind it, just that teasing edge we’ve always had. “I hate you.”

I lean in just a little closer, brushing a thumb along the edge of the pool beside her. “No, you don’t.”

She opens her mouth, probably to argue, but then stops. Her breath catches again, and for a second, I think she’s going to close the distance between us. The tension is thick, the space practically buzzing.

“What do you want?” she asks finally, her voice soft but steady, and it catches me off guard.

The question reminds me too much of that moment we shared in Fiji. My first thought is simple— you . It’s all I want. But if I say it out loud, if we kiss here, it won’t just be like last time. This time, there’s no way we’d stop and I’m not sure if she’s ready for that yet.

“I think I’ve made it clear what I want, Princess,” I say instead.

She breaks eye contact, submerging herself in the water. She swims a lazy circle around me, and I stay still, letting her move freely. My gaze follows her, heart pounding. She’s drawing me in without even trying.

After a few seconds, I pull myself up to sit on the edge of the pool, water cascading down my body, and watch as she moves to the deep end. When she finally surfaces, our eyes meet again. Her expression is unreadable, but something in the way she’s looking at me keeps me rooted to the spot.

She swims over to the stairs, slowly climbing out of the pool, water dripping down her beautiful body as she wraps herself in a towel. Without another word or glance, she heads back into the house, leaving me alone by the pool.

I wait a few minutes, trying to sort out the whirlwind of thoughts racing through my mind, then push myself up and follow her inside. The coolness of the air conditioning hits my skin, and I hear the sound of water running from her ensuite bathroom. She’s in the shower. I pause outside her door, listening for a second before turning away and heading to my own room.

Carnaval is tonight. We’re going with the others, and I still need to get ready. I peel off my wet swim trunks and head for my bathroom, turning the shower on to full blast, hoping to clear my head. I’m about to step in when there’s a knock at the front door.

I grab my towel, wrapping it around my waist, and make my way down the hall to the door, opening it to find someone delivering our costumes for the night. Great timing. I grab the package, thanking the courier before I shut the door, and head back down the hall, stopping outside Maliah’s room.

The sound of her shower is still going when I knock softly, and without waiting for a response, I open the door. Steam fills the room, curling out from the open bathroom door, and I catch a glimpse of her silhouette through the frosted glass. My throat tightens before I drop her costume on the bed and turn to leave, but then I hear it—her moan.

It’s soft, barely there, but it echoes through my head like a gunshot. My body reacts instantly, heat pooling low in my stomach as I grit my teeth and force myself to leave her room. I close the door behind me, my heart hammering, and make my way back to my own bathroom.

The water is still running as I step into the shower, letting it pound against my skin, but it doesn’t cool me down. My mind keeps flashing back to her, to the sound of that moan, and before I know it, I’m jerking myself off to the thought of her.

Again.