have to keep an eye on you. Make sure you don’t have any complications. There are plenty of reports of people dying hours after a near drowning.”
Loralei swallowed. That wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear right now, but she’d deal with that unpleasant thought later. Right now she had to convince this man to step back and let her go.
Or she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep herself from reaching out and running her hands over his wide chest and shoulders.
“My crew can keep an eye on me. Tell me what to look for.”
She barely got out the words before he was shaking his head. “I threw you in. Even after you told me you couldn’t swim. You’re my responsibility.”
One thing made her hesitate. If she went back to her room she’d have to explain to Brian what had happened and why he had to keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay. He’d find out her secret.
It was bad enough Jackson knew she couldn’t swim. She really didn’t need any of her crew finding out. She was already the outsider, with little knowledge about how a diving ship operated.
Loralei pulled her lower lip into her mouth and worried it with her teeth as indecision twisted through her gut. She hated not knowing what to do.
Using his thumb, Jackson eased her lip away from the self-inflicted torture.
“You’re safe here, Loralei. I promise you.”
Maybe she was safe from him. Her mouth was tingling where he’d touched her. Waves of sensation radiated from the single, innocuous spot.
But who was going to protect her from herself?
* * *
HE REALLY HAD to get some clothes on the woman. He’d never noticed that his towel was particularly small, but the knot she’d twisted it into between her breasts was unraveling centimeter by centimeter, giving him a bigger glimpse of her smooth, tanned skin.
Her black hair curled damply around her shoulders in a riot of tangles that made him want to bury his hands in it and use it to pull her face closer so he could taste her lips again.
What the hell?
He seriously needed to get a grip.
Turning away, he snatched up the shorts and shirt he’d tossed onto the bed for her. He whipped back around and collided with her.
Her hands landed on his chest. Her body crashed against him. Pressed tight between them, he felt the towel’s knot finally give way. Just as his control was doing. In a desperate attempt to save them both, Jackson grabbed for the towel as it slid down her back. The instinctive move backfired. Big time.
His fingers brushed across her naked skin. She gasped and arched into him. The soft curve of her breasts flattened against the hard plane of his body even as the towel was caught between them.
God, he wanted more.
They both stilled, locked in the precarious position and certain one wrong move could bring disaster crashing down on them both.
Unfortunately, Jackson wasn’t sure which would be the disaster: letting her go or not letting her go. The waters definitely had been muddied.
Slowly, Loralei tipped her head back and dragged her gaze up to meet his.
Damn, her eyes were deep. Deep enough he could dive inside and get lost. And the way she was staring at him made his stomach knot and his cock throb.
She licked her lips, parted them as if she was going to say something, but nothing came out. She inhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling against the edge of the towel that flirted with the sharp peaks of her nipples.
Jackson had to close his eyes at the sensation of her body moving against his. He was only human.
“Loralei,” he murmured, keeping his eyes shut tight. “Step back. Now.”
If he was strong enough, he’d be the one to turn away. But he had only a slippery hold on his control right now, and if he moved Jackson was seriously afraid it would be in the wrong direction. This was his last-ditch effort at doing the right thing, because in about five seconds he wasn’t going to be able to curb his response to her anymore.
But she didn’t move.
“Seriously,” he growled.
Every muscle in his body was tight with the effort to hold himself in check. He felt...brittle. On the edge of exploding.
And he wasn’t particularly enamored with the sensation.
Jackson prided himself on his self-control. He’d fought hard for the ability to withstand the harshest conditions without cracking.
But sixty seconds with this woman pressed tight against him and every hard-won victory had disappeared like so much smoke.
“What if I don’t want to move?” she finally whispered.
Jackson groaned. His eyes popped open as his fingers, which were pressed against her back, flexed in preparation for digging in and taking more.
He stared at her, searching her expression for some sign that she meant what she’d just said.
Rising onto the tips of her toes, she wrapped her hands around his neck and urged him toward her. Just before her lips touched his she whispered, “Remind me that I’m alive.”
The minute their mouths collided it was over. He’d have to worry about the aftermath later, because he was too preoccupied to give a damn about anything but the taste and feel of her.
His hands slipped into her hair, angled her head so he could have better access to her hot mouth.
The moment was complete combustion. Their tongues tangled. She bounced on her toes, as if trying to get more of him. Without breaking their connection, Jackson wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her higher.
They both forgot about the towel. It snagged, hanging between them unnoticed. Jackson ran his palms across the slope of her back. Her skin was still damp from her shower. So smooth and soft. He could spend hours just touching her.
Even as his mouth devoured hers, his hands studied and learned. The way her body arched into his touch when he skimmed the sensitive dip right above her rear. Or the tiny catch in her breath that he drank in as he caressed between her shoulder blades.
He wanted to take a step back and appreciate the view, but she wouldn’t let him. Her hands were everywhere. Her rush to consume him only managed to fuel his own raging need.
Loralei broke the kiss, but only long enough to run her mouth over the skin of his neck, taking teasing licks before sucking gently. The tug of her lips arrowed straight down to where his cock leaped against the fly of the jeans he’d thrown on.
Why had he bothered? He couldn’t remember anymore.
Twisting, he pressed her up against the first available surface, which just happened to be the edge of the dresser. Reaching blindly behind
