if she was going to pay attention to everything he said, or feel a need to show her independent self. If she did, he’d end the dive early, period. “Most divers here use ropes every time they go out, especially during midsummer, when the phytoplankton bloom and the water’s murky. It’s easy to be exploring and getting samples and not realize how far you’ve gone until you can’t figure out where, or what direction, the hole is. That’s when people freak, and bad stuff can happen.”
“I promised you I’d stay close to you, didn’t I?”
“You did. And I want you to keep that promise.”
“I promise I’ll keep my promise.”
She said the words in a light joking tone, and gifted him with a smile that stole his breath. He squeezed her hand before he had to let it go, stopping the vehicle next to the tent.
“Here we are. Ready?”
“Ready or not, here I come.”
“I haven’t been a tender on one of these trips for a while, Zeke, so you’ll have to remind me what to do with the equipment,” Bob said.
“Okay.” Since the whole reason they were here was to dive and get work started, and they needed a tender to do that, Zeke shouldn’t feel slightly resentful of Bob’s presence. He couldn’t seem to help that he did a little, anyway, wishing he and Jordan could enjoy being here together all alone, even though that made no sense at all. “I’ll explain as we get it set up by the dive hole.”
Zeke shoved open his door and went to the back of the van, with Jordan and Bob following. After getting everything inside the tent, he turned to Jordan to talk with her about what was necessary for cold-water diving, because it was crucially important she understood how different it was from whatever diving she’d done before.
“Getting the gear on right matters. First, the dry suit goes on over your long underwear, then a jumpsuit on top of that. So, let’s get it on you before we go to the next step.”
She took off her snowsuit, boots and thick pants, folding and stacking them in a pile on the ice, and Zeke couldn’t seem to keep from staring at her. He’d been on dozens and dozens of dives and never once had he thought of anything but work when everyone got their gear on, until today. That she could look so sexy in black long underwear that closely fitted her slender body had him imagining what she’d look like in scanty undies.
Or nothing at all.
Nearly groaning at the vision, he yanked his mind from where it had instantly gone, and held the dry suit open for her. “Step in, and I’ll help you get it on.”
“Remember I’ve dived many times in my life?” She reached for it instead of doing as he asked. “I know how to get on a wet suit.”
“Except this is a dry suit, and they’re even tighter so you stay well-insulated in the water. But suit yourself. Literally.”
“I always do,” she said with a grin.
He tried, again, to think only professional thoughts as he watched the way she shoved her feet into the tight legs, tugging them up her delectable body an inch at a time. Wiggling and wriggling. Huffing and puffing, until he and Bob both couldn’t control laughing just a little at her struggles.
“Another reason I don’t dive,” Bob said. “Way too much work before you even get in the water!”
“Well, sometimes it takes a little work to have a lot of fun,” she replied, sounding breathless from her exertion.
“Very true.” Zeke worked to get his on, too, but since he had the technique down pat, he’d already fastened his closed while hers was still twisted around her hips. “At this rate, the sun will be setting by the time you’re ready,” he said, cocking his head at her. “You going to let me help you or not?”
“Fine.” She threw up her arms, sounding exasperated. “But what happens on the ice stays on the ice, right? I don’t want anyone knowing I couldn’t do this on my own.”
“It’s our secret. And next time, you won’t have as much trouble, I’m sure.”
“While you finish, I’ll get the last tanks from the van,” Bob said before he disappeared from the tent.
Barely acknowledging Bob’s words, Zeke looked down into amused blue eyes. He loved that Jordan could poke fun at herself, despite that independent streak of hers that didn’t like asking for help with a dry suit she wasn’t familiar with. He reached for where the suit was currently squeezing her hips, curled his fingers inside the rubber clinging to her body and tugged it upward, feeling her firm waist and ribs as he did. Her eyes lifted to his again, and his breath backed up in his lungs.
Being alone with her in this tent, touching her body and standing so close he could hear her breathing, was doing all kinds of things to him that he couldn’t let happen. His gaze moved across the delicate shape of her face, her parted lips, her eyes staring up at him, and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her until neither of them could think.
He nearly did. He began to lower his face to hers, then gritted his teeth against the desire for her that pumped through his veins. He squeezed his eyes for a moment to block out how beautiful she was and the hot thoughts he had to control.
When he opened his eyes again, he focused on the dry suit as he tugged it up her body, making sure he didn’t touch places he shouldn’t touch, which wasn’t easy. Finally, he got it high enough for her to stick her arms inside, and expelled a breath of relief that he’d survived it without doing something they’d both regret.
“That feel okay? Not crooked?”
“No, it’s okay.”
She sounded breathless, but probably from the exertion of getting the suit on, and not for the reasons he felt that way. He moved around to her back and took her soft hair into one hand to move it aside as he got the Velcro fastened around her neck. It felt like torture that he couldn’t lean in a little closer to breathe in the scent of her skin. Press his mouth to her nape and taste it.
God, he needed to get out of this tent and into the water.
“There.” He cleared his throat and stepped back. “You’re in, but there’s more.”
She turned to face him, and something about her expression made him grit his teeth all over again, wanting more than anything to reach for her and kiss her and to hell with any consequences.
“The face masks. I’ve never worn one before.”
“Yeah. They have that special perfume smell called eau de rubber. You’ll like it.”
Her laughter helped ease the uncomfortable closeness he kept feeling for her, standing alone and so close inside this tent, and he breathed a little easier.
“Eau de rubber sounds like it might become my new favorite,” she said, and he didn’t think he was imagining that she looked a little relieved to be back to their joking.
“I think this is everything, but you need to double-check, Zeke,” Bob said, coming back inside.
“Looks like it. Except for one thing. Where are the earplugs you want
