shouldn’t I? You know how to use one, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“My hands are full,” he said, nodding toward where he gripped the oars. “If we run into trouble, I wouldn’t be able to react as fast as you could.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
She was doing it again, he thought. She kept acting surprised when he didn’t behave like some macho chauvinist. Did she really have such a low opinion of him? Or had something happened during the last five years to her to make her suspicious of men in general?
Kate was a complex woman. He hadn’t really thought that much about it when they’d been lovers. They’d both been content to keep things simple. Maybe it was just as well he had to keep his hands off her while they were on this mission. He was getting to know her in a whole different way….
Who was he kidding? If he had the chance he would drop these oars and haul her into his arms right now. He’d reacquaint himself with every inch of those long, gorgeous legs she’d been flashing all day. He’d kiss her until she forgot the years that had passed.
As if her thoughts paralleled his, her expression softened. She leaned closer, parting her lips as she sighed in pleasure. “Oh, Sam.”
He had already dropped the oars and was reaching forward before he realized she wasn’t looking at him when she spoke. She was looking over his shoulder.
He twisted on the seat to look behind him.
They had reached the entrance of the cave. It arched overhead, high enough that he wouldn’t be able to touch the roof if he stood and stretched out his arm. Carved by the sea out of the same pale rock as the cliff, its walls sloped gracefully to rounded pebbles at the waterline. Sunlight reflected from the water and from the sand beneath, illuminating the entire chamber with an otherworldly blue-green glow.
“It’s beautiful,” Kate murmured.
“Yes.” He faced her in time to watch a smile spread across her face. “Beautiful.”
“It’s a wonder the place isn’t marked on the tourist maps.”
“I’m glad it isn’t.”
“I know what you mean. I’d hate to see it developed.”
Sam pulled lightly at the oars, guiding them through the opening. As they left the sunlight the air grew hushed, closing around them in a cool embrace. Water dripped from the oar blades, echoing hollowly from stone that had been smoothed by eons of tides.
Kate craned her neck, looking around in silence for a while as they drifted over the mirror-smooth water. “It’s as grand as the royal palace, but in a different way.”
“It’s hard to believe that the destructive forces of the sea could create something as peaceful as this. It’s like a natural cathedral.”
“What a perfect way to describe it. It’s one of those places that makes a person want to whisper.” She set the gun on the seat beside her. “I don’t think I’ll be needing this.”
“A few centuries ago you would have. I bet this was a favorite place for pirates to hide out.”
Her laughter tinkled through the cavern. “Pirates? Oh, Sam, you would have liked that, wouldn’t you?”
He stowed the oars, propping his forearms on his knees as he leaned toward her. He knew they should be getting back to the boat now that they could see the cave was empty, but it had been too long since he’d heard her laugh. Another few minutes wouldn’t hurt. “How’s that?”
“I can picture you now, a sword in one hand, a spyglass in the other as you sail the seven seas to hunt down some notorious pirate captain.”
“What makes you think I would have been one of the good guys?”
“Oh, come on. You always believed in doing the right thing. That’s just the way you are. Noble, responsible Sam.”
“Sounds boring.”
“I doubt if you could describe your life as a SEAL as boring. I remember how eager you sounded to go on your first training mission to the South Pacific.” She smiled. “Was it as much an adventure as you’d hoped?”
“Not really. Aside from paddling around a mosquito-filled swamp with my team…” He paused, struck by what she had said. “You know about my first mission. So that means you must have read my letter, after all.”
Her smile faded. She shifted her gaze to the patch of sunlight at the entrance to the cavern. “We should be getting back to the boat.”
“How come you didn’t reply?”
“Sam…”
“And you sent the other letters back. Why, Kate?”
“It’s what we agreed.”
He should let this go just as he’d let it go for a week, he told himself. Accept the way things were now and get on with their duty. Why keep clinging to the past when she’d made it crystal clear the past was over?
But that was just it. The past wasn’t over, no matter how much she tried to pretend differently. He couldn’t keep burying this under duty—he’d tried that for a week, and it wasn’t working.
Sam caught Kate’s hands, enfolding them firmly in his. “Was it that bad, Kate?”
“What?”
“Is my memory of what we shared that wrong? Am I the only one who felt we had something special?”
She tried to pull away but he held on, twining his fingers with hers. “Don’t,” she said. “There’s no point—”
“I need to know, Kate. Am I the only one whose heart speeds up when our eyes meet? Don’t you ever dream of moonlight swims and making love on the warm sand?”
“Please, Sam. I don’t want to—”
“Don’t want to what? Remember?”
Sudden heat came to her eyes. Her features tightened. “Yes. That’s right. I don’t want to remember.”
He brought her hands to his lips. Holding her gaze, he pressed a slow kiss to each of her knuckles in turn. “It wasn’t bad, Kate,” he murmured. “It was magic.”
Her lips trembled. “Sam…”
“I remember the night we met. You were wearing a blouse with no sleeves that was the color of your eyes. Your skirt was covered with flowers that reminded me of laughter. But do you know what really caught my eye?”
She shook her head.
“Your feet.”
“My… feet?”
“They were bare.”
“That’s
