arms, backing up a step. The flower that she’d stuck in her hair was starting to wilt, no doubt a little crushed from when he’d held her. “Because if this is just a nice attempt to say no—”
“Yes.” He bit out the word more sharply than he’d intended. “I say hell yes. I have to leave in three weeks for another six-month deployment, so I won’t be in town for long. But if you’re cool with that and don’t mind that this is short-lived … I want to be with you.”
He straightened the red flower, tucking the stem more securely behind her ear and trying like hell to smother the inferno threatening to consume him from the inside out.
Her eyes went wide. A smile started, but she lifted her hands to her face, hiding it.
“Seriously?” She sounded happy. A little breathless. “I hope you’re not saying that just because you feel bad for the awkward girl who sucks at seduction. It’s just that I feel safe with you and—”
Danny kissed her. No hesitation this time. His blood still simmered for wanting her, so it wasn’t exactly a chore to seal her lips with his and cut off that line of thinking in no uncertain terms.
She sank into him, her body pliant and warm. She tasted like cinnamon, her lip gloss as edible as the woman. Her soft, yielding mouth reminded him of other kisses, other times she’d given herself to him. And as much as he loved those past days together, he wanted this kiss to be all about the present for both of them. A moment belonging so fully to the here and now that they’d never confuse it with the past.
Edging back, he whispered, “Not a chance.” He stroked up her spine to thread his fingers through her hair, the water swirling higher around their legs as the tide came in. “This is about me and you and new beginnings.”
“Yes.” She nodded fast, obviously liking that idea. “A do-over.”
“Exactly.” They’d be safer that way, he thought. The more they focused on the present, the easier this would be for both of them. “Are you ready to leave the past behind and enjoy the moment?”
Using her hands, she steadied herself on his shoulders as a wave rolled past them, splashing up to his knees.
“Very ready.” Her affirmation was all the encouragement he needed.
Lifting her against him, he tipped his forehead to hers.
“Here’s to a clean slate,” he said softly.
He twirled her in the surf with him, her damp skirt twining around his legs. Too late he saw a high wave speeding toward them. He turned to shelter her and take the brunt of the water on his back, but the force was too great, pulling them down, submerging them both in the Chesapeake Bay.
3
AS THE WATER CLOSED over his head, Danny kept Stephanie pressed tight to him. He hadn’t meant to haul her into the surf without warning. But Stephanie had always had a sense of adventure and spontaneity, just like him.
Or so he thought until she started to struggle in his arms.
Blasting straight to the surface, he pulled her high out of the water, arms locked around her waist and shoulders.
“Are you okay? I didn’t see that wave coming until it was too late.” He scanned her face, trying to get a read on what was wrong. “Is it too cold?”
Water sluiced down her face and shoulders, her dress straps sagging on her arms. Her flower had disappeared and her dark hair was plastered slick to her head. What scared him most was how pale she’d gone.
“I’m fine.” Her eyelids fluttered. Her heartbeat throbbed fast in the blue vein that stood out sharply against her pale throat. “I just … It was dark and I couldn’t see for a second.”
He frowned. Fear of the dark?
She’d never been freaked out by not being able to see before. So it only made sense something had happened between now and then to give her that kind of phobia. No doubt it had to do with her abduction. In trying to distance them from the past, he’d unwittingly thrown her right back into it. It would kill him thinking about how she might have developed that new fear, but he’d be damned if he’d ask her about it now, when they were supposed to be focused on a fresh start.
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered against her forehead. Being with Stephanie was going to be filled with landmines for both of them. “I should have gotten us to the surface faster. I didn’t realize …”
It never occurred to him she might panic. He cursed himself for his insensitivity.
“It’s all right.” Her pupils were wide despite the sun still high in the afternoon sky. She wrapped her arms around herself, her teeth chattering. “I was just surprised.”
“Come on.” He draped an arm across her shoulders and steered her toward the shore. “You can dry off inside.”
“Thanks.” She wrung out a fistful of wet hair as they trudged toward the shore, soaked clothes weighing them down. “I promise I’m not usually spooked that easily. I love the water.”
Yeah. He remembered that about her. They’d taken midnight swims in the pool at her town house those days they’d spent together on Long Island. Sat in the Jacuzzi tub for hours.
“Maybe we can hit the beach sometime when it’s not such a surprise.” He scooped up his shoes as they reached the shore, then guided her back toward the patio and into the house. “Let me get you a towel.”
He saw a blanket on the back of the couch and grabbed that instead. Wrapping her up in blue fleece, he assessed the damage. Her eyes were focused. Clear. Her color seemed better. And he would make damn sure it stayed that way.
“You want a shower while I put the food on the table?” He gestured down the hall while they dripped on the rug near the French doors. “There’s a bathroom off the spare bedroom on the right. It connects to a walk-in closet that has some extra clothes. You can grab a T-shirt or whatever you need out of there.”
“Sounds good.” She gave a firm nod, as if she was as determined as him to put the incident in the water behind them. “Thank you.”
Her gaze roamed over his face, slowing at his mouth, lingering there. Was she thinking about that kiss they’d shared, too? He still couldn’t believe what he’d agreed to out in the bay with her. In a perfect world, they’d take things slow and easy. Not rush into anything. But if she kept up those long looks of hers … he’d find it hard to be the sensible one.
SLIDING INTO ONE of Danny’s T-shirts, Stephanie paused to bury her nose in the cotton at one shoulder. Granted, she probably only smelled laundry detergent. But there was something about wearing a man’s clothes that made her feel sexy and safe at the same time. Like having some of Danny’s strength around her 24/7.
Wouldn’t that be addicting if she wasn’t careful?
She pushed the wicker basket full of clean shirts back into the closet cubby, reminding herself that part of the reason Danny seemed like a safe choice right now was that he’d only be home for a few weeks. She hadn’t known that his stay would be quite that short, but she’d realized it was inevitable he’d go back to sea for his job.
