As a self-admitted workaholic, Mac had often said that he preferred to stay hidden away doing his designs and allow Ty to deal with clients, public relations, company personnel and other people-oriented business functions. Ty had long maintained that Mac needed someone to bring him out of his workaholic world and into the realm of real life.
A bittersweet chuckle escaped Ty’s throat. How strange it was to have everything change in the space of just a few minutes. He and Mac were at odds with each other for the first time in their lives and it felt terrible. And what about his feelings for Angie? He had no idea what to do about that. An involuntary frown crossed his forehead. Mac was not the only one who had difficulty with relationships.
He looked around his office again as he pulled in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. Oxygen had seemingly become scarce. The four walls suddenly felt as if they were closing in on him. He needed to get away, even if it was only for a few hours. He had to lighten the oppressive weight that had settled on his shoulders. He rose from his chair and walked to the window.
Something that never failed to clear his head when he had problems was sailing—the brisk ocean breeze, the smell of the salt air, the sensation of skimming effortlessly across the water. It was the most totally freeing activity he knew. He checked his schedule for the day—one appointment late that afternoon and it wasn’t crucial.
He walked out of his office and down the hall toward the lobby. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing into Mac’s office as he passed the door. Mac was staring at him, his expression part anger and part bewilderment. He kept walking.
He stopped at the receptionist’s desk. “Ellen, I’ll be gone for the rest of the day. Could you call Stu McMahon and reschedule our appointment? Perhaps sometime tomorrow afternoon if that’s convenient for him.”
“Sure thing, Ty. Is there some place where you can be reached in case of an emergency?”
He paused for a moment as he turned her question over in his mind. He would have his cell phone with him, but…
“No—I can’t be reached until this evening.”
“But what if Mac needs you for something?”
He glanced toward the hallway and saw Mac approaching. He turned his attention back to Ellen. “I’m sure he won’t be needing me for anything.”
Ellen shot him a quizzical look which he chose to ignore. With that, Ty left the building, got in his car and drove away without looking back.
He headed for his house, but when he reached the turnoff to go to Mac’s house it was as if his car had a mind of its own. Sailing was his passion and so was Angie. The only thing better than sailing would be to have Angie with him on his sailboat. He turned the corner and drove toward Mac’s house.
Somehow he had to block out the harsh words he had exchanged with Mac and put their disagreement behind him. He knew it would not be easy. Mac’s words and the implication of what he was saying had hurt him. And even more than that, they had hit his deepest buried spot of vulnerability and insecurity.
A moment later Angie answered the door in response to his knock. She was dressed in her robe and didn’t look as if she’d been up very long. What she did look like was the most enchanting woman he had ever known and one he knew he couldn’t stop seeing no matter what it might cost him.
“Ty…this is a surprise.” She stepped aside to let him in. “What are you doing here so early? It’s barely nine o’clock. Shouldn’t you be at work?”
He flashed a warm smile as a soft glow of contentment spread through his body easing the memory of his clash with Mac. “You sound like you’re not happy to see me.” He pulled her into his arms and held her. It all felt so right.
“Of course I’m glad to see you. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
“I’ve decided to take the day off and go sailing.” He drew back just far enough to place his fingers beneath her chin and lift until he could look into her eyes. He brushed a sensual but brief kiss across her lips. “And I would be honored if you would go with me.”
“Taking the day off work? You didn’t say anything about that last night. Was this a sudden decision?”
“Yes, very sudden. I need to get away and clear my head. Do you know how to sail?”
“I’ve been sailing a few times, but only as a passenger. I’ve never been part of the crew, but I’d love to learn.”
His grin told how pleased he was with her answer. “I’ll wait right here while you get dressed.”
“I’ll only be a few minutes.”
He watched as she disappeared down the hallway toward the guest bedroom. He wandered around Mac’s living room as he waited for her, his mind dashing from one topic to another almost faster than he could keep up with it. A moment later his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID—the call came from Mac’s private line in his office. He debated whether to answer it, then turned off the phone. He didn’t want a confrontation with Mac, especially not with Angie in the next room. And he didn’t want to say anything he would regret later. All he wanted was to get out on the water with Angie and let the ocean breeze carry away all his troubles, doubts and fears.
“I’m ready.” Angie appeared in the living room. “Did I hear a phone ring?”
“It was just my cell phone, nothing important. I’ve turned it off so we won’t be interrupted with any business matters. It will be a fun-filled day without any intrusions.”
He glanced at his watch. He wanted to get away from Mac’s house as quickly as possible, before Mac decided to get in his car and head for home to check on Angie’s whereabouts. The realization that he was purposely ducking his business partner sent a wave of sadness through him, a feeling he didn’t like. His relationship with Mac had always been open, honest and aboveboard.
Another thought forced itself to the forefront. It was not a new thought. It was one that had run through his mind several times since he had walked out of Mac’s office. Should he tell Angie what had happened? Tell her about his disagreement with Mac and what it was about? It was yet another question for which there was no simple answer, another question left floating around in his mind. He tried to push it aside. He wanted the day to be a carefree time spent with Angie, not a day filled with dark clouds and anxiety.
They drove to Ty’s house. “I’ll change into my sailing clothes, then we’ll head out.”
“Is there anything I can gather together to take to your sailboat? Food or drinks…anything like that?”
“Nope…” He waved his hand toward the large window with the view of his private dock where two sailboats were moored, a large gleaming blue-and-white ketch and a small fourteen-foot white racing sloop. “We’ll be going out on the large one. It’s hooked up to dockside power and I keep it stocked at all times, ready to go. The only thing missing is us.” He brushed another kiss on her lips, paused a moment as he plumbed the depths of her eyes, then headed for his bedroom.
Ten minutes later they walked hand in hand toward the dock. As they approached the sloop Ty tugged on her hand to bring her to a halt. “Are you serious about wanting to learn how to sail?”
“Yes, very much so.” She cocked her head as she studied him for a moment. “Would you teach me?”
“I’ve love to share my sailing expertise with you. Hasn’t Mac ever taught you any sailing techniques? He goes sailing almost as often as I do. That’s about the only thing that gets him out of the offices, that and his early-morning jogs.”
He gestured toward the sloop. “This is the one where you really get to sail, where all of the work functions are done by hand rather than computer and machine. This is the one we’ll use for your sailing lessons. Come on, I’ll give you a quick tour.”
He helped her on board. They spent about fifteen minutes looking around with Ty pointing out the sailing features. “I can easily handle her by myself, but for the more inexperienced sailor it’s recommended that a crew of two be on board.” A soft smile curled the corners of his mouth as he looked around the deck. “I’ve owned this
one for almost twenty years, since I was a teenager. I worked, saved and bought it with my own money. I have a real sentimental attachment to it.”
He then indicated the other side of the dock. “Today we’ll be taking out the ketch.” He shot a teasing grin in her direction. “For your first lesson…a sloop is single-masted with only one mainsail. My racing sloop has a trapeze and spinnaker sail in addition to the mainsail. A ketch has two masts.”
He escorted her on board the larger sailboat, gave her a quick tour of the deck and the quarters below deck, then in another fifteen minutes they were under way. As soon as they left the dock Ty felt the burden lift from his shoulders and his spirit lighten. He never felt more free than he did on the ocean, especially under full sail. And having Angie with him only increased that awareness.
“What do you want me to do? As I said, I’ve never been part of the crew, but I’m a quick learner.”
“We need to get out of here first and into open water. Then we can cut the engine and switch over to sail and wind power. This boat is equipped with the latest in sailing technology so that I can handle by myself what would normally take a crew of at least four to do. For the pure experience of hands-on sailing, though, I definitely prefer the small racing sloop.”
His large, technologically equipped sailboat allowed him to entertain a beautiful woman on sailing jaunts with just the two of them on board without his time being taken with doing the work of sailing. It also allowed him to have several people on board for a party without needing a full crew.
The ketch also served as a test lab to check out the latest equipment and technological innovations before the company incorporated them into a design project. But it was the smaller sailboat that he enjoyed the most—the one that provided him with the greatest sense of freedom and escape.
And now he had someone very special to enjoy it with, someone who had even expressed an interest in learning about his favorite activity. Someone to share it with. None of the other women he dated had ever expressed any interest in learning how to do the work involved with sailing. They had only been interested in the party atmosphere. And for him that had been enough. But not anymore.
He glanced over at Angie, her eyes closed and her face tilted up toward the morning sun. His heart swelled in his chest and the feeling of total contentment settled over him. His workday may have started out on a disagreeable note, but the rest of the day would be perfect. It seemed that things were always perfect whenever he was with Angie.
The words he and Mac had exchanged swirled through his mind. A moment of darkness invaded his sunshine.
How could he continue his relationship with Angie without jeopardizing his friendship with Mac? Exactly what was his relationship with Angie? How could he convince Mac that he would never do anything to hurt Angie? It was a perplexing problem and he didn’t see an immediate solution on the horizon.
Six
Angie watched as Ty expertly maneuvered the large boat from his private dock on Bainbridge Island out toward the open water of Puget Sound. Even though the weather was cool, especially on the water, he had dressed in cutoff jeans, deck shoes and a sweatshirt. He looked so at home, as if he was born to handle a sailboat. The contentment on his face clearly showed how much he loved it.
The afterglow of their lovemaking from the previous night continued to course through her veins. Everything about him was totally desirable and excited her more than she ever thought possible. She had lain awake for what seemed like hours after Ty had brought her back to Mac’s house. She didn’t want to leave his bed any more than he wanted her to, but they each knew it would be a disastrous decision for her to stay the night. She knew Mac would never understand the situation or accept her adult status that easily and especially in that manner.
She also knew she had to somehow shake her inner turmoil where her big brother was concerned. It wasn’t that he intimidated her. Not really. It was just that she was so in awe of Mac she sometimes had difficulty expressing her true feelings around him, especially if those feelings were in opposition to his beliefs. How did she ever expect to convince him she was able to handle a career position with his company if she couldn’t stand up to his erroneous assumptions about what she wanted and what was best for her?
And Ty…what did the future hold for the two of them? A shadow momentarily clouded her thoughts. Or did they even have a future together beyond what they were sharing now? There were so many unanswered questions in a life that had suddenly been beset by an overabundance of confusion and conflict that hadn’t been there as recently as a week ago.
But for right now those questions would have to wait until some other time. It was a beautiful, sunny day. She was sailing with a man who meant more to her than she thought possible especially in such a short amount of time, more than any other man ever had. Was she truly in love? She still wasn’t sure, but after their night of unbridled passion she knew the answer was very close at hand. What would that do to her goals and career plans for the future? She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
The sailboat moved along gracefully through the water. Ty and Angie bonded together in an emotional encounter that equaled and perhaps passed their physical relationship. Ty explained some of the basics of sailing to her—setting the sails, running lines, securing the boom arm, tacking. He demonstrated some of the new technological equipment that had been installed such as GPS, mechanical raising and lowering of the sails so that it didn’t need to be done by hand, computer navigation system and an automatic pilot system. He also pointed out standard equipment such as depth sounder, radar reflector, wind speed and direction indicator and satellite phone.
He loved the hands-on aspects of sailing. He always felt so alive and contented when he was out on the ocean. It was the same excitement he had experienced the very first time he went sailing as a child, an enthusiasm that had increased over the years rather than diminishing.
He glanced toward Angie. A sensation of warmth and caring settled over him. And now he had found the same type of excitement and contentment with her.
Ty reached out and took her hand. “Are you hungry? It’s a little past lunchtime.”
“Yes, I could use something to eat.”
He dropped anchor in a sheltered cove off one of the many small uninhabited islands in the San Juan Islands group. He went to the galley below and brought lunch up on deck. He spread it out like a picnic. They ate while enjoying the beautiful scenery and engaging in casual conversation. When they finished, he cleared away their picnic remains.
“Oh, Ty, this is marvelous.” Her face beamed with pleasure. “I can certainly see why you love sailing so much. What a sense of freedom and exhilaration.” Her gaze locked with his. Her voice grew softer. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
He pulled her into his arms and placed a loving kiss on her lips. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. If you’d like, I’ll take you out on my other sailboat as soon as possible so you can get some hands-on experience with sailing.”
“I’d like that very much.”
He reveled in the closeness, the sense of oneness he felt with her. “Maybe we could take a trip…sail down to Mexico, maybe Cabo San Lucas…just the two of us.” There had been more emotion in his voice than he intended, more than he wanted to show. The feelings coursing through him were so foreign to anything he had ever felt before that he didn’t know how to handle them.
“That sounds wonderful.” Angie snuggled into his embrace. Wonderful hardly described the scene that flashed through her mind. Warm breezes, bright sunlight on sandy beaches, brilliant blue skies and Ty’s arms wrapped around her. Long nights of passionate lovemaking under the silvery glow of the moon. The delicious fantasy continued to play on the screen of her mind.
Then his mouth was on hers and all thoughts stopped. She circled her arms around his neck and allowed the sexy magnetism of Ty to pulse through her body. Her desires burst into flame as he slowly worked his hands inside the back of her jeans and p
anties until he cupped the roundness of her bare bottom. He pulled her body to him until he had her hips nestled against his.
His lips nibbled at the corners of her mouth and tugged at her earlobe. His words tickled across her cheek. “Have you ever made love on a sailboat?”
Her reply was as breathless as his question. “No…never.”
“Would you like to?”
“Very much so.” She knew no one would ever be able to excite her the way he did, to fulfill her every desire. Even though she hadn’t known him that long, at least not as an adult, she was now sure that she had been falling in love with him from that first day when they had lunch together.
She wished she had some clue about his feelings toward her. She knew he liked her, liked touching her, liked being with her. But did he love her? She didn’t know. And a commitment? She was reluctant to even bring up the subject. If he couldn’t willingly offer her one, then to push him into something he didn’t want was a sure way of losing him for good.
If this was all their relationship was ever going to be she wanted as much of it as possible. She reached inside his sweatshirt and ran her hands over the hard planes of his well-defined chest. She wanted everything. She wanted it all. Was that asking for too much?
His kiss deepened, infusing her with the heated passion she had come to associate with him. His tongue twined with hers as she welcomed each intimate caress. Her breathing grew ragged. It seemed as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the air. Tremors of delight rippled through her body, driving her desires to a higher plane.
His husky voice whispered in her ear. “Let’s go down to the master stateroom.” He took her hand and led her to the cabin. She watched as he pulled off his sweatshirt and kicked off his deck shoes. She reached for the snap on his cutoff jeans. He quickly pulled them off along with his briefs. There was an intense moment of eye contact, his smoldering gaze sending a wave of urgency sweeping through her.
In Forbidden Territory Page 8
