Breathless Encounter: Breathless EncounterThe Dark Side of Night

by Cindy Dees

  “I have a preliminary location,” Grisham announced.

  “Relay it to me,” Steig ordered, bending over a navigation chart spread out across the map table in the middle of the room. In moments, a course had been calculated and laid in to the Sea Nymph’s autopilot.

  “Can I go now?” she asked no one in particular.

  “Yes,” Aiden answered. “Thanks for your help.”

  “Uhh, sure.” God, he sounded so formal. Back to being his most distant and aloof self. Except now she knew it for the complete act that it was. And somehow that made it just that much harder to swallow. She turned and left the bridge quickly lest she burst into tears for real this time.

  * * *

  When she woke up the next morning, the first thought to go through her mind was I’m going swimming with Aiden today. Although one part of her looked forward to spending the time alone with him, the rest of her dreaded it. And it wasn’t just about her fear of the ocean. Which Aiden would show up today? The kind, gentle, compassionate man who’d coaxed her into the water yesterday or the unapproachable recluse who wanted nothing to do with the female half of the human race?

  When the engines cut off and the Sea Nymph drifted to a stop a little before noon, she made her way to the swim deck astern. Aiden was waiting for her, looking too good to be legal. He had a classic swimmer’s

  physique—broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips, and slab upon slab of ripped muscle. Memory of what that body felt like moving against hers made her insides tremble.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he said with a smile.

  Oh, God. Pleasant Aiden had shown up. This man night actually get her into the water and help her overcome her fear.

  “How come you’re the only guy on the whole crew who swims when the boat stops? Don’t any of the other crew members swim for exercise?”

  “Yes, in fact, most of them swim quite well. Today I asked them to give you some privacy so you wouldn’t feel self-conscious.”

  She blinked, startled by his consideration. “That’s incredibly thoughtful of you.”

  “You say that like I’m not usually thoughtful at all,” he replied wryly.

  Her first impulse was to say the polite thing, to disagree and assure him he was just fine. But then her frustration kicked in. That and the knowledge that, if they were ever going to have any kind of decent relationship at all, they had to be honest with each other. And now was as good a time as any to start.

  “It’s not that you’re not thoughtful,” she said slowly. “It’s that you...disconnect...with the people around you.”

  He stopped in the act of kicking off his flip-flops to stare at her.

  She continued self-consciously, “You hold yourself apart from the people around you. Women in particular. As if we’re not quite good enough for you. Or we don’t quite measure up to your standards.”

  “That’s not true at all,” he replied strongly.

  “Ask Gemma. I’ve talked with her about it. Or rather she has talked to me about it. She didn’t want me to take your aloofness personally.”

  “Are you saying I’ve hurt your feelings? What have I said or done to upset you?”

  “It’s not so much that you say or do mean things. It’s just that—” she searched for the right words, but it was hard with him staring at her like that “—you give me emotional whiplash. I never know which version of you I’m going to get from day to day or minute to minute. One second you’re the kindest, warmest, most passionate guy ever. And the next, you don’t surround yourself with a brick wall, you become a brick wall. You’re cold and hard and completely impervious to anyone or anything around you. The other man inside you just...disappears. It’s scary.”

  “I scare you?”

  In for a penny, in for a pound. She answered honestly, “Yes. Sometimes you do. I’m scared for you and who you will become if you continue down this path.”

  He was silent at that. He dived into the water and disappeared under the surface. God only knew how long he’d sit down there sulking. With a sigh, Sunny sat down on the edge of the swim deck. She dangled her feet in the water and splashed water over herself again. She contemplated slipping into the water and hanging on to edge of the deck by herself, but she wasn’t quite ready for that alone.

  About five minutes later, Aiden surfaced in front of her without warning. He resumed the conversation as if no time had passed. “What path is it you think I’m traveling down?”

  “You’re isolating yourself. Cutting yourself off from mankind—or at least from all women. You’re heading for a life of being completely and totally alone. With no one to love you. And in my world, that’s a tragedy.”

  “In my world, it’s my only choice.”

  “No, it’s not!” she cried.

  “Look. You know who I am. What I am. I can’t have any kind of normal life.”

  “News flash, Aiden. Nobody’s normal. Everybody has their own personal challenges and problems to overcome. My family was weirder than most, and I craved normal for years. When my folks died, I went looking for normal with a vengeance. And I found out eventually that it doesn’t exist.”

  He countered, “I’m tied to the ocean for the rest of my life, and I’m useless on dry land.”

  “So, you live on or near a beach. And you hire someone else to mow your lawn and do manual labor around the house.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  “It is simple.”

  “What about fighting crime?”

  “What about it? Lots of men have jobs where they travel to do their work. You’ll run off to do your missions, and then you’ll come home when you’re done. And you won’t be Mr. Super Crime Fighter forever.”

  He shook his head. “But I’m not—” his voice dropped so low she almost didn’t catch his next words “—entirely human.”

  Alarm jolted her. “You look pretty human to me, and with no intent to be crass, I’ve seen most of you.”

  “My exterior hasn’t changed much. I’m different inside.”

  “Just how extensive are the changes to your body?”

  “They’re mostly at the cellular level. My cells absorb and hold nearly three times as much oxygen as normal cells. The veins in my arms and legs constrict faster and more strongly in response to pressure than normal people’s. That keeps blood in my core and brain so I remain conscious longer. My lung tissues fill with plasma at four times the normal rate under pressure so they don’t collapse when I dive deep.”

  “I get it. You’re ideally suited for swimming and diving. That doesn’t make you inhuman.”

  “It does make me a freak.”

  “To quote Albert Einstein, ‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ Aiden, you happen to be a fish who found his way to water. That doesn’t make you a freak. It merely makes you someone who discovered that which they are brilliant at.”

  He stared at her a long time, absently and effortlessly treading water in front of her. Finally, he said briskly, “So are you going to sit there all day, or are you coming swimming with me?”

  Changing subjects, huh? Well, maybe she’d given him some food for thought, after all. “Can we start small and take baby steps to work up to swimming?” she asked hesitantly.

  He grinned. “Tomorrow, I’m bringing you a pair of those blow-up floats they put on kids’ upper arms.”

  “Water wingies?”

  “Yes. And a pink polka-dot bikini with ruffles on the butt.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  He grinned. “Oh, I definitely would. You’d be adorable.”

  She stuck out her tongue at him, grateful that he’d made her laugh, and slid off the deck. She maintained a death grip on the teak
lip of the thing, though, as the cold embrace of the ocean closed in around her.

  And all of a sudden, warm, strong arms were around her, too, Aiden’s tanned hands gripping the deck on either side of hers. She leaned back against him, craving the reassurance of his body.

  “Rest your head back against my shoulder and close your eyes,” he murmured. “Relax. Let your body move with the water. Float on the current like a piece of seaweed.”

  She tried it but suspected she was more like a rigid hunk of driftwood than anything so fluid as seaweed.

  “You’re the mermaid I’ve been dreaming about every night since I found you,” he replied low.

  If only.

  “Shift your hands to my wrists,” he suggested softly.

  The bones beneath his skin were strong and reassuring, the muscles of his forearm flexing beneath her fingers in a sexy display. His chest spooned against her back, warmer than the water, a bulwark against harm. Gradually, the easy movement of the water lulled her, soothed her. The tension left her body. They floated like that until she almost felt sleepy. It dawned on her that she felt safe.

  “I think we’re making progress,” she announced. She opened her eyes to smile up at him and wild disorientation slammed into her. The Sea Nymph was at least a hundred feet away from them. And nothing but dark, deep, fathomless water surrounded them.

  “Oh, God!” She went board stiff as panic smashed into her. She kicked her legs and flailed her arms reflexively, which meant she let go of Aiden’s wrists and promptly slipped through the circle of his arms.

  Her head went under the water. She was drowning! The ocean closed in over her and she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She wouldn’t make it up to the surface. She was going to die.

  Strong arms went around her thrashing body. The viselike grip terrified her all the more and she fought harder against the sucking pull of the sea. She fought toward the surface, but she couldn’t move. Her arms were pinned to her sides and her legs tangled with something that wouldn’t let her kick properly.

  And as quickly as she’d gone under, her face burst out of the water.

  “Quit fighting so I can hold you up!” a male voice grunted in her ear.

  The words penetrated her panic, but their meaning didn’t fully register. She gasped for air. No matter how much or how fast she breathed, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

  “You’re hyperventilating, Sunny. Hold your breath and count to ten before you exhale or I’m going to have to put my hand over your mouth and nose for you.”

  Horror at the notion of someone forcibly stopping her breathing reached her mind. One. Two. Three. Four. She couldn’t make it to ten. She exhaled hard and tried again. This time she made it to six. It took her a few more tries, but she finally got to ten.

  When she finally calmed enough to take a look around her, the Sea Nymph was almost within arm’s reach. She lunged for the swim deck and grabbed on for dear life.

  “I’m sorry, Sunny. I didn’t mean to scare you that bad. When you’ve calmed down a little, I want you to remember how good it felt to float in the water with me. Just focus on that feeling and try to hang on to that.”

  “I’m really tempted to turn around and punch you in the nose,” she snapped.

  “Fair enough,” he said evenly. “But I promise, I did it for your own good. When your terror subsides, you’ll see that.”

  “What in the hell were you thinking?” she demanded. “You said I’d take baby steps. That was a giant leap for mankind!”

  He chuckled beside her. “Gemma said you needed a shock to force you to face your fear. That you should experience it again but with a positive outcome this time. It’s called ‘desensitization.’”

  “Remind me to punch her in the nose when I see her,” she grumbled.

  “I will. Just promise I get to be there to see it.”

  She managed to turn her head far enough to scowl at him. It took her a few minutes to untense enough to even consider climbing out onto the swim deck. Aiden didn’t seem inclined to boost her aboard today, and she was too embarrassed to ask. Eventually, she mastered her body enough to push herself up onto the deck. She flopped onto her stomach and then hoisted herself the rest of the way out. As Aiden popped out beside her, turning midair to land in a seated position on the deck, she sighed.

  “I feel like a beached whale beside you. You’re so obnoxiously graceful around water.”

  “Yeah, but I suck at climbing trees,” he murmured.

  She ventured a small smile at him. “You make a lovely fish, though.”

  “Thanks.”

  She wasn’t quite sure what he was thanking her for. She got the impression it was for more than just the compliment. “Anytime.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  Startled, her gaze snapped to his. Well, okay, then. Maybe they’d had a breakthrough, after all.

  “Forgive me for scaring you half to death?” he asked.

  Now that she was safely seated aboard the swim deck with the bulk of the Sea Nymph at her back, her panic seemed far away. A little silly, even. Her head had gone underwater for maybe five seconds. It wasn’t as if she’d ever been in the slightest danger of drowning. Not with Aiden less than a foot away from her. “I guess so. Although I forgive you with great reluctance.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because you’ll be tempted to try a stunt like that with me again if you get away with it this time.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak up on you twice. You’ll be on guard next time.”

  “Darn tootin’ I will, mister. And next time I am going to punch you in the nose.”

  “Duly noted. Can I interest you in a bit of lunch? Swimming always makes me hungry.”

  “Well, jeez, I should think so. The way you swim you must burn off thousands of calories at a time.”

  He grinned. “I’ve been known to eat ten thousand calories a day to maintain my weight.”

  She raised a warning hand. “Stop. Don’t say another word. Being able to eat that much and not gain weight is grounds for murder on behalf of women everywhere.”

  He laughed and reached a hand down to help her to her feet. He followed her up the ladder to the aft deck, and if she wasn’t mistaken, his hand passed lightly over her behind as he joined her on the deck.

  All in all, she had to admit their swim date had gone very well. Except for the part where she was momentarily sure she was going to die a horrible death by drowning. As residual panic bubbled up inside her, she tried Aiden’s suggestion and instead focused on the blissful relaxation of floating on the ocean swells cradled in his arms. To her chagrin, it worked. Her racing pulse calmed and her breathing settled.

  Most of the crew was eating when she entered the salon. It was a jovial affair, although she’d have preferred to continue her intimate conversation with Aiden in private. As she was eyeing the chocolate cake slathered in frosting and wondering if she’d burned enough calories swimming to justify a piece of it, Steig’s voice came over the loudspeakers.

  “Aiden, Grisham, to the bridge. We’ve picked up the signal from the tracking device we planted on the pirate vessel.”

  The salon emptied in about two seconds, leaving her alone with the temptation of that luscious cake. Oh, what the heck. She cut herself a big slice and settled in to savor every last crumb of it.

  Chapter 9

  Aiden watched each sweep of the radar screen intently. They mustn’t lose that signal at the very edge of the screen. Whoever was trying to kill him could very well be at the other end of it. If there was a leak in Gemma’s project, it had to be plugged. His life and the lives of his colleagues depended on it.

  “The target’s moving fast,” Grisham announced from the seat in front of him.

  “Don
’t lose it, Steig,” Aiden urged. “We’ve got to find these guys and silence them.”

  “I’m fully aware of what’s at stake here,” Steig replied grimly. He directed his crew to shift course slightly to take advantage of a prevailing current to give them a little more of a push. Aiden couldn’t fault the guy’s seamanship. Steig was coaxing every last knot of speed out of the big yacht.

  Slowly, slowly, they closed the gap between themselves and the red blip on the radar. The sun went down and night fell around them, and still they pursued the pirate vessel.

  Steig spoke up from the captain’s seat. “Aiden, have you considered the possibility that this is a trap? That we’re being led exactly where these guys want us to go?”

  He frowned. It was possible. And they’d been sailing away from the spot where Sunny had filmed that spy ship at a high rate of speed for hours now. If the intent was to draw them away from something the bad guys didn’t want them to see, it was working.

  “We should start painting the Somali coast soon,” Grisham murmured from in front of the radar screen.

  “Are we that close?” Aiden retorted, surprised.

  Sure enough, as he spoke the words, the solid line of a coastline tickled the edge of the radar screen. Over the next few minutes it advanced across the screen as their target pulled closer and closer to shore.

  “There!” Aiden exclaimed. “They’ve gone into some sort of cove or anchorage.”

  The tension on the bridge exploded into anticipation. Finally. They had the pirates trapped. The bastards could only go to land now, and this crew was as capable of pursuing and capturing the pirates on land as they were at sea. Maybe more so.

  Steig gave orders to deploy two rigid inflatable boats and man them with armed teams.

  “I’m going with you,” Aiden announced as his name was left off the list of men to go.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea—” Steig started.

  “How else do you expect to disable their boats without them realizing we’ve done it? You need me. I can prevent the pirates or their boats from escaping by water.”