by Anita Meyer
“I thought you were supposed to be the reckless, impulsive one—the one who jumped in with both feet.”
“Not in water,” Caroline said. She scooped up a handful of water and dribbled it down first one arm, then the other. “I’ll get wet my own way, in my own time.”
“Suit yourself,” Jeff said. “But at the rate you’re going, by the time you get wet, it’ll be too dark to swim. You do swim, don’t you? Because if you don’t, I’ll be happy to teach you.” He ducked under the water and came up behind her. Slipping one arm around her waist, he grabbed her arm with his other hand and began moving it in a circular motion. “Cup your fingers, grab the water and pull it back, then reach forward and—”
“I know how to swim,” Caroline said, struggling out of his arms and pushing him away. She brushed the droplets of water off her neck and chest. “I just like to take my time. Some things I prefer to do slowly, deliberately, savoring the—”
From out of nowhere, the sound of a gunshot split the air, stopping her words in her throat.
Chapter 6
Reflexively, Jeff exploded out of the water like a performing dolphin. For a split second he seemed suspended in the air, towering over her. Then he came down, his hands on her head, pushing her down, down, until she was submerged underwater.
Caroline opened her mouth to protest, but she lost her balance and the sea engulfed her. She struggled to regain her footing, then came up sputtering and gasping for breath. Again, Jeff’s hands were on her. Shielding her with his body, he half pushed, half dragged her down. She only had time to grab one quick breath before the water closed over her head once again.
“Damn you,” she spat, as she struggled to her feet a second time. “If you wanted to kill me, why didn’t you do it in San Diego? You could have saved the taxpayers a lot of money.”
“The noise,” Jeff said. “It sounded like a gunshot. I thought someone was shooting at you.” He scanned the shoreline carefully. “Must have been a car backfiring.”
“A car?” she screamed. “You nearly drowned me because of a car? Look at me,” she said, trying unsuccessfully fully to push back her dripping hair from her face. “I’m all wet.”
“Caroline,” Jeff said with a calmness he didn’t feel,
“you’re standing in the middle of the ocean. You’re supposed to be wet.”
“Not like this,” she retorted, pulling the useless clip from her matted curls and squeezing salt water from her hair.
Maybe it was a release of the tension that had wrapped around his heart when he heard the shot. Maybe it was all the wasted adrenaline surging through his bloodstream or the ridiculous sight of her standing in the ocean trying to wipe the water from her hair and face. But whatever the cause, the result was the same. Jeff threw his head back and laughed, loud and long.
“You think it’s funny? Well, how would you like it if someone jumped on your head and held you under?” Without giving him a chance to explain, Caroline jumped on his back. With a hand on each shoulder, she threw her weight forward, straight-arming him down into the water, jumping off at the last moment.
He came up choking on seawater, just as she had. “Why, you little witch,” he sputtered.
“What’s the matter?” she taunted. “You can dish it out, but you can’t take it, is that it?”
The look he gave her was blatantly sexual. “I can take anything you have to give—and then some.”
“Then take this,” she said, “and use it to cool off.” She reached back with her arm, then swung it forward, skimming the water, intending to douse him with spray.
But this time he was ready. Using the spray as cover, he dived under and came up between her legs, lifting her out of the water seated on his shoulders.
“Put me down!” she yelled, kicking futilely while he clamped her legs against his chest.
“What did you say?” Jeff asked, calmly ignoring her protests.
She reached down and put one hand under his chin and the other at the back of his head. “I said put me down, or I’ll break your neck with my bare hands.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jeff answered. In one swift move, he slid his hands down her legs to her ankles, then flipped her in a backward somersault off his shoulders.
He turned around and waited for the splashing to subside so he could watch the fireworks. No doubt about it, when she came up, she would be spitting mad. She would sling her long, sleek hair out of her face and her eyes would flash lightning bolts. Coup de foudre—a lightning bolt. That was what she was, and he couldn’t wait to see those eyes flash again.
Jeff looked anxiously at the spot where he thought she’d gone under. “Caroline?” He plowed the area in a small circle, heavy water dragging his body, ocean waves breaking against his back. He half expected her to jump out at him, to grab his leg or his arm, but there was nothing—nothing but a huge expanse of water.
“Caroline!” He dived into the water, swimming hard against the incoming tide. How long had she been under? One-thousand-one, one-thousand-two. The numbers echoed in his brain, ticking off each second like a sonic boom. One-thousand-three, one-thousand-four. She must have hit her head or swallowed too much water. His chest constricted—not because his lungs felt deprived of air, but because of the sudden pain squeezing his heart.
Damn! Where was she?
And then he spotted her, facedown. A large wave pounded her body, tossing her aside like a rag doll.
Jeff reached her in a heartbeat. He flipped her over and into his arms as his legs propelled them toward the shore. Her skin was translucent, and blue tinged her lips. Water and sand grabbed his legs and sucked at his feet as he ran onto the beach.
He laid her down in the sand and knelt beside her. Quickly he checked her mouth for blockage, then tipped her head back, pinched her nose and covered her mouth with his own.
Three times he exhaled deeply into her mouth, forcing her body to accept his breath. He rolled her onto her stomach and pumped her back beneath the rib cage, then turned her over and started the process again. Come on, he silently urged. Breathe, damn it!
She coughed violently and he pulled her onto her side, pounding firmly between her shoulder blades with the heel of his hand. She coughed again and her eyes fluttered briefly, then closed as she dropped back on the sand.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” He jerked her neck up with his left hand while closing her nose with his right. Taking a huge breath, he held it for a moment before coming down on her mouth—hard—expelling air into her lungs. He raised his head and drew another breath, then came down again, this time gentling the impact. He felt warmth returning to her cold flesh and he willed the heat of his body into hers as he tried to infuse her with his strength. She shuddered once and his arms tightened protectively around her.
Her breathing came in ragged, choking gasps. Relief swept through him and he sat her up, cradling her in his arms. “Caroline?”
Her head fell back and she looked at him with glazed and unfocused eyes. He touched her cheek. Her skin was warm…and very soft. His fingers rested on the pulse point at the side of her neck and he felt the pulse beat strong and steady.
She watched him now through half-closed lids, her eyes as soft as her skin. She managed an unfocused smile and drew a shaky breath, one that molded the wet bikini top around her full breasts and brushed against his chest. Desire, swift and powerful, thrummed through him. He lowered his head until his lips were no more than a hairbreadth from hers, until their breath mingled and tension crackled between them.
He waited, expecting her to stiffen or pull back. But she did neither. So he touched his lips to hers…gently…testing. She tasted of salt water and smelled of sea air.
He whispered her name against her mouth and a shudder racked her body. With a low groan he tightened his arms around her, crushing her to his chest, pressing her against the long, hard length of his body.
His tongue swept past her lips, invading her mouth. He deepened the kiss—slowly, persuasively�
�and when she opened for him, he plunged deeper, taking everything she offered.
An answering passion swelled inside her like an ocean wave, and her fingers splayed across the warm expanse of his rock-solid chest. She felt the rapid beating of his heart.
Caroline slid her hands up the taut muscles twitching in his arms, and his shoulders seemed to expand as her arms stole around his neck. She ruffled her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck—so much thicker and softer than she had imagined.
A low, deep sound of approval vibrated in his throat and her blood raced. A wild pulse thundered in her ears and swirling heat coiled through her.
He pulled back and she raised her eyes to meet his darkened gaze. She was so close she could see herself reflected in the black centers of his hungry, smoldering eyes; feel herself drowning in blue whirlpools of promise.
He eased her onto her back until she felt the warm sand mold itself to the contours of her body. He loomed over her, leaning on his arms, his hips pressed intimately against the cradle of hers. The sea air brushed over her heated skin, a contrast to the heightened waves of urgency pulsing through her body.
Droplets of water clung to his broad chest, his sun-bleached hair, his blond lashes. His skin glistened, making him look more virile and dangerous than any man had the right to look.
A lock of damp hair tumbled across his forehead and magnetically drew her hand upward to brush it from his face. His hair was beginning to dry in the late-afternoon sun. The sea breeze tousled it, and it curled, soft and unruly, against his neck. Of their own volition, her fingers combed through the springy thickness.
He caught her hand, turned it over, and kissed the center of her palm, his lips caressing the sensitive flesh. The simple gesture drew her attention to his firm, wide mouth and she felt her own lips part in expectation.
The tide was coming in, and somewhere, in a distant knowing, she could feel cool water lapping at her feet. But she wasn’t cold. She was kept warm by the male heat and swelling masculine power radiating from his large, sexy body.
This man stirred in her a passion she hadn’t thought possible. She felt it in her breasts, in the tensed muscles of her thighs, in the throbbing of her very core.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and when he ran his thumb across her swollen lips, her breath caught in her throat. He leaned forward, his head bending slowly toward hers. He lowered his mouth and their lips touched. His kiss wasn’t gentle. Nor was it rough and demanding. It was simply…devastating. Like succumbing to the ocean’s undertow, she slipped further and further away, flooded with emotions that could no longer be dammed up.
A shrill whistle blew and they jumped apart like a couple of teenagers caught necking at a high school prom.
“Oops,” Mac said, grinning wickedly. “Shooting a remake of From Here to Eternity?” He paused as if considering the possibility. “You know, I never thought of you as the Burt Lancaster type—”
“Knock it off, Mac,” Jeff warned. He jumped up, then offered a hand to Caroline, helping her to her feet. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
Twirling the nylon cord that hung around his neck, Mac swung the whistle in slow, lazy circles. Then he turned around and pointed to the letters on the back of his baggy sleeveless top.
“You’re the lifeguard?” Caroline asked incredulously.
Mac grinned. “For the moment. Some little kid told me he saw a man carrying a dead lady out of the ocean. You guys are lucky that’s all he saw.” His admiring gaze swept over her scantily clad body. “You look pretty good for a corpse.”
Scooping up one of the nearby beach towels, Jeff shook out the sand, then draped the towel around her shoulders, pulling the edges together across her breasts. He knew he was being chauvinistic, but the honest truth was that he didn’t want Mac or anyone else seeing her wearing nothing more than a few scraps of cloth. “She had a little accident,” Jeff said tersely.
“Accident?” Mac echoed. He looked from his brother to Caroline and back again. “What kind of accident?”
“I was diving,” she said. “Backward…and I hit my head. It’s no big deal.” She glanced at Jeff out of the corner of her eye as she gingerly touched the back of her head. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Man, you’d better be,” Mac said. “In fact, maybe you should have your head examined—I mean, looked at—You know what I mean.”
Jeff gripped Caroline’s arm with one hand while, with the other, he lifted her chin and peered into her eyes. “Mac’s right,” he said. “Maybe we’d better drive you into Christiansted to see a doctor. You might have a mild concussion.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Caroline said. She brushed aside Jeff’s hand and knelt to retrieve the rest of her things. “It will only draw more attention to us. And that’s the last thing any of us wants.”
Jeff watched her as she kicked her feet into a pair of beach thongs. Her color was good and she seemed steady enough. “All right,” he reluctantly agreed. “No doctor.”
“Good,” she said. “Now I’m going back to the room and see if I can’t wash off some of this sand and salt water.” She slung her tote bag over one shoulder, turned and headed up through the trees that separated the rooms from the secluded beach.
“I have to get back to work,” Mac said. “There aren’t usually any swimmers this late in the day, but I need to be there just in case.” He watched Caroline’s retreating form. “Is she going to be all right?”
“I think so,” Jeff replied. He slipped his arms into a T-shirt, then pulled it over his head. “I’ll wake her up every few hours tonight—just to make sure,” he added in response to Mac’s highly suggestive expression.
Mac nodded. “Call me if you need anything—anything medical, that is.” He turned and sprinted up the beach, disappearing around the cove.
Jeff shot one last glance in Mac’s direction, then grabbed his things and hurried up the hill after Caroline. Walking behind her definitely had its advantages. From this position it was easy to admire her long, shapely legs and the inverted heart shape of her bottom just visible below the towel.
Jeff ground his teeth together as he remembered all too clearly the sweet promise of her hips. He clenched his fist around the towel and cursed the Fates that had thrown him together with a woman who tempted him so. She had grace and beauty, wit and charm. Her laughter was like sunshine and her eyes warmed his soul.
He wanted her.
And she wanted him, too.
Her response to his kiss had told him that and more. Never before had he seen such pure desire in a woman’s eyes—desire that mirrored his own. Never before had his reaction been so completely overpowering. And if Mac hadn’t shown up…
None of this made any sense. He’d known beautiful women before. He’d known women who were smart and sassy and more than willing. But he’d never known anyone who could get to him the way she had.
Maybe it was a natural reaction to the accident. Fear was a powerful aphrodisiac, and just thinking about what might have happened—what still might happen—was enough to send him over the edge. He had been hired to protect her-not seduce her. How could he expect to do his job when his mind was on her? He had no right entertaining such thoughts of her. No rights to her at all.
Kissing her like that had been a mistake—a big one. A mistake he vowed never to repeat. He had slipped once. Held her in his arms, run his hands over her body, kissed her lips, gazed into her incredible eyes.
It was one time too many.
And not nearly enough.
* * *
For the second time that day, Caroline slumped against the coral-rock wall of the shower. This time she was not engulfed by heat and fiery steam. Nor did she feel the sting of ice-cold water. In fact, the water wasn’t even on.
Although her hair was caked with sand, and salt water coated her body, she couldn’t bear to wash it away. Not yet. For that also meant washing off the feel of his hands and the taste of his kisses—something s
he wasn’t ready to do.
She closed her eyes and touched her hand to her lips, remembering. For a few amazingly wonderful minutes she had felt poised on the edge of an exhilarating discovery. Her body quivered with the shock of real passion, real desire, and a dozen sensations she had never before experienced sprang to life.
It was just a kiss, she reminded herself. Hardly even noteworthy in today’s freewheeling sexual society. But it wasn’t “just” a kiss. It was a bone-jarring kiss. A soulwrenching kiss. His kiss.
And she had wanted it to go on forever.
Caroline gave herself a mental shake. Forever was a word used by children and dreamers and optimists. It hadn’t been in her vocabulary for a very long time. So why did it show up now? Now—when “forever” was more remote than at any other time in her life. Now—when the future was so incredibly uncertain. Now—when she was the last surviving member of the Southeby family.
The reality was that Augie Davis could end her life tomorrow…and she was thinking of “forever.”
It didn’t make sense. But then, neither did the hungry passion that had exploded between them, rocking her to the very core. It was as if Jeff had touched a chord—a chord of physical and emotional need—that continued to sing long after it was played.
A sigh escaped her. She wanted to hear the whole song. She wanted to spend the afternoon in rapturous lovemaking, with the percussion of the pounding waves accompanying the music of their bodies. She was ready to act out sexual fantasies she hadn’t even known she had.
And it would have been the biggest mistake of her life.
Casual sex and one-night stands had never been for her. She had to care about someone before she could hand over a part of herself. She had to be able to trust in order to give herself so completely.
