Deep Waters

wave after wave of release. She felt his teeth on her earlobe as he drove into her one last time.
    His body stiffened in climax. His hoarse, soundless cry echoed in the darkness.
    Charity let the night take her.
    No more games.
    Elias opened his eyes and looked at the dark ceiling. The scent of spent passion mingled with the cool fog-laced air that came through the partially opened window. He was acutely aware of the warm curve of Charity's thigh pressed against Ms leg.
    He could feel the satisfaction in every quadrant of his body. It sang in his veins and created a pleasant warmth in his belly. He stretched, languid and relaxed and content.
    No more games.
    It felt good.
    It felt dangerous.
    Control was everything in Tal Kek Chara. To lose control was to be swept away by the raging tide into the deepest part of the sea. To lose control was to be caught up in the churning rapids of a primeval river. To lose control was to go over the falls, to plummet down through the depths of an icy-cold, bottomless
    lake. To lose control was to lose everything.
    The following morning Charity gazed out the window at the fog that had enveloped Whispering Waters Cove during the night. "If this doesn't lift by tonight, the spaceships may not get clearance to land."
    "Something tells me it won't make much difference," Elias said. "Ready for breakfast?"
    "Sure." She turned away from the window. "But I hope you kept it simple. It's okay to show off at dinner, but it's not fair when it comes to breakfast. Breakfast is not a competitive sport."
    Elias's brows rose as he set two bowls on the low table. "Think of it as a challenge."
    She summoned what she hoped was a breezy, sophisticated smile as she sank down onto one of the cushions in front of the table. "Push me too far, and I'll throw in the towel and send out for pizza tonight."
    "No, you won't. That would be the coward's way, and you're no coward." He sat down across from her and poured tea from the brown, earthenware pot. "I'm sure you'll rise to the occasion. Something tells me you always do."
    "I hate to disappoint you, but I lost a lot of my competitive edge when I quit the corporate world."
    The attempt at casual conversation took an extraordinary amount of effort. Charity was not in a light-hearted mood. The uncertainty that gripped her this morning came as a complete surprise. This was not how she had expected to feel after last night's intense lovemaking. It made her uncomfortable. There was no panic yet, but she could definitely hear alarm bells.
    This subtle tension between herself and Elias was not right. Not the way things should be today.
    Where was the sense of intimacy that ought to have enveloped both of them in a warm cocoon this morning? she wondered. Only hours ago she had felt incredibly close to Elias. Now there was a disturbing distance between them.
    She was all too well aware that her experience of sex was not what anyone would call extensive, and it was several years out of date. Her responsibilities to Truitt had imprisoned her in an artificial cloister for years. This was, in fact, the first time that she had ever actually stayed the night with a man and shared breakfast with him the next morning. Nevertheless, her instincts told her that it shouldn't be like this between the two of them.
    Something very special had happened between them last night. Elias had let her see a piece of his soul.
    But things were all wrong today. He was back in his remote, self-contained universe. She could not touch him the way she had touched him last night.
    He had said that there would be no more games, but this morning she felt as if they were both back out on the playing field.
    She stifled a small sigh and looked down at the interesting concoction in her bowl. "What is this?"
    "Muesli. My own recipe. Oats, rye, sesame seeds, almonds, dried fruit, yogurt, and a touch of vanilla and honey."
    "So much for keeping breakfast noncompetitive." She added milk to the muesli and picked up a spoon.
    "When I stay the night with you, I'll fix breakfast," he offered with suspicious generosity.
    Charity coughed and nearly choked on a bite of cereal. She put down her spoon and grabbed the small teacup.
    "Are you okay?" Elias asked.
    She nodded quickly and swallowed tea to clear her throat. "Fine. Just fine. Sesame seed went down the wrong way."
    He regarded her with a long, steady gaze. "Does the thought of me spending the night in your bed make you nervous?"
    "Of course not." She gulped