Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

her. His lips brushed hers, a slow sweep, back and forth, a touch only.
    Abigail felt the tug of his teeth on her lower lip, the glide of his tongue on the seam of her mouth, the soft leisurely kisses at the corner off her mouth. He seemed to be everywhere, driving her mad with longing, yet never quite settling his mouth over hers.
    She caught his face in her hands to still it, rising up on her toes until she could take control, capturing his lips with hers, her tongue sweeping into the dark, velvet recesses. She closed her eyes and savored his taste. He moved, a subtle shift that brought her more completely against him, aligning their bodies as he took control of the kiss, deepening it, enfolding her into his arms.
    The wind carried feminine laughter like strains of music fluttering around them. Aleksandr heard the sounds drifting around them, teasing at his ears, the wind touching his face and brushing his shoulders. He lifted his head. “I don’t suppose teasing us will make your sisters so weak that they’ll have to stop watching us, will it?”
    “Not a chance.” Abigail brushed another kiss over his tempting mouth. “But we have company anyway.
    Look.” She pointed toward the mouth of the cove.
    For a moment the sun sparkled over the water so he didn’t see anything even with his dark glasses in place. Then he saw them, the dolphins rocketing beneath the water, mere blurs of mottled shadows as they sped toward the boat. They were only feet apart and swimming in formation, curving first one way and then the other at the same precise moment. His heart leapt. He peered over the side of the boat, gripping the rails.
    “They’re beautiful.”
    “Hurry. Let’s get ready,” Abigail advised. “They won’t stay long.”
    Aleksandr went down into the small cabin and donned his wetsuit. He’d heard Abigail tell stories of her dives with dolphins, but he’d never had the experience of actually swimming with them himself. Just seeing them in the water, so many, leaping and spinning, joyful in their exuberance, was an adrenaline rush. He couldn’t wait to get into the water. He shared a long, slow smile of anticipation with Abigail. She was obviously pleased by his reaction.
    “Remember everything I told you about swimming with them, Sasha. Never, and I mean never , Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    approach a dolphin broadside or at a right angle. You have to let them approach you and keep an oblique angle. Be smooth about it, nothing sharp. Head butts are very aggressive behavior, so any headfirst approach toward them is a threat.”
    “I’ve got it. And I won’t give in to the temptation of touching them,” he added before she could repeat the warning.
    They’d discussed possibly swimming with dolphins, but he hadn’t really considered how it would feel to be surrounded by the creatures. “You’re giving me an incredible gift few people ever receive in their lifetime.”
    She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling. “We’re working; just remember that so you can tell me your observations when we come back to the surface.”
    He slipped into the water, exhilarated by the wild dolphins zooming through the blue water, flashing by so fast he could barely make out anything but a blur. They sliced through the sea at tremendous speeds, making him feel bulky and awkward. Abigail joined him, a large video recorder in her hands, and swam into the midst of nearly a dozen dolphins.
    Up so close, Aleksandr could see how big the beautiful creatures were, weighing close to or over a thousand pounds. They were strong and powerful and looked threatening beside Abigail’s more fragile body. His heart accelerated. He had never really considered that she might be in danger from the dolphins. Sharks maybe, but not the dolphins. Why had he always considered them joyful, fun creatures?
    He’d heard her stories, knew orcas were really a genus of the dolphin family. He swam toward Abigail, intending to signal to her to rise to the surface, but one of the larger dolphins swam past him, coming in at an oblique side angle, which Abigail had stressed continually was the proper way to swim with dolphins.
    The dolphin nearest Aleksandr seemed to be issuing an invitation. It dove down, a slow performance rather than the earlier, much more threatening fast speed, and came up below him so they were belly to belly. He glanced to his right and another dolphin had joined them. A third