Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

just a policeman, are you, Sasha?”
    He glanced at her as he sent his oar into the water with a powerful stroke so that his kayak shot ahead of hers. “Don’t ask if you don’t want to know something, Abbey,” he cautioned. He should have known he would reveal too much to her. She was good at picking up every nuance. A seeker of the truth. Even her voice could make a man want to confess his every sin… and, God only knew, he had a lot of them.
    After his part in what had happened in Russia, Abigail feared him. He could see it in her eyes, in the shadows that lurked there. He hated that he’d done that, put those shadows there, but he had no way to change who he was or what he was. He couldn’t undo the past and he couldn’t erase what was a large part of his character.
    “This just gets better and better, doesn’t it? Why in the world did you ever start up with me in the first place? I don’t think you even know who you are.”
    “I know myself very well, Abbey, and I’ll be damned if I apologize for the choices I’ve made. They were hard decisions, but I had good reasons for making them.” He had sworn he wouldn’t defend himself, but he had underestimated her reaction to what had happened, and her stubborn refusal to give him a chance to explain had caught him unawares. In Russia she’d always been so gentle and compassionate, her love for him so complete and unwavering. He was at a loss as to how to deal with her. He knew she could be stubborn and he knew she had a temper, but he hadn’t counted on catching a tigress by the tail.
    “Did you know about me? When I went to Moscow four years ago, did you know about my sisters and me?” It seemed ludicrous that someone in Russia would have knowledge of the Drakes, but her heart was beating overtime and she was certain she was right.
    A gull shrieked overhead. Even with her dark glasses, the sunlight on the water dazzled her eyes when she attempted to read his expression. The kayak cut through the small swells as she paddled in silence.

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    The surface resembled green glass and just below she could see occasional strands of kelp. She blinked rapidly as she stroked the oar through the water. “You did, didn’t you? It wasn’t just a chance meeting.”
    Aleksandr heard himself swear. Inside his head, in his mind, he was repeating every curse he knew. She was burying their chances as surely as if she took out a gun and shot him through the heart. He couldn’t lie to Abigail, her voice always prevented that, but if he told the truth, she would never forgive him.
    “Don’t you think you have enough to condemn me with without going into how it all started? It started. I fell in love with you.” All he had in his defense was the truth. And it was only the truth that could seal the rift between them for all time.
    They paddled fast in silence, past several sandy beaches, and entered a long stretch where the waves increased in size and strength. There were no rocks to use as protection and Abigail signaled to go out further from shore to avoid the larger breaking waves.
    When they fell into a rhythm together in the calmer swells, Abigail glanced at him. It hurt to look at his face. She loved him so much she ached inside. “It mattered to me that you wanted Abigail Drake, just a woman without any magic, or any gift. Me. It mattered more than you know. Am I supposed to believe that the one part that’s real and the truth is that you fell in love with me, when everything else has been a lie?”
    “Ask it of me then,” he challenged. “Your gift is to seek and find the truth. Ask me if I love you.”
    She turned her face away from him, staring straight ahead as they glided along the stretch of beach that was unfortunately free of rocks. They wanted to run in close to the shore but it was impossible with the rougher swells so they continued paddling, keeping the coastline in sight.
    Abigail usually enjoyed kayaking along the coast. She could see the water-cut rocks up close and get into places her outboard could never reach. Powering herself through the water gave her a tremendous feeling of freedom. Right now, she felt threatened in some undefined way. Aleksandr wasn’t in a conciliatory mood. In fact, if anything, she had the feeling he was angry with her.
    “You aren’t going to ask me, are you?” He wanted to drag her to him and shake some sense into her.
    They were