Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

hundred pounds. Give them respect and you’ll be fine.”
    She gave him a small frown. “You aren’t diving, Lev.”
    “I know that, but maybe you shouldn’t dive here either. Aren’t there urchins on the other side of those rocks, away from their territory?”
    She nodded. “Actually, the front of the rock wall is covered with them.
    There’s a drop of about one hundred and twenty feet, but you can only harvest that spot in three foot swells and no duration. You have to stay buoyant at around thirty to forty feet, but it’s pretty dangerous, you can drop very quickly.”
    “Great. You’re using that word ‘dangerous’ quite a bit.”
    She shook her head, smiling in reassurance at him. “Here we’re protected from any big swells coming from the northwest. The big rocks there break up the string of swells. Of course, you have to contend with the current here. It’s like diving in a river. You don’t get the back and forth of the wave motion here.”
    She was so matter-of-fact, so completely confident, and more, she was eager to dive. He could feel her slipping away from him, her attention on her mistress. The sea was definitely calling to her. He knew she loved the water and diving was imperative to her well-being, but it suddenly seemed too dangerous to allow her to go alone. He’d never really experienced fear for anyone else before and it was damned uncomfortable.
    He’d certainly gone diving, numerous times, and was perfectly qualified, but she would balk. He was already getting a huge concession just to be on her boat. He wasn’t so impatient that he’d lose everything by pushing her too fast. Rikki didn’t like change. He’d brought about a lot of changes in her life and she was fragile. He knew the hold he had on her was every bit as fragile as her state of mind.
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    “Tell me what a tender does,” he said. When she snapped him an impatient look, he tried a smile. “While you’re getting your gear.”
    She indicated for him to sit out of her way while she checked her gear again. She’d done it the night before, had gone over it meticulously in the morning and now checked it a third time. He realized she really did take her safety seriously.
    Rikki pinned him with her dark eyes. “Basically anything I say.”
    “Come on, lyubimaya moya.” Deliberately he used his accent, his blue eyes drifting over her as she poured warm water into her diving suit. “Give me a few facts.”
    She sighed and shimmied out of her jeans, exposing her shapely legs and the raindrop tattoo he loved so much. She was very slender, all that working underwater and only peanut butter to sustain her. She needed high-energy foods and a balanced diet. Easy, he reminded himself. One change at a time, and only those things she needs to keep her healthy and safe.
    Rikki sent him a peculiar look as if she’d caught part of his thoughts, although they were no longer connected telepathically. Maybe something about the water surrounding them amplified her talents. He didn’t know enough about water elements, only that they were powerful in their own right. He had psychic gifts, but hers worked differently. She was bound to water, and water was bound to her.
    “Rikki.” He kept his voice even.
    “You’re working very hard at manipulating me,” she pointed out.
    He knew she was sharp. “Just give me the general idea.”
    “Tenders, as a general rule, do everything above water and the diver does everything below. The most important thing to remember is to slow down. There’s no emergency unless I tell you. A tender does what’s asked of him, nothing more. Don’t make it up as you go along.”
    She poured baby shampoo into her hands and lathered her legs and hips and buttocks. She wasn’t wearing much more than a thong. He tried not to be mesmerized by the sight of her hands flowing over all that skin.
    “If everything above the water is my job, I should be doing that.”
    She blinked, as if coming out of a trance, and then she grinned. “You have a one-track mind. And it’s important for me to keep to my routine. I can’t deviate. For one thing, it throws me off and my mind goes into chaos, but more than that, it’s a safety issue out here.”
    “Got it, no sex on the boat.”
    “I didn’t say that, only don’t interrupt my routine before I dive.”
    “So what do I do?”
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    “Absolutely nothing.” Her smile faded and she stared directly into his eyes. “You can’t touch one thing on this