Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

knew he was more than a man passing through Rikki’s life.
    He also knew she was worried. He couldn’t blame her. Her sisters had read him accurately, but he was going to stay. Blythe would have to learn that Rikki was his world and she was safe in his hands. He put the dinner on the table and padded barefoot on through to the living room, Blythe following reluctantly.
    “It’s Blythe, Rikki. She brought dinner,” he called.
    “Oh, good. I wanted to see her,” Rikki called back. “I was going to tell her what a great hunter you are, almost bringing us back a huge lingcod.”
    Laughing, she emerged from the bedroom, her hair disheveled and still damp, her eyes bright with laughter, hands still buttoning her shirt.
    The smile faded from her face the moment she saw her sister standing in her living room. “Oh.” She pushed her hand through the wet strands of her hair in agitation. “I thought you’d be waiting outside on the porch for me.”
    “It’s a little cool out there to be comfortable,” Lev said smoothly. “I asked her in. I knew you’d want her to stay warm.”
    Rikki opened her mouth twice to say something and closed it, swallowing hard. Her frown was back, dark brows drawn together. She turned in a circle, looking helpless and vulnerable.
    Lev wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, dropping his chin on the top of her head. “You aren’t worried about your stalker, are you, sweetheart ? I’ve got a good warning system. He can’t sneak up on us. Your sister is safe.”
    Her fingers plucked nervously at his shirt. “Are you certain?”
    “Absolutely,” he said. “I would never put your sister’s life in danger.”
    “He manages to hurt or kill everyone I care about,” she said.
    “Not this time, honey.” Laskovaya moya, trust me. I am beginning to know him and his days will be numbered. He will not be allowed to harm you.
    Lev kissed her neck and then waved Blythe to a chair. “Rikki threw a fish at me today. One with gigantic teeth.”
    He forced a small grin. Rikki was still tense. He was definitely pushing her comfort zone by having Blythe in the house with them. He causally crossed to the door and opened it, leaving the screen in place, but allowing Rikki to see that they had a clear escape should a fire start.
    “She threw a fish at you?” Blythe settled into a chair with an encouraging smile. “Did you really, Rikki?”
    243

    Rikki dropped into her favorite chair and glanced uneasily at the kitchen door. Lev obligingly went through to the kitchen to open it for her.
    “He’s always complaining about my peanut butter so I thought I might help him out with dinner.”
    “The fish was possessed,” Lev picked up the story. “It was snapping and flopping and trying to chew my leg off, and she’s in the water laughing.”
    Rikki’s laughter was genuine and the tension in him unraveled.
    “He looked like he was doing a wild rain dance. And he was going to bail, give up my boat to the fish.”
    “I was not.” Lev couldn’t take his eyes from her face. He loved watching her expressions. Maybe he’d never looked at people before. They meant nothing to him. He could never see their pain and suffering. He couldn’t let it touch him or he would fail in his mission. The mission mattered, the ultimate goal, not the individual. Laughter was never heard. If you allowed yourself to hear or feel amusement, you would hear and feel pain.
    As if she was reading his thoughts, Rikki took his left hand in both of hers. “He definitely was, Blythe. He was going to abandon ship.”
    The pad of her thumb slid over the center of his palm. He felt her caress, not on his skin but deep in his body, an intimacy that connected them beyond all expectations. Stay. She’d whispered that to him. Given him a choice. She didn’t want him in the cold—in the shadows. She saw beyond the ghost to the man and somehow gave him substance. She’d given him a home, a refuge. And now she’d given him this—intimacy beyond imagining.
    He wanted to take her into his arms all over again, bury his body in hers and merge them together until they were sharing the same skin. He didn’t think it was possible to love a woman, to love anyone, the way he loved her. He felt Blythe’s gaze on him and he forced himself to look away from Rikki. Instincts honed by years of survival kept him from showing his feelings. Rikki made him vulnerable, and his feelings for her made her the perfect