Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

them out.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I like water, but I’m not bound to it. I just feel safer around it, and when I’m in the sea and the pressure of the water is all around me, I feel different—more normal.”
    “What in the hell is normal? Not you. Not me. I doubt if there is such a thing.”
    She regarded him as if he had two heads. “Of course there is normal.
    There are regular people.”
    He swung his legs up on the bed and stretched out, linking his hands behind his head. “Come lie down. There’s no one close to the house. We’re locked up and safe, and you need to get sleep.” He patted the bed beside him.
    She looked utterly shocked. “We can’t sleep in the same bed.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well . . . because.”
    There was that laughter welling up again. He found himself smiling at the idea of it. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually slept in the same bed with someone either. If I have, I don’t remember, and it doesn’t feel like I’d trust anyone that much.”
    “So why in the world would you trust me? Or why would I trust you?”
    He kept his eyes locked with hers. He could stare into her eyes for eternity. “What the hell difference does it really make at this point, Rikki? I don’t think we can hide from one another, do you? Whatever it is that connected us in that water went bone deep. I’m not getting you out of me anytime soon. So come lie down and just let it all go for the rest of the night.”
    “I’m not having sex with you.”
    His smile widened. “Thanks for the compliment. It never occurred to me you would think I’d be capable.”
    “You have unexpected abilities.”
    “I won’t touch you. The bed’s big. I imagine you’d be lost in this thing.”
    Abruptly she turned back to the kitchen. He heard her rattling around for a few more minutes. More hand washing. The woman loved water. She 81

    snapped off the kitchen light and moved a little reluctantly into the bedroom, eyeing him warily.
    “I really don’t mind sleeping in the swing.”
    “I mind it. It’s raining out there, although that could be your fault. Just lie down and go to sleep. If anyone comes near the house, I’ll know.”
    She stretched out on the bed, keeping several inches between them. It took several minutes before she began to breathe normally. He smiled at the ceiling, there in the darkness, while the scent of her enveloped him.
    “Thanks, Rikki. I know this was difficult, letting me in. I don’t believe or trust myself, and I sure don’t know why the hell you saved my life and helped me, but I’m grateful.” His voice was gruffer than he intended. He wasn’t used to allowing himself to feel emotion, and just for a moment, there it was, clogging his throat and changing his tone.
    She shrugged. “I can’t imagine not being able to remember my past, although it might be a good thing. I might not be so afraid to go to sleep.”
    “I don’t want to remember my past.”
    “You might have a family waiting for you somewhere, Lev. You don’t want to leave them wondering. Believe me, until Blythe and the others came along, I’d forgotten there was such a thing as family. You don’t want to be without one.”
    His heart contracted painfully. “I don’t have anyone. No one knows me, Rikki. They don’t see me, and they’re not supposed to. I’m the kind of man who lives in the shadows.”
    “How can you know that for sure?”
    Her voice was soft and got inside of him in spite of his determination not to allow her to come any further. He already felt too dependent on her.
    “Because all I know is how to kill.”
    “You know how to dive. You’re very experienced in the water.”
    “Why do you say that?” He asked curiously. She spoke with conviction.
    “The way you acted under water. The water was cold, too cold. You were going into hypothermia. You had no air, no wet suit, and yet you didn’t panic, not even when you were injured. It takes a lot of experience to behave like that when all the odds are stacked against you.”
    “But I had you to save me.”
    She turned on her side and, sticking her elbow on the bed, propped her head in her hand to look at him. “Anyone else would have fought me. I expected you to try to fight me for the air, but you were calm and you breathed with me and allowed me to get us to the surface, decompressing 82

    along the way. That isn’t just unusual, it’s downright rare. Even experienced divers can