Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

panic. It took a lot of nerve.”
    “And then I ripped out your radio. I’ll fix it for you.”
    “I can fix my own radio. I’m not certain you knew what you were doing at the time.”
    That was the trouble. He’d known exactly what he was doing—had weighed the advantages and disadvantages of killing the woman who had saved his life. What kind of man did that? Not a good one. “I know you don’t like people touching you, Rikki, but . . .” His fingers were already on her face, tracing every angle, stroking the softness of her skin, memorizing the details.
    She held her breath, but she didn’t pull away, as if sensing the deep need inside of him. He didn’t understand his connection to her, and he doubted if she did either. Just for this moment, they declared a truce and just accepted that it was there. He had to know her face intimately, as intimately as he intended to know her body, but right now, this was enough. Mapping her face and imprinting it forever on his brain.
    She suddenly smiled. He felt it through his fingers before he made out her expression. His body stirred in response. “You don’t even know if you can fix my radio.”
    “No,” he agreed, “I don’t. But I can take apart a gun and put it back together again in seconds.”
    “I can see you’ll be a big help on the farm.”
    As soon as the words slipped out, he could tell by the way she stiffened that her expectation of him staying with her had been entirely subconscious.
    Now that she’d spoken the thought aloud—given the idea life—she retreated back into her world, probably sorry she’d voiced the suggestion.
    Satisfaction slid into his gut, a quiet happiness he rarely—if ever—had experienced. Just being in her presence made him feel different, more alive, more sensual, more of a man and less of a killer. Lying beside her should have set off every alarm in his body. He had sex, usually great sex, but it was a tool, and he was never comfortable afterward. He certainly didn’t lie on a bed in a semi-vulnerable position and contemplate falling asleep with another living, breathing human being beside him. He knew it was completely alien to every survival instinct he had, yet he wanted her there.
    The thought of her sleeping outside, at a distance from him, bothered him on a primal level he couldn’t explain, not to her and certainly not to himself.
    He kept his eyes locked on hers. “I was thinking more like helping out on your boat.”
    83

    He saw the shock, the instant rejection. She even shook her head. And that adorable frown was back, so that he couldn’t help but smooth his fingers over the little lines between her eyes. He laughed softly. “I can see you’re completely behind the idea.”
    “ No one, and I mean no one , goes on my boat.”
    “I can understand that. But— ” He put his finger over her pursed lips, imagining her kissing his fingers. The thought was fleeting, but vivid enough to cause heat to flood his body. He didn’t seem to have control around her. “As reasonable as that would be, I’ve already been on your boat.”
    “You ripped out my radio.”
    “Which I intend to fix,” he pointed out. “What’s a tender?”
    He felt her shock. “A what?” she repeated, but she’d heard him the first time.
    He waited in silence, but she had gone stubborn on him. He sighed, and although he was taking a chance, he rubbed her chin in the dark with the pad of his thumb. Once, he stroked a caress across her lips. She was definitely frowning and that made him smile.
    “It isn’t any great secret, is it? You said your sister Blythe told you that you shouldn’t dive alone. She said you needed a tender. What is that?”
    “Someone that would drive me insane. They take care of the boat and equipment, sort of keep watch while a diver is under water. They need a permit and have to know what they’re doing. I trained a couple but kicked them off after a couple of dives. They’re annoying. They don’t roll my hoses the right way. And there is a right way. You do it wrong and they’re all tangled.”
    Now that she’d come out with her opinion on the subject, he could see she was extremely hostile about the idea. She hadn’t let on to Blythe, but she had no intention of diving with someone watching over her. He had a vague idea that he might change that. “Blythe thinks it’s necessary.”
    “You were eavesdropping on my conversation with Blythe.”
    “Of course. Would you expect