Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

“We’re on our property now. We keep this road up ourselves. Lexi can handle a tractor or a backhoe like a pro. She’s amazing.”
    “She’s very young. Did she grow up on a farm?”
    Rikki stiffened and stared straight ahead, compressing her lips. It was more than obvious that the sisters didn’t talk about one another. She might tell Lev whatever he wanted to know about herself, a rare thing for her, but she would never disclose her chosen sisters’ pasts to anyone else—not even to him. And maybe especially not to him.
    Lev didn’t press her. She was being unreasonably kind and generous to him. He’d never met anyone like Rikki before, and he wasn’t about to push her to reveal anything she was uncomfortable with. He’d been making conversation with her, trying to get more of a feel for the women she loved.
    “It doesn’t matter, lyubimaya . Keeping your sister’s confidence is far more important than answering.”
    “It’s just that I feel that each of us has a right to decide who knows us to that extent. I’m telling you things about myself I’ve only told them, but I’m giving that to you with no strings. I’m okay with being different. I’m not hiding it from you or anyone else. I like my life, Lev. In fact I’m very happy with it. I’m choosing to share with you because I want to.”
    He touched her face, his fingers trailing over her soft skin, her high cheekbones and stubborn chin. “If you’re trying to tell me that you don’t need me or any other man in your life, I’m well aware of it. I’m saying I need you.”
    He should have been hesitant, or even embarrassed or ashamed to admit it to her, but he wasn’t. It was now or never. Sink or swim. Live as a 170

    human being, or die in the void that had been his life. He wanted out. And Rikki was his savior. He felt it with every fiber of his being.
    There was little left of his humanity, just this one small piece that he was handing into her keeping. If she took it, if she chose to allow him to build a new life around her, there was a chance for him. It wasn’t what the experts or the storybooks said was a good or healthy relationship, but it was all there was for someone like him. He needed one human being to see him.
    He could only afford one. Some higher power had chosen Rikki. Fate.
    Whatever. It didn’t matter—all that mattered was that he had been offered a chance and he was determined to grab it with both hands.
    Rikki’s smile was slow in coming. “Men like you don’t need women like me, Lev. Or any woman, for that matter.”
    “You’re exactly what I need.” The pad of his thumb stroked over her lips. “You’re all that I need. I’ve told you I won’t lie to you and I meant lit.”
    Rikki took her eyes off the road long enough to look at him. He could see she was skeptical and maybe a little confused. She shook her head and turned her attention back to her driving. “We’re coming up on the back gate and paved road now. This leads through the orchards to the main part of the acreage Lexi farms. We have olive trees over there. We don’t have our own press yet, but we’re part of a co-op that owns a press together.”
    “This operation is enormous.”
    Her face lit up. “It’s pretty awesome. The farm was in ruins when we took over. You should have seen us out there putting up all the fences and building the homes. Lexi mostly took care of the orchards and began planting crops. We have an amazing greenhouse where we grow all year round. The weather here is too cold for most things during the winter months.”
    As if hearing her, the wind picked up and the sky darkened as clouds blew overhead, rolling and churning, heavy with rain. Rikki glanced up and her hands relaxed on the steering wheel. The road widened and he caught a glimpse of a large house off to his left.
    “Whose place is that?”
    “That’s actually the communal area. We have a gym for working out and a meditation center. Lissa has been working on a training area that’s really nice. You might like to use it if you do that sort of thing.”
    He wanted to smile. Sometimes she was like sunshine with her quirky little ways and the things she said or thought. “He drove through your farm, Rikki. How did no one see him?”
    “It’s a big place and most of us aren’t home during the day, only Lexi, and she could have been any where.”
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    They were silent as she drove back to her house and parked the truck.
    Lev watched her check