Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

the ground around the house and each of the windows, taking her time as drops of rain began to fall. She lifted her face to the sky and smiled, holding out her hands as if in welcome. She stood there, focused on the drops, lost in the beauty of individual beads. He found himself caught up in her magic, the childlike awe in her face, her expression one of absolute wonder.
    He couldn’t help himself, he reached out telepathically, wanting to share the moment with her, needing to feel what she was feeling. Awareness burst through him, soothing, calming—he marveled at such perfection, at the actual feel of cool water on warm skin. He was astonished at the myriad of sensations pouring over and into him. The sky glittered with diamond tears, each more perfect than the last, each one multifaceted. For a moment he was caught up in a fascination with nature, just as she was. He’d never noticed raindrops in detail, nor had he ever paid attention to how they felt on his skin.
    There was a sensual feel to the pattern of drops, or maybe he was so connected to her that, as usual, when he was close to her, his body came alive. Even that was amazing to him—the fact that he could become full and hard without willing himself to do so. Wrapped in the fresh scent of the rain, he stood beside her and lifted his face to watch the wonder of the drops as they came toward him from the sky. They were crystal prisms bursting over his skin like tongues.
    This is incredible.
    His mind brushed against hers, an intimacy deeper than anything he’d ever known. His left palm itched and without thinking he lifted his hand and rubbed the center with his stubbly beard. Rikki gasped and swung around to face him, breaking the spell of the raindrops. Her eyes were wide with shock.
    He stared into her eyes, those dark pools of mystery that intrigued him so much, and then she turned away from him abruptly to unlock the door and let him in. She stepped way back to allow his entry, but as he strode past her, he brushed his hand over her hair. He loved those shiny sun streaks in all that thick, dark hair. She always looked as if the sun had kissed the top of her head, something he seemed to have the impulse to do quite regularly.
    It was a strange thing to look into his past, a black void of duty and discipline, to see the seamiest side of the world, to accept his fate, to know he was trained to kill. Never in those years had he considered any other way of living. In fact, the worse the crimes he witnessed, the more he was determined to rid the world of its corrupt and ugly underbelly. He never 172

    once thought himself part of that world. He never considered that he might be doing wrong. He followed his orders and he carried them out without question. It was almost as if he had awakened there in the sea, there in the depths of her eyes, as corny as that sounded to him.
    Something had changed inside of him and he’d been reborn. His handlers would come, and if they realized he was still alive, they would never stop until they found him. Sid Kozlov had to remain buried at sea, and the new Levi Hammond had to have a past that could stand up to any scrutiny. He stroked his developing beard thoughtfully. Facial hair and a fisherman’s wardrobe would add a layer of protection. If he worked out at sea and remained a recluse as much as possible, laying low for a long time until Hammond was established, he would have a chance at life.
    He put the case on the kitchen table in plain sight of Rikki. He wasn’t going to hide anything from her. There had to be one person in the world he trusted enough to give his last shred of humanity to. If she couldn’t accept him, there would be no one else. Behind him Rikki locked the door and leaned against it, her gaze steady, focused on him and not the case.
    Lev studied the lock. It appeared to be intact and with no scratches on it. He crouched low to get eye level. He could hear Rikki breathing, slow and steady, but she didn’t move or make any other sound. She simply waited.
    He punched in the code and slowly lifted the lid. There was cash, stacks of it, all in American money. Beneath the money were passports and a kit for making additional identities. He put them all aside to reveal two sets of casual clothes. Beneath the clothes were more weapons as well as a small laptop.
    “You know how to pack,” Rikki observed, her tone strictly neutral.
    He glanced at her as he carefully inspected each weapon before