The Reef

provided. As far as the sex went, she thought, new precedents had been set in her body. Matthew Lassiter was going to be a very tough act to follow.
    As she reached for the blow-dryer, she caught a glimpse of herself in the foggy mirror. Grinning.
    Well, why not? she asked herself. She’d spent an incredible night having her system rocked. And, unless she was very mistaken, doing some rocking of her own.
    But the sun was up, and it was time to deal with the reality of what happened next. They had a job to do, and though the tension had been wonderfully diffused, they were still bound to clash when it came to the bottom line.
    It didn’t seem fair that two people who could meld sogloriously together under one set of circumstances couldn’t find solid mutual ground elsewhere.
    Compromise, she supposed, sighing over the word, was the only solution.
    Once her hair was nearly dry, she ran her tongue over her teeth and wished the pretty room included the amenity of a toothbrush. Worrying over it, she stepped back into the bedroom just as Matthew came through the glass doors.
    “Oh, hi.”
    “Hi back.” He tossed her a small bag. A glance inside had her shaking her head.
    “You read my mind,” she said, taking out a toothbrush.
    “Good. Now you can read mine.”
    It wasn’t difficult as he came to her, picked her up and dropped her back on the bed.
    “Matthew, really.”
    “Yeah.” Grinning, he stripped off his shirt. “Really.”
    It was an hour later before she could put the toothbrush to use.
     
    “I was wondering,” she began as they crossed the beach toward the pier.
    “What were you wondering?”
    “How we’re going to handle this.”
    “This?” He took her hand as they crossed the planks to the tender. “Being lovers? How much do you want to complicate it?”
    “I don’t want to complicate it, I just want to—”
    “Establish the rules,” he finished, then turned to kiss her in front of several grinning crew of the resort’s tour boat. “Never change, Red.”
    Once she was in the tender, he cast off, sent a cheery wave to the crew and kicked the engine to life. He felt incredible.
    “Is there something wrong with rules?” she asked.
    He grinned again, turned the boat skillfully. “I’m crazy about you.”
    That tugged a little too acutely at her heart. “That’srule number one. Let’s not confuse physical attraction and compatibility.”
    “With?”
    “Anything.”
    “I’ve always been crazy about you.”
    “I mean it, Matthew.”
    “I can see you do.” And it stung. But he wasn’t going to allow anything to dim his mood, or to wither the hope he’d begun to nourish while she’d slept beside him. “Okay, how’s this? I want to make love with you at every possible opportunity. Is that better?”
    Her insides went liquid at the possibility, but she kept her voice brisk. “It may be more honest, but it’s hardly practical. There are six of us on two boats.”
    “So, we’ll be inventive. You up to diving this morning?”
    “Of course I am.”
    To entertain himself, he studied her. Windblown, tousled, barefoot. “I wonder what it would be like to get you naked under water.” He held up a hand. “Just kidding. For now.”
    If he thought the idea shocked her, he was wrong. But before she fantasized about it too deeply, she wanted to set the record straight. “Matthew, there are still issues we have to resolve.”
    He slowed the tender. Damned if she wasn’t going to pick at it until she managed to spoil the mood. “You want to get back to the idea of calling in your associate, or whatever he was to you.”
    “Hayden would be invaluable on a project like this, if he’s willing to take the time.”
    “My answer stands, Tate. Listen to me before you start pissing me off again. We can’t risk it.”
    “Risk involving one of the top scientists in the field?”
    “Risk VanDyke getting wind of it.”
    “You’re paranoid about this,” she said impatiently. “Hayden understands the necessity for discretion.”
    “Hayden worked for Trident.”
    Her chin shot up. “So did I. I’m sure Hayden was as unaware of the politics as I was. And even if he has beenassociated with VanDyke, he’d say nothing to anyone if I asked him.”
    “You want to take the chance of losing it all again?”
    She started to speak, hesitated because she was certain he was speaking about more than the hunt. “No,” she said quietly. “I don’t. We’ll table calling Hayden for now, but