Claiming Her SEAL(13)

Maybe she should take it as a sign and skip this whole ridiculous idea.  But Rachel was bouncing along beside her, gleefully anticipating her  afternoon excursion, God knew why.

Dex's smile slipped as Emma stepped from the beach to the splintered  planks of the long dock. Mirrored sunglasses hid his flinty gray eyes,  but she could feel them on her as she followed a twenty-something couple  who were most likely on their honeymoon judging by the way they  murmured and cooed to each other.

They climbed into the pontoon boat floating in the turquoise water, and  then it was Emma's turn. She made the mistake of glancing up at Dex. His  jaw tightened, and his hands were fisted at his side. You couldn't have  cut the ice in the atmosphere with a chainsaw.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Dex commented under his breath.

The scent of him washed over Emma, and her mouth went too dry to speak.  How was it possible that he could still affect her like that after being  such a …  an infuriating, complicated man last night?

Because he just did. She sighed. Being mad about it wouldn't change  things. Her attraction to him couldn't be wished away, explained away,  or warned away, apparently. Which made the stiffness in his body all  that much more devastating. Especially when she recalled how fluidly  he'd wrapped it around her last night. And how much more of him she'd  wanted.

With a breathless little sigh, Rachel shouldered up next to Emma and  stuck her hand out. "You must be Dex. I've heard a lot about you, but I  must say, clearly not enough."

With a small chuckle, Dex shook her hand. "Rachel, right?"

"I don't know, my brain is stuck somewhere in your abs." With a lusty  sigh, Rachel took off her sunglasses to further objectify Dex with a  once-over that should have embarrassed him, but he just grinned.

"I'm only the appetizer," Dex said with a wink. "Jace over there is the  main course. He'd probably let you stare at him the whole trip if you  ask real nice."

Rachel's gaze flitted over Dex's shoulder and her eyes went wide as she  caught sight of the guy Emma remembered being in the driver's seat of  the speedboat that had spirited Dex off after their first meeting. Where  Dex was built like a Greek statue with sinewy hills and valleys and an  elegant, wiry grace, Jace had muscles on his muscles and a chiseled face  that was almost too beautiful to belong to a mere human.         

     



 

"Emma," she said out of the corner of her mouth. "You're lucky I love  you so much, or I'd be really mad at you for not telling me your white  knight has a friend who looks like that."

Rolling her eyes, Emma watched Rachel's back as she took off to go  introduce herself to the boat driver. "She's a good person, if a little  tactless and prone to saying things that embarrass everyone except her."

"She's all right," Dex said easily, and the tension between them broke.

Emma made a mental note to kiss Rachel later. Dex helped her onto the  boat and guided her toward the front with a tug on her arm. Curious, she  followed him, stepping down into a smaller area with a cushioned,  curved seat that followed the contour of the front of the boat. Rachel  and the six other guests had crowded into the back where Jace was  holding up a mask and a snorkel, explaining the way it worked in a deep,  rich voice that held his small audience captive.

Dex plunked down on the cushioned seat and nodded at the spot next to  him. "Sit with me for a minute. I'll explain all that stuff to you  later."

"I'll stand, thanks." No way could she be that close to him, not with  all the unsaid stuff churning between them. The boat rocked a bit with  the semichoppy water, but it wasn't too bad as long as she concentrated  on her balance.

He slipped off his sunglasses, capturing her gaze with his. "Please. I want to apologize."

Oh, well, that was all right. Gingerly, she perched on the cushion. "So you admit that you're pigheaded."

He didn't laugh. "It's brave of you to come snorkeling, and I don't want  what's going on between us to affect what you're trying to do here.  Forget last night. I shouldn't have kissed you, and I should have  handled everything that came after differently. I'm sorry."

No, he shouldn't have. Because she couldn't unkiss him, and now that she  knew what his mouth alone could do to her, she wanted to do it again.  Dex was like an addiction she couldn't shake until she'd had her fix,  knowing the whole time that it was so bad, but was going to feel so good  the moment he filled her again.

That's why she couldn't be trusted around a man, obviously. Her body  didn't seem to care one way or the other that her brain had no ability  to sort white knights from bad news. Besides, the feel-good part of the  evening had only been a small part of the fireworks, and she had no  business being upset that he'd done exactly what he'd said he was trying  to do-save her from making a mistake that would hurt.

"It's okay," she said and meant it. "You're right, we're a really bad  idea and I just want to focus on snorkeling. That's the goal today. You  said you'd go down with me, that I could trust you. But only in the  water, right?"

That's what she had to remember. He'd promised to help her, and if  nothing else, she would always feel safe with him. All at once she was  glad her prayer had gone unanswered. His absence would have made this  afternoon harder, not easier.

"Right." His gaze had softened as she talked, and the corners of his  mouth turned up. It wasn't his killer smile, but she'd take it.

"Thanks," she said. "This means a lot to me. And to Rachel. I want her  to have fun and forget about me and my problems for a while."

On even ground again, they both relaxed as Jace fired up the boat and  chugged toward open water. Dex called out landmarks, chatting about the  area like her very own personal tour guide. Once, he touched Emma's arm  and pointed to a black stingray with white spots skating along the ocean  floor. Breathtaking. Both the sea creature and the man.

After a few minutes Jace halted the boat within range of a small island, but not close enough to be their destination.

"Look down," Dex said as he caught her eyeing the island.

She curled her fingers around the edge of the boat and peered over the side. Her lungs hitched. "Oh, Dex."





Beautiful reds and yellows and blues unfurled on both sides of the boat.  Thin silvery fish darted between leafy branch-like structures and then  circled tall, lumpy spires that resembled the blobby style of buildings  in Barcelona that she'd seen on the History channel.

"That's the reef we're going to explore." His hand covered hers, and  their fingers entwined as he stared into the water in kind. "I've seen  it a hundred times, but I never get tired of it. There's always  something new to see or a new way of seeing the same old thing."

He nodded to the island in the distance. "That's Ilhota Rosa. Most of  the islands in this area go by their English names, but the Portuguese  name stuck for that one, for some reason."         

     



 

"It's beautiful. The reflection of the sun turns the sand a strange color though." Kind of an ice cream pink.

"No. It really is pink, hence the rosa part of the name. I'll take you  there sometime. I can't now because-" He jerked his head toward the back  of the boat. "This is my job. After I'm done for the day, no problem.  Sunset is the best. If you're interested."

Like a date? She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Sure, that would be great."

He cleared his throat and spent some time going over the equipment she'd  be using to snorkel, and suddenly it was the eleventh hour and the  other guests had splashed into the water, laughing and affixing their  masks over their eyes. Rachel included, who was still flirting with Jace  to the nth degree, even though they were both treading water and he had  his eyes on the other people around them.

This was Dex's job, as he'd pointed out, and he was focusing solely on  Emma. While it was a heady rush for sure, it came with a dose of guilt.  "We should get into the water. Shouldn't we?"

He smiled, and it lit up his gray eyes. "Yeah. You ready? I'm going to  hold your hand the whole time, and I swear I will not let go. Okay?"

She nodded because the lump in her throat didn't allow for so much as a  peep, even if she'd had something to say. Besides, she was too busy  trying to sort out if the lump was due to Dex's smile, the thought of  actually sticking her whole body under the water on purpose, or simply  the fact that this impossible-to-read man had vowed to never let her go.  Maybe it was due to all three, and what the hell was she supposed to do  with that?

"Come on," he said. "We'll use the ladder. It'll give you a chance to acclimate."

Dex scaled the scant few steps at the rear of the boat, holding his gear  and hers, then lowered himself neck deep into the turquoise water.  "Your turn."