They didn’t get a chance to talk again as the Bahama Search and Rescue set up a tow on their boat and settled them in with life jackets. Fitz didn’t hold her hand or reassure her or anything because why would he? All of the danger had passed.
They were being rescued thanks to his quick thinking and apparent elite status with the government. Which really made her wonder exactly how far out of her league he was. Maybe he was more spy than she’d imagined if he’d prevented enough ambushes in his life to be so upset over the one he hadn’t.
The rescue boat took them to Freeport, where medical professionals checked them out and released them. Jack and Thora met them outside the nondescript building near a marina, and the moment Thora saw Lilah, she threw her arms around her.
“I was so worried,” Thora said as she squeezed the life out of her.
“I was fine. I was with Fitz,” she said as if that explained everything, and it did. Being stranded on a deserted island with him had been the highlight of her life. Scary at first, but he’d made it seem like something she could do, no problem. It had been exactly the adventure she’d needed.
And now it was over. Back to the real world. Crying wouldn’t fix any of that.
“You look better,” Lilah commented around the hitch in her throat.
“I’m fine.” Thora rolled her eyes. “I told Jack that yesterday, but did he listen? No.”
Good thing he had a hard head. If he hadn’t insisted on taking Thora to the hospital, she never would have had last night with Fitz.
“I checked us into a hotel here in Freeport,” Thora informed her as she linked arms to walk along the wooden planks of the marina toward the street. “We can stay tonight and get our tickets changed to fly home tomorrow if you want. I figured you were done with the Caribbean after being stranded. I’m certainly done with Jack acting like the world’s most annoying babysitter.”
“That’s fine.” Home. It didn’t sound as appealing as it should.
What was wrong with her?
She glanced at the brown-haired angel strolling along beside Jack, talking with his hands as he described what had happened with the boat. Those capable hands had been all over her not too long ago, and she wasn’t at all confused about whether she’d like a repeat of that experience.
Also she was pretty sure he was about to disappear. Forever.
“Jack’s walking us to the hotel before he takes off back to Duchess Island,” Thora said with a sly smile. “I’m sure Fitz will be tagging along. If that’s information that might be of interest to you.”
She perked up considerably. Maybe she could offer to take Fitz to dinner to thank him for… what? The orgasms? Getting them rescued? Being the most amazing night of her life?
All of the above, she decided. It was how she felt. She waited until they’d walked the few blocks to the hotel. It wasn’t on the beach, which was okay. She’d had enough beach for one vacation. But not enough Fitz.
She didn’t even have his phone number. When they hit the lobby of the hotel, she took a deep breath and snagged his arm, pulling him to the side where they could talk in semiprivacy.
“Hey,” she said and glanced up into his hazel eyes, focusing on the pinwheel of brown whirling into the green. And that was the extent of her vocabulary apparently when dropped back into reality with a man she’d woken up with this morning. Naked.
“Hey,” he said back and blew out a breath. “Man. Some ride, huh? I’m glad it’s over.”
Oh. Well, that made one of them. All at once, she hesitated. Whatever had happened between them had been limited by their circumstances. She’d been a convenient woman on an island with no other choices. This was the end of their association. There was no reason to try and recapture the magic of last night when it was obviously supposed to have only been that.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said sincerely. “For everything.”
His smile warmed considerably. “I should be thanking you. You made the whole experience bearable. I insist on being stranded with you from now on.”
But it had been so much more than just being stranded. For her, at least. But she conjured up a smile to match his. “I guess you’re going back to Duchess Island with Jack?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a couple more days before I have to be back in California, and it’s a free place to crash. A bunch of my former teammates live there too, so I expect we’ll hang out. Drink a lot of beer.”
Translation: no females allowed. Otherwise, she suspected Thora would be in the middle of it. “That sounds nice.”
This might be the most stilted conversation they’d ever had, which was saying something considering some of the awkward things that had come out of her mouth. Fitz still got her all tangled up with the English language apparently.