Dane pulled into the parking lot of PB. Boulangerie, a little French bakery in Wellfleet.
“What’s next on our agenda?” Lacy asked. “I didn’t see anything else on the itinerary.”
Dane lifted the left side of his mouth in a smile. “You’ll see. I have to run in and pick something up. I’ll be right back,” he said. He left Lacy in the car to wonder what he was doing, and he went inside to collect the dinner basket he’d called ahead and ordered when Lacy had been in the ladies’ room at the visitor center. He’d felt closer to Lacy in the past day than he had even over the previous fifteen months. It was like their hearts had just clicked into place beside each other. As Dane returned to the car, he saw Lacy through the passenger window. Her neck was arched, her eyes were closed, and her lips were slightly parted as she rested against the headrest. They hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, and as he took in her long, graceful neck and those lips he couldn’t get enough of, he was reminded of the sexy little whimpers she’d made when he was loving her the previous night. Loving her. He had no doubt that he was moving in that direction. Hell, he was probably already there. The thought moved around his mind like a cloud, seeping into every crevice until it was no longer separate from his other thoughts. It was in everything he saw, in the smell of the lobster in the bag in his hands, in the breeze as it mussed his hair. Hell, it was in him. He closed his eyes and reminded himself that she’d been back for only twenty-four hours and that telling her how he felt might send her running right back out of his life.
It was nearly sunset when they turned down a narrow road just before Pilgrim Lake. Lacy carried a blanket and Dane carried the package he’d picked up at the market as they walked down the peaceful stretch of beach. With his free hand, he reached for Lacy’s hand.
Dane saw the pod of seals before Lacy noticed them. She squinted as they neared.
“What…Oh my God. Are those seals? There must be hundreds of them.” Lacy's eyes grew wide as she turned to face Dane.
“When the tide goes out, the seals come in. I wanted you to see just how many seals there might be in any one place,” Dane said.
The seals covered every bare spot of a sandbar about fifty feet from shore. The tide was already starting to roll back in. Dane spread out the blanket and stood with Lacy at the edge of the water.
“They’re magnificent,” she said. “I never imagined how big they really were. They must weigh hundreds of pounds. Look how many there are.”
Dane nodded. “And this is just a fraction of the seals that are around the Cape.”
“No wonder there are no more fish around. They have to eat,” Lacy said.
He took her hand and led her back to the blanket. He withdrew plastic wine glasses, a bottle of wine, a loaf of French bread, and a variety of cheeses from the package.
“When did you have time to arrange this?” she asked.
“I can’t tell you all of my secrets,” he said as he poured them each a glass of wine. “I figured I’d have to feed you at some point, and what better place than while we enjoy the tide as it rolls in?”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “This is very romantic,” she said.
Lacy felt so good against him. He could sit right there next to her on the beach forever and never feel like he was missing a thing. He put his arm around her shoulder, and they watched the seals disappear with the rising tide.
“You’d never know they were there,” Lacy said.
“I think the silence of mammals is part of their beauty. We humans are loud. Everything about our lives is loud and creates havoc. Take a look around after we leave the beach. From our cars to our lawn mowers, we put things into the air that shouldn’t be there, and we leave so big of a footprint that…” He looked down at Lacy, who was gazing up at him with a tender smile. “I’m sorry. I’m lecturing again.”
“You're passionate. I like that,” she said. “I can’t help but wonder, Dane. Why are you compelled to be the one to make a difference with something as scary as sharks?”
He kissed her forehead. “They don’t scare me. I could die driving—”
“I know, driving down the street,” she said. “But why? Why not do something safer? Be an advocate for living green or something.”
Dane shrugged. “Everyone has a calling. Sharks are mine.” He put his hand beneath her hair and brushed his fingers along the fine hairs on the back of her neck. “Just like you’re my calling, Lace. I want to be with you, and I want to protect you.” He didn’t know how it had happened so fast, but Lacy owned a piece of his heart as big as any piece his family ever had. “I never want anything to hurt you, and I never want to cause you any pain.” The sun set behind the dunes, casting a blue-black haze over the water. He leaned down and kissed her, hoping that in that kiss, Lacy would feel the three words he couldn’t yet say.
LACY GIGGLED AS Dane kissed the back of her neck while she tried to concentrate on finding the right key on her key chain to open the door. The porch light was off and she couldn’t see anything. She swatted playfully at him with a feigned sigh. He slid his hands around her waist and up her belly, cupping her breasts. Lacy leaned against him, feeling his heart beat against her back.
“Dane,” she whispered through a smile.
He dragged his tongue along her neck. “I’ve waited all day,” he said.
He spun her around so she was facing him and pressed his hips into hers, then backed her up against the door. With his hands on either side of her head, he pushed her hair to the side.
“God, I love your face,” he said, then settled his lips over hers.
Lacy dropped the keys and wrapped her hands around him, pulling him even closer. He smelled like ocean air and tasted like wine. The combination was intoxicating. Well…that and the bottle of wine they’d shared. He moved his hands up her rib cage and fondled her breasts, then kissed his way down her neck, sucking at the area just above her collarbone. Lacy felt a rush of heat between her thighs.
“We should go inside,” she managed.
He moved his hands to her hips. “Okay,” he whispered, but he made no move toward the door. Dane took her in another deep kiss as he slid his hand beneath the waist of her shorts. The tip of his finger touched her hair, then slipped deeper.
Lacy gasped as he slid a finger inside of her and teased her while his other hand explored the curve of her breast and his mouth found hers again. His kisses alone were enough to send her into fits of heart-quaking lust. She moaned against his mouth, which spurred him on, and he pushed his hand deeper, sending Lacy up on her tiptoes with a little mewl of want.
“Come for me,” he whispered against her neck.
Lacy couldn’t think past the feeling that was rushing up her center as he sucked on her neck and flicked the spot that made her toes curl. She gripped his shoulders, tightening the muscles in her thighs and clenching her teeth against the fast and furious orgasm as it gripped her, and her body was overtaken by a shiver of tiny tremors and pulsing sensations around his hand.
“That’s it, baby,” he said in a deep voice that nearly sent her over the edge again. He withdrew his fingers from her pants and put them in his mouth, then closed his eyes as he drew them out slowly.
Lacy practically lunged for the keys. She fumbled through them as fast as she was able, breathing hard and not wanting to waste a second. She shoved the key into the lock and pulled Dane inside, kicking the door shut behind them. The cottage was dark as night, save for the moonlight coming through the glass doors in the living room. Dane knew just how to make her body sing, and now it was her turn to learn to do the same. She pushed him back against the front door—not so playfully.
“My turn,” she said in a husky voice. Her eyes adjusted to the light, and she saw the whites of his eyes grow big and then disappear altogether.
He reached for her, and she stepped back, then grabbed his fly at the waist and ripped it to the side, sending the button flying across the room.
“Lacy,” Dane said in a deep whisper. When he pulled her close, she felt every inch of his heat against her thigh, and when he kissed her again, she nearly melted into a submissive kitten. She drew back from that delicious kiss, and with one palm on his chest, she pinned him against the door, using the other hand to draw down his zipper and push his shorts and boxers down to his ankles. He stepped out of them, and she kicked them to the side.
“You know what I like,” she said. “Now teach me.” She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands along his chest, then used her mouth to bring his nipples to hard peaks, feeling her own gratification in the wetness in her underwear.
“Lace,” he whispered. “Come here. Let me love you.”
She moved back up his body, but when she was close enough to kiss him, his hot breath on her lips, the smell of wine mingling between them, she reached down and cupped his balls.
“I’m an eager student,” she whispered, not recognizing the raspy sound of her own voice. She dropped to her knees and licked him from base to tip, lingering there until a groan escaped his lips. She wrapped her slender hand around his shaft, feeling the thick vein that ran up the underside like a snake, and she stroked him.