He laughed shakily. "Well, hell. I don't know if I have the strength to climb out of the water." He rested his chin on the top of her head, his arms wrapped around her waist. "You know what's going to happen tonight."
She nodded, mute, her face pressed to the muscular flesh just above his nipple.
He released her and stepped back. "Okay, then."
An hour later, they ate dinner in style. Hattie should have known that a Cavallo wouldn't prepare anything as plebian as hamburgers or hot dogs. Luc grilled T-bones and fresh shrimp over mesquite charcoal and then produced corn on the cob and potato salad to go with it.
She looked at him wryly over her heaping plate. "This isn't how I remember camping."
He shrugged. "My tastes have matured."
They lingered over their al fresco meal. Hattie was relaxed and yet keenly aware of the tension humming between them. Luc offered fresh chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert. She bit into one carefully, licking the sweet juice from her lower lip.
He watched her constantly until she swatted his arm. "Stop it."
His wide, rakish grin was all innocence. "I don't know what you mean."
Moments later, the teenager showed up to do KP. He would be leaving soon when his father went off duty. There was no official presence at the fort overnight.
Luc suggested a boat ride. The sun was beginning its slow decline. Hattie prepared her camera. Luc steered the boat to a perfect vantage point to get shots of the fort washed in the beautiful evening light.
Afterward they anchored in deep water and dropped the ladder over the side. Hattie climbed over the rail, but Luc made a neat dive off the rear of the boat.
They swam and played for a long time, until the light began to fade. Back on the boat, they dried off and Hattie put on a T-shirt over her suit. As they picked up speed, the stiff breeze raised goose bumps on her arms and legs.
While they were tying up once again at the boat dock, the young father from the family across the way approached them.
He shook Luc's hand and smiled ruefully. "Our youngest son has developed an earache, and we know from past experience that we'll need medicine, so we're going back to Key West. We wanted to tell someone, because the park service occasionally does a head count out here."
Luc grimaced. "That's too bad. It's going to be a beautiful night. But I'll help you load up."
Hattie walked back to the tent and stretched out on a sleeping bag. Daylight was fading fast. It was a half hour before Luc returned. Out the tent flap she could see the family pull away from the dock. The other boats she had watched offshore earlier in the day had long since lifted anchor and sailed or motored away.
For the first time since their arrival, she and Luc were completely, irrevocably alone.
He crouched and held out a hand. "Let's take a walk."
While she stretched her arms over her head and then donned a windbreaker, Luc retrieved a flashlight from his pack and zipped up the tent. They approached the fort and skirted the edge until they could step onto the sea wall. For most of the perimeter of the fort, the barrier separated the moat from the sea.
Hattie didn't need Luc's warning to watch her step. Although the wall wasn't particularly narrow, the thought of falling into the mysterious ocean was daunting.
On the far side of the fort they sat down, cross-legged, and surveyed the vast expanse of sky and sea. A tiny sliver of new moon did little to illuminate the night. As their eyes became accustomed to the dark, they could just make out the faint line of demarcation separating the silvery pewter of the ocean from the midnight-blue of the sky. Several miles away, a working lighthouse flashed a periodic caution to boats, warning of the reefs and small rocky islands.
They sat in silence for several minutes. Hattie finally whispered, "It's like we're the only two people in the entire world. I'm not sure I like the feeling."
He took her hand and squeezed it. "Do you want to go back?"
"No." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's beautiful and awe-inspiring, and a little frightening to be honest, but I wouldn't have missed this for anything. Can you imagine what it must be like here during a hurricane?"
Luc chuckled. "I don't even want to think about it."
They sat hand in hand for a long time, wrapped in a cocoon of darkness and the intimacy of complete isolation. Far out across the waves, traces of phosphorescence lent a ghostly aura to the night.
Eventually, by unspoken consent, they made their way back around to the campsite. After a quick visit to the Spartan toilet facilities near the dock, they met back at the tent and stood facing each other.
Luc lifted a hand and traced her chin with his thumb. "It's not too late to change your mind. We have a perfectly good king-size bed back at the hotel. I can wait if you'd rather."
She took a step closer, leaning into his chest. "I want you, Luc … tonight."
Fifteen
She felt his chest lift and fall as a shuddering breath escaped his lungs. He wrapped his arms around her. "Do you need a few minutes in the tent to get ready?"
"Yes," she muttered, her throat tight with nervousness. He handed her the small flashlight. She unzipped the tent and knelt to climb in, carefully removing her shoes and leaving them in a corner so no sand would find its way into their comfy sleeping space.
Luc had spread thick, soft sleeping bags on top of a single, large, cushiony air mattress. Since it was too hot to sleep inside the bags, he had also procured crisp cotton sheets complete with small pillows tucked inside lace-edged cases. The resulting effect was one part Out of Africa and two parts Pretty Woman, a stage unmistakably set for seduction.
Earlier, Hattie had regarded the tent as pleasantly roomy. Now, with Luc standing somewhere outside, it felt surprisingly claustrophobic, especially when she imagined Luc's large frame dominating the enclosed space.
She picked up her overnight case and found her toiletry bag. After quickly cleaning her face, she stripped off her clothes, thankful that the evening swim had left her skin feeling cool, if a bit salty. Luc had thought to bring a small container of fresh water, so she dampened a cloth and used it to further freshen up.
At Luc's murmured request, she passed the water container and a clean towel out to him. While he was presumably taking care of his ablutions, she found a tube of scented lotion and applied it to her elbows and legs and one or two other interesting spots.
She pulled out the lilac gown and slipped it over her head, relishing the feel of the silk against her bare skin. When she was done, she tucked the flashlight under Luc's pillow, leaving only the smallest beam of light to illuminate the tent.
Taking a deep breath and smoothing her hair, she called out. "I'm ready."
The tent flap peeled back instantly, and she saw him place his shoes and the water canister inside at the foot of the tent before he crawled in, immediately dwarfing the tiny space. He had already undressed.
Hattie's heart stopped for a split second, and then lurched back into service with an unsteady beat. Even her ploy with the flashlight didn't disguise his impressive attributes. She put a hand against her breastbone, feeling a bit like a Regency virgin in need of smelling salts.
Luc zipped the tent flap shut, tossed a few foil packets beside his pillow, and then stretched out with a sigh onto the comfortable bedding. He lay on his side facing her, leaning on his elbow with one leg propped up, looking like a centerfold.
Only, he was real. Here. In the flesh.
Hattie remained seated, her spine stiff as a poker, her legs paralyzed in a pretzel position. He patted the space beside him, and she saw him smile. "You're too far away," he complained.
She uncurled her legs and scooted closer, still leaving a healthy distance between them.
He reached out and smoothed a hand over her thigh covered in lilac silk. "I'm betting you didn't order this little number from L.L. Bean," he said, the words laced with amusement.
Suddenly, he reached behind him and picked up the flashlight, momentarily blinding her when he pointed it in her direction. He focused the tiny beam of light on her left shoulder.