As difficult as it was, he let her go. There was much he still didn’t understand, but he recognized her fear. For whatever reason, the intense attraction between them caused her to pull back. He sensed the only way to reassure her was to prove they could control the passion. Easier said than done, he thought. He drew deep breaths, trying to concentrate on the waves crashing against the shore instead of Carly’s ragged breathing. Proof she wanted him, too.
In silence they lay on their backs and stared at the wide expanse of sky. White puffy clouds dotted an otherwise clear blue backdrop.
“Beautiful,” she murmured.
He glanced over at her. “Sure is.”
“Mike?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s it like dropping into the world’s hot spots?”
He stiffened. Her choice of topic surprised him, but he couldn’t bring himself to be anything but honest with her. “Exciting.”
“Dangerous?” Carly asked. Because the thought of Mike in the center of some war-torn country or worse sent goose bumps chasing along her skin.
“Sometimes.”
She wondered how she’d feel, knowing he was putting himself in danger, not knowing if he’d make it back home alive and in one piece. She shivered from the sudden chill. He drew her close, probably mistaking the impact of her turbulent emotions for a reaction to the cool ocean breeze.
Her head lay in the crook of his shoulder and she savored the closeness they’d found on an emotional level. “Why do it?” she asked.
“It’s not for the glory or the thrill of cheating death, though there are some guys who feel that way.” His warm breath fanned her hair. “I’m not sure exactly, but I like knowing I’ve made a difference. That maybe one picture prevented someone somewhere from starving to death or being killed.”
Aid those in need. Did he realize how similar his goals were to her own? “Sort of like the reason for my column.”
“How so?”
She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud. “So many kids have no one to talk to. I hope at least one person is able to make a tough choice because someone cared enough to listen.”
During the worst period of her life, no one had been there for her. No one had listened. Her mother had refused to discuss the tragedy or the impact on their lives, leaving a teenager to cope alone. She couldn’t turn to her obviously grieving father, and besides, her anger at him wouldn’t allow her to. She hoped some teenager used her column to vent feelings he didn’t feel free to express at home.
“We’re some pair.” He chuckled aloud. “We sound like avenging angels.”
“I’m no angel. I’m just making sure no kid thinks he has to go it alone.”
“Like you did?”
Carly pushed herself to a sitting position and stared. She wanted to lash out, to shout at him. Stop finishing my sentences. Stop reading my mind. He was getting too close and it frightened her. “How...”
“Educated guess.”
Obviously she was easy to read. Mike brushed the grains of sand from her back. After this roll in the sand, she’d need another shower. Unwilling to drop the subject at least until she learned what she wanted from him, Carly glanced over. “So what are your reasons for playing the Good Samaritan role?” Some deep, dark secret like her own? she wondered.
“Nothing I haven’t already told you. When you grow up without, you tend to overcompensate. This latest escapade with Pete drove that point home.”
At the mention of her ex-fiancé’s name, she waited for the pain of betrayal to surface. It never came. Relief, pure and sweet, flooded her. “How so?” she asked Mike.
“He thinks money and power will make up for all he missed. He doesn’t realize that material wealth won’t replace love.”
Why had he chosen that particular word? She whipped her head around expecting to meet his potent gaze. Instead, Mike was staring out at the ocean, one hand rubbing his right shoulder hard.
She studied him. His muscled physique created waves of longing, but what did she feel for this man that was so different than anything she’d ever experienced? Was it to be savored as something special or feared as an extension of her father’s legacy? It was about time she found out.
Her future was at stake.
“So Peter’s looking for money and power to make him happy.” Which cemented what she’d already known—the reasons why he’d gotten and remained engaged to her. “But what are you looking for?” she asked Mike. “All the travel, the danger—are you running?” she asked softly.
He didn’t respond.
She placed a hand on his arm. “I think you are.” Which made them very much the same, Carly thought sadly. “The question is, when will you stop?” When would she?