Wicked Sexy(30)

Daeg was leaving.

She knew that in her heart. She didn’t need to see his bold scrawl in the guestbook— thanks for the

good times— to know he’d packed up his battered duffel and gone back to town. Today or tomorrow, he’d be on the ferry for the mainland and she wouldn’t see him again for months or for years.

Perhaps forever.

Her grandparents knew all about breaking rules. Fifty years ago, they’d cashed in their savings, hopped the ferry to Discovery Island and bought the plot of land that had become Sweet Moon. “How did you do

it?”

“Jump ship?”

“Yes. Get off the ship early, follow Granddad. All of it.”

“Who do you think put the idea in his head?” Her grandmother grinned at her.

She tried again. “I’d have stayed on board.”

“Would you have been alone?”

That was the question. “What if I wasn’t? What if he got off, but I was too chicken to follow him?”

“And this someone would be a person you care about?”

She felt as though her grandmother could see straight through her.

“Yes.”

Her grandmother’s hand rested on hers. “Then it’s not too late,” she said. “Whoever he is, go after him.

Bring him back.”

Dani lifted her head, not wanting to meet those familiar eyes of her grandmother. She always seemed

one step ahead of Dani. Dani only felt regret now—and admitted the truth. “He’s gone.”

“Sure.” Her grandmother made a sour face. “But gone doesn’t mean never coming back. ”

“In this case, it does.” She thought about Daeg’s last words. He was right, of course.

Her grandmother chuckled softly. “I know that look. Your grandfather inspires it all the time. Some

men weren’t made easy.”

“He’s stubborn.”

“So are you.”

“Am I?” She didn’t know. Didn’t know if it was just fear of the unknown or fear of taking a chance.

Watching her father upend their lives over and over, betting on each new real estate deal to set them right, she’d decided years ago that risks were bad and safety good. But how did she know that her decision was the right one?

“You don’t,” her grandmother said, as if she’d read Dani’s mind. “There’s no telling whether you’ve

decided good or bad, not until everything’s over and you’re looking back on your life. But even then, you’ve made the decisions you have and for good reasons. You’re a sensible person, Dani, but you still

have to live your life.” She smiled and gave Dani’s hand a comforting pat. “You going to give me a name, tell me who you’re bringing back to Discovery Island?”

Saying it out loud would make it real. Would put into words the chance she wanted to finally take. She

could sit here and let him go. Or, more accurately, watch him go because there was no letting Daeg Ross do anything. The man did what he wanted, when he wanted. He was a force of nature. Her grandmother had

said it—life with him wouldn’t always be easy. No, but it might be wonderful. Wonderful should be what

she was looking for, not steady and predictable.

“Daeg Ross,” she said out loud, watching her grandmother’s face for a reaction.

Her grandmother didn’t look surprised. Of course, she’d also checked the guest book and Dani might

have mentioned him. “He always did like looking at you,” she said conspiratorially. “When you were both in school.”

“He never said anything.” Or if he had, not to her.

Instead, he’d pushed her away, all “look but don’t touch.”

Her grandmother laughed. “Certainly, he didn’t. He was what, five years older than you? Those years

don’t mean much now, but when you were teenagers that was all the difference in the world. He was a

young man when you were still a child. It wouldn’t have been right.”

“You think it could work?” She didn’t know why she was asking her grandmother impossible

questions. After all, sometimes there were no answers, and Dani already knew how horribly wrong a

relationship could go. Just making Daeg hers for a handful of nights had been a huge departure for her.

She’d taken that chance in the bedroom, and Daeg had more than proved he was one hot lover—and she’d

met him kiss for kiss. But was that enough? What was enough to make the transition from weekend lovers

to long-term, committed types?

“You have to take that chance, Dani. He hasn’t given you any reason to believe he won’t be there for

you tomorrow, the day after or the year after, has he? Maybe you’ll have your tomorrows in different ports

—and maybe he’ll be first off the boat...or you will be. There is no formula for happily ever after, Dani.

What counts is that you’re both part of the equation.”

She wanted that chance, she realized.

She needed that chance.





19

“YOU COULD GO for a drive,” her grandmother had recommended. “You could go look for Daeg

Ross.”

Now, with her grandmother’s words ringing in her ear, she was here out on the beach. A quick check-in

at Deep Dive had revealed that Daeg wasn’t at the shop. Cal had pointed her toward the beach and, sucking up her courage, she’d gone.

Spotting a search-and-rescue soldier wasn’t difficult. Six foot two inches of male gorgeous, her Mr.

Right was straddling that motorcycle of his on the hot asphalt, staring out at the water. His powerful thighs grasped the sides of the bike and his boots were planted firmly on the ground. The aviator sunglasses

pulled down low over his eyes made it impossible to see what he was looking at exactly, but she knew. His eyes were fixed on the horizon and his thoughts probably on getting away from Discovery Island.

“You want something?” He posed the question when she got close, but he didn’t turn around.

Yes. She did. She wanted him and everything that entailed. Slow, sleepy mornings spent in his arms.

Rides to nowhere or somewhere on his bike, checking out the island and figuring out how and where they

could build a life together. All the little minutes that made up a day, and the earthshaking, heart-stopping moments, too, when things went really right or really, really wrong. She just didn’t know how to tell him.

“I do.” She stepped up beside the bike and noticed its smooth, black frame. Sleek and powerful, too. He didn’t move, didn’t give her any encouragement. She had to do this by herself. For them. “I want to talk.”

“Okay...talk.” He removed his sunglasses. His gaze was direct and unyielding. That was okay. She’d

decided to fight for what she wanted and she was going to get it. For them.

“I did some soul searching about what you said in the cabin yesterday, about how you felt.”

“I suggested you take a chance. Maybe believe in us,” he interjected, his mouth quirking.

He had. Staring deeply into his eyes, she realized some things were easier to turn off than others.

Stopping the flood of desire coursing through her, for instance, was downright impossible. She wanted to run her hands over Daeg’s broad shoulders; she knew the strength his arms could give. Her gaze tracked

down the rest of his strong, lethal body and she—

He coughed. “Earth to Dani?”

Oh, right. Her explanation.

She shrugged helplessly. “Daeg, I’m always going to overthink things. You need to understand that.

You jump in, feetfirst, and I’ll be there on the sidelines, shouting advice and encouragement.”

“And criticism,” he muttered.

“Probably,” she admitted. “But I’d like to think we’d be on the same team, working together. The night

of the storm—”

“That was pretty intense,” he confessed.

“You came for me.” That was the plain truth. “You held on to me then and didn’t let go. I’m hoping

you’ll do it again.”

It was his turn, she thought, as his dark eyes slowly traced a path down her body. “You don’t look like you need rescuing now.”

“Well,” she said and licked her lips, “we could make something up. Explore. And I’m fairly certain that if I hang out with you long enough, there’s going to be some hair-raising, adrenaline-spiking adventures that I’ll absolutely need rescuing from. Or you can always rescue me from myself, if I hang on too long or refuse to jump in feetfirst. And I’ll return the favor. When you need rescuing, I’ll pull you out.”

He gave her the widest smile she’d ever seen; the depth of emotion on his face rocked her to her core.

He was hurting here, too. “I’m no hero, Dani. I told you that. My last mission, my partner didn’t come up.”

“That was an accident.” She wanted to pull him into her arms, hold him tight, but instead she stood

there on the beach next to him and struggled for the right words. She had to convince him that he was the man she’d come to know, reliable, trustworthy, honorable...hot. She smiled back at him. “That was terrible, what happened to your teammate, but it was beyond your control. If there was anything you could have

done, you would have done it. You hang on, Daeg. You always hang on when anyone else would let go.