Wicked Sexy(9)

would she do if she had him here, down on the faux-fur throw in front of that heat? Would she strip off his shirt again, admire all that golden, bare skin? Would she tell him how and where she wanted to be touched?

Or maybe she’d just want a conversation. A little heart-to-heart in the dim light. Those could be good

moments, too. Her pen flew. If he stretched out one long arm, pulled her in close for another hot kiss, what would she do then?

Swimming naked was out because no amount of fantasizing was going to make her forget the ocean

came with critters, but her cabin had a private hot tub on the back porch. What would she do if she

happened to be soaking amid the bubbles and Daeg Ross showed up? His boots would hit those steps, the

worn denim clinging to his backside as he bent toward her and dipped his fingers into the warm water.

Would she invite him in? Yes. Or, she could leave him standing there. Watching. Teasing could be fun.

She included these ideas in her columns. She was probably the only woman on Discovery Island with

an organized list of fantasies but hey, she’d spent a lifetime preparing actuarial charts. This was a lot more fun.

Setting the pad aside on the bedside table, she flopped back onto the pillows. For now, it was just her and her fantasies.





5

BY THREE O’CLOCK the following afternoon, Dani knew it was time to go.

The weather forecast was bad and the National Hurricane Center had issued multiple tropical storm

advisories. The winds barreling up the Pacific toward Discovery were on track to become a category-one

hurricane. For now, that meant rain and more rain, but the longer-term prognosis was ominous. The

residents of Discovery Island were already moving into a more secure shelter in the middle of town.

She needed to do that, too. For once, she was glad that Sweet Moon was light on guests. The young

couple vacationing for the first time together had opted to head to the mainland earlier that day, despite the ferry’s choppy ride, so that left just the older couple in cabin five.

The rain coming down wasn’t bad yet, but it was steady and creating plenty of puddles in the driveway.

Grabbing an umbrella, she ran to the Ramseys’ cabin. Either they agreed to follow her into town or she had to rethink the evac plan. If this storm was as strong as the forecasters were predicting, the Ramseys were far better off at the community center. There’d be food and water, medical supplies and plenty of volunteers.

Mr. Ramsey swung the door open as soon as she knocked. That was a positive sign. He was dressed for

the outdoors as well, a rain slicker open over his sweater and cords. Better and better.

“We’re asking all our guests to head into town now to the storm shelter.” She met his eyes and waited

for him to react. She couldn’t force him to leave, but she had an arsenal of facts ready if he protested.

“On it.” He stepped away from the door, gesturing behind him to the mound of suitcases. Mrs. Ramsey

wasn’t a believer in traveling light—to Sweet Moon or anywhere else, apparently. “Let me put that lot in the car and we’ll go.”

She gave him her best professional smile. “Follow me and I’ll show you where the shelter is.”

She took their matched set of roller bags and headed for the Ramseys’ rental car. Daeg’s cabin looked

plenty empty as she splashed past it, the lights off and the Jeep missing. He’d left her a terse message that he was going to Deep Dive, so he’d be fine.

Thirty cautious minutes later, she had the Ramseys inside the shelter and a whole new problem on her

hands.

“I forgot my Friday,” Mr. Ramsey said apologetically.

“Excuse me?” She could feel the headache starting behind her eyes.

“I left my pills behind,” he explained, although how the couple could find anything in that mountain of luggage was a miracle. Apparently, however, Mr. Ramsey had parted company with his days-of-the-week

pill carrier without taking the day’s meds. Anxiously, his wife patted down his pockets before turning their bags inside out.

Again.

“What do you take?” Maybe the pharmacy here in town could replace whatever it was he’d lost. The list

Mr. Ramsey rattled off was impressively lengthy, and some of it sounded far from routine. She tried to

think while Mrs. Ramsey continued to ransack their possessions.

“I’ll just pop back to the cabin,” he told her, “and grab the pills. I must have left them on the bedside table.”

She shook her head. She didn’t care for wet-weather driving, but she couldn’t unleash Mr. Ramsey on

those roads. He’d driven at a snail’s pace into town, and he wouldn’t make it to Sweet Moon and back

before the worst of the storm moved in.

It was better if she took care of it herself. It was raining harder now, but she knew the drill and was familiar with these roads. If she drove carefully, the storm wouldn’t be a problem. “I’ll go,” she said.

Mr. Ramsey opened his mouth to argue, looked out the window and thanked her.





DEEP DIVE’S COMMAND center was the civilian incident hub for the island’s storm response.

Working closely with the coast guard and Homeland Security, Daeg had been monitoring the Doppler radar

map, tracking the storm’s movement over the ocean. The satellite imagery showed an average-size storm,

but the surface winds were strong, and that meant storm surge would be a concern. The anticipation of the storm had them all on edge. They were ready for this fight. Ready to do whatever they could to lessen the hurt and destruction that was surely coming their way.

Brennan was wedded to the frequent weather updates on the coast guard’s emergency channel, but they

were mostly for the mainland. Flooding had started there; it would get worse out here on the island. The long-range cameras positioned around the island showed all too clearly that conditions on the ground were getting worse. The island’s main road was already underwater in many places.

Daeg shoved away from the counter and stepped outside on the covered porch. The sky was all storm

now. It was almost impossible to see more than a few feet. Rain whipped down vertically, soaking

everything. Deep Dive’s backup generator was online, and they had freestanding generators ready to deploy around town after the storm passed. Emergency supplies had been distributed to the shelters, the island’s residents contacted and the list of key personnel and contractors for recovery efforts afterward activated.

From where Daeg stood, he had a ringside view of the unstoppable storm. The waves were a feral roar

of sound as they pounded against the beach. He needed to go in, dry off and possibly consider moving to higher ground, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the siren’s lure of the water.

He couldn’t do anything about the storm tearing up the island—no one could. But he and his buddies

were determined to do everything to mitigate the danger, to pit themselves against those waves, see what they could wrestle back from the angry wind and water. That was why he’d probably be re-upping when

his R & R was over in a month. Sitting still wasn’t something he did well.

Inside, the phone signaled an incoming call. He took a final glance at the bay. That wind had to be

pushing more than fifty knots out there. That there was still any cell phone service was a small miracle.

Brennan beat him to the phone, punching buttons to put the call on speaker and upping the volume to

hear it over the wailing storm. “Deep Dive.”

The woman’s voice on the other end was familiar, her greeting muffled. “Cal, it’s Dani.”

Instantly, Daeg’s heart spiked. This wasn’t a social call.

“I’m out near Sweet Moon,” she continued. She was speaking rapidly, barely concealing the obvious

panic in her voice. She sounded breathless. Concerned.

“You don’t stay put in a storm like this one,” Brennan bit out. “Not unless you’ve got some solid walls and a room full of supplies. There’s a shelter at the community center. You should be there.”

Daeg had helped Brennan transform the center into an impromptu shelter earlier that afternoon, hauling

loads of bottled water and mattresses to the site. The main room had no windows and the construction was comparatively new, which made it a good place for the island’s civvies to hole up safely and wait out the storm.

“I know.” Dani paused, then pushed on. “I brought the guests into town, but then I had to drive back

for some meds. I’m just down the road from the cabins, but now I’m not sure I can make it.”

Brennan muttered a curse and launched into an explanation as to exactly why Dani needed to be taking

shelter, rather than being out in a car. Too late for words, as far as Daeg could tell, so he got moving, assembling the necessary gear. The only route to Sweet Moon was low coastal road—and the long-range

cameras had shown sections under water. The rest would flood soon, if it hadn’t already.

Dani’s next words confirmed that suspicion.

“There’s water all around the car, Cal. I don’t think I should get out.”

Hell. Daeg dialed back his own knee-jerk reaction to Dani being out in this storm. She needed help and she knew it. Tag was coordinating the shelter and Brennan was doubling as an on-call EMT for the town, so he couldn’t leave right now.

Daeg could.