“Now, on top of Travis and Georgia, I keep dreaming about Dona Isabella. It makes me think that I am losing it and I certainly had no right coming here and getting you and David involved. Except that, of course, I don’t think these nightmares will ever stop if…if there can’t be an answer somewhere out there.”
“Hey!” He found himself smoothing back her hair. “It’s all right. I understand. And David and I aren’t coming into this blindly. We know what happened. We consider ourselves worthy of the task, honestly. We’re good at what we do, and we know how to defend ourselves. Liam is a cop, and he’s coming. We’ll stack the decks with the right people, Vanessa.”
She looked up at him. “How? You were saying that you weren’t getting exactly what you wanted, so many of your friends were already involved in projects.”
“It will happen. I’m going to try to recruit old Marty, and maybe even Jamie. It will be fine. Tomorrow, we’ll do some more shooting on the reef with the four of us working and see how it falls out.”
“Lew will come to the beach again. He was there, and he saw,” she said.
“Lew…?”
“Our Bahamian guide,” she said.
“Of course,” he said. “David has already sent ahead to the Bahamian government, getting film permits and letting them know our location plans. We’ll soon need a list of the crew, though I believe he’s submitted certain names already…. Listen, about your screaming…”
“Yes?”
“Never be afraid if you scream in the night here. We’ve had our share of fear and dread, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of when it regards fear,” he said.
He wanted to melt into her being suddenly. Those eyes. Huge and blue and staring so trustingly into his.
Great. When holding her made every sexual instinct in him scream away in silent agony.
Yes, come to my house, it will be perfectly safe! he mocked himself.
She smiled.
“Do you want me to stay here? Until you fall asleep?” he asked her.
“Oh, I really couldn’t ask you to do that,” she said, offering a small laugh. “And I’m sorry. It is embarrassing. I am competent! And you’ll never believe that if I keep screaming in the middle of the night.”
“Apples and oranges,” he assured her.
She smiled again. “Stay,” she said.
“Your wish, my command,” he told her. “Well, for tonight, anyway.”
That brought a true smile to her lips. She crawled up to one side of the bed. “Really awkward, huh? I was about to plump the pillow, asking you to come up. But that would be rather…oh, God, the whole situation is very…”
He laughed. “Premature. That’s all. Quite frankly, every time I see you, I’m more under some kind of a spell. I’m fascinated with your knowledge and talents. And there’s the simple fact that you love the water as much as I do. Then again, it could be how beautiful you are. God knows, you’re probably vibrant and vital when you sleep. Stop me if there’s someone in your life and I’m going on ridiculously,” he said.
“There’s no one in my life. Dating is really out of the question when you’re the wrong kind of screamer,” she said dryly.
He laughed and moved up to the pillow. He drew her head down on his chest. “Sleep, my dear, in comfort, I hope. You’re safe from the evils of the world—and me—for the night.”
“I think you might be too good to be true,” she whispered.
“Oh, nothing is that good, and certainly not me,” he assured her gruffly.
He smoothed her hair. It felt like silk.
He felt her breathing against him. Felt her warmth, her form, close to his.
A sense of longing filled him. Not just the burning need for sex she could create.
Longing. For something more.
Tonight, he would be content.
Thank God, she didn’t scream again. Waking, Vanessa opened her eyes and realized that she was sprawled atop Sean. For a moment, she didn’t dare move, and then she did so. He was awake, watching her. She flushed and winced.
“I’m so sorry. Did you sleep all right?” she asked him.
“Beautifully,” he assured her.
“Thank you for staying with me.”
“My pleasure.”
“Sure.”
“Well, it could have been greater pleasure,” he teased.
She grew serious. “I didn’t ask last night, what about you?” she asked him. “Is there any involvement in your life?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t been home that long. Before, I moved too much. The Black Sea, the Great Barrier Reef. Loch Ness. The Great Lakes. The Bahamas.”
“You’ve really been everywhere,” she noted.
“Everywhere—and nowhere,” he murmured. He rolled over and rose. “I’ll put coffee on. Are you a breakfast person? I’m a decent cook—that’s what happens when you live on boats half the time. You get desperate and learn how to cook.”
“But no laundry, eh?” she teased.
“Hey, I packed enough for what I needed. Laundry was done onshore. Eating is a necessity on a daily basis. So, you a breakfast person?”
“Sure, only I help cook,” she said.
He nodded. “Actually, there’s already coffee on. Programmed it last night. I’m going to jump in the shower. Help yourself whenever you’re ready.”