Cambry was wrong: It hadn’t taken a bikini for Lassiter to be fully aware that Margaret was a woman and not a “kid.” In spite of the almost childlike honesty and simplicity that she exhibited on occasion, her sexuality was undeniable.
And it was damn difficult to ignore so that he wouldn’t scare her off while he was treading delicate ground.
In fact, it wouldn’t be ignored at this particular moment. Lust. Pure lust.
“I’ll go get her a towel.” He spun around and headed for the cabins. “Keep an eye on her.”
“Oh, I will.” Cambry chuckled. “Since it’s absolutely clear that it’s no longer comfortable for you to do it.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“You’ve been swimming for three hours,” Lassiter called. He was standing at the rail, holding a large orange beach towel. “It’s time to come in. I’m tired of mounting a shark patrol.”
She reluctantly started to swim back to the ship. “I saw you with that rifle. You would have been careful not to shoot a dolphin or a—”
“Nothing that wasn’t attacking you with big sharp teeth.” He reached down and pulled her out of the water and onto the deck. “But I was wondering if you were ever coming out.” He wrapped the huge orange towel around her. “I thought you were going for a dip, not a marathon.”
“I like the sea.” She felt relaxed and warm and mellow. Most of the tension she had been feeling before had faded away in those few hours. She started drying her hair with the corner of her towel. “And I was pretty much alone out there. Actually, I was hoping for company. Maybe a school of dolphins…”
“Friends from the deep?”
“Maybe. You can’t be sure of dolphins, though I’ve never had trouble with them. But they’re always interesting. Killer whales are different, but they—”
“You’ve worked with them?” He pulled the towel, which had slipped to her waist, back over her shoulders. “I’ve never run across any mention of that.”
“Good.” She grinned at him. “That means that I still have some places that are still my own. That was at an experimental project in Seattle.”
“I didn’t get to your U.S. experience until San Diego. I concentrated on the Caribbean.”
“But you would have turned your attention to the United States when you found out that I’d moved on to San Diego?”
“Of course. One bit of information leads to another.”
“There’s one thing that’s been worrying me about your ‘bits of information.’” She stopped drying her hair to look up at him. “You traced Devon’s phone and found out where I was. The way technology is today, I’m sure that you were able to tap my phone conversations and call history after you located me. What did you find out?”
He was silent a moment. “I found out where you worked from a call you made to the office to check your schedule.”
“And what else?”
He tilted his head and gazed at her thoughtfully. “This is important to you, which might be bad for me. I’m tempted to lie to you.” He shrugged. “But I promised I wouldn’t lie. You had a conversation with an Eve Duncan. You’d talked to her before, about eight months ago. You also spoke to a Kendra Michaels about the same time. I haven’t gone beyond that time frame.”
“And you won’t,” she said quietly. “You leave Eve and Kendra alone. You’ve delved enough into my past. I made a new life when I got to the United States, and I won’t let anyone be hurt by what I left behind.”
“It’s a big mistake to let me know you’re vulnerable in that area, Margaret,” he said quietly. “If I hadn’t decided to go in a different direction with you, then I could have used it. More than likely I would have done just that.”
“Oh, I’ll warn Eve and Kendra,” she said. “And they’re strong enough to take care of themselves. But I wanted to tell you that it has to stop or I won’t be able to trust you.” Her lips curved in the ghost of a smile. “And whatever game you’re playing now involves my trusting you, maybe even liking you. Isn’t that right?”
He nodded slowly. “That’s right, Margaret.” He smiled. “And I can accept leaving your friends entirely out of whatever we’re doing together.” He firmly tucked the towel around her for the third time. “And now it’s time for you to go down and shower and change. I’ll help Cambry with supper and make it absolutely mouthwatering to increase my likability factor.”
“It’s not going to work, you know.”
“You can never tell. We’ll just have to see, won’t we? Now go shower and get dressed. If you can manage to get down there without dropping the damn towel again.”
“I’m almost dry anyway. I don’t need it.” She started to take the towel off. “What’s the big fuss about any—” She broke off as she met his eyes. Her chest felt suddenly tight and she inhaled sharply. But that caused her nipples to brush against the damp material. She felt heat when there should have been only coolness. “Oh. That.”
“That,” he repeated. “You’ve got to be the least self-aware person on the planet, Margaret. I admit, it stuns me.”
“About sex?” She moistened her lips. “I don’t think about it all the time, but I’m definitely aware. I guess I just didn’t expect you to be thinking about it. After all, I’m not some kind of sex kitten or anything like that. And your mind hasn’t been on anything but getting me to Nicos.”
“It wasn’t my mind that was involved. I’m damn sexual, Margaret,” he said drily. “And I was doing pretty well until I brought the tension down and you decided to take off your clothes.”
“Not all of them.”
“Enough.”
“Okay, I won’t do it again.” She frowned. “But it shouldn’t entirely lie on my shoulders. You really should have better control. Like I said, I’m no—”
“Margaret,” he said slowly and precisely. “I’m going to say this once and not again. I look at you and I see warmth and heat and I want to stretch out my hand and touch you. All the time, anytime. It’s been that way since that first night, when you jumped off the boat. Maybe it’s just one of my idiosyncrasies. And you may not be what is popularly known as a sex symbol, but whatever you are is someone I want to drag into bed to indulge in every erotic variation ever invented. So don’t talk to me about control.”
She realized her mouth was open and she closed it and swallowed. “Okay, I won’t. It just surprised me. But I guess everyone has someone who appeals to them in some way that’s not … usual.”
He stared at her, then shook his head and gave her a faint smile. “I don’t know about everyone. I only know about me. And if you mean by ‘not usual’ that I’m a little twisted, I don’t believe that’s the case. And you’re insulting yourself and me.”