Tom started up the steps, his boots clanking against the iron. She followed after him, and the higher they rose, the more she could feel the power of the wind swaying the structure. It was sturdy enough to withstand a great deal of weathering and battering. Even so, she held onto the rail tightly as she ascended. When they reached the top, he climbed through the hatch first and then held out his hand and helped her up.
As she straightened, she glanced around with interest. The lantern in the middle was unlit, but the glass prisms of the Fresnel lens shone like polished crystal. The windows, too, were perfectly clear, without a handprint or speck of dirt. Even the metal floor was scrubbed clean.
Outside, the foaming ocean waves crashed on one side and the sandy hills with beach grass covered the other. The long grass was dry and yellowing from the hot summer and was bent nearly to the ground by the wind.
“I’ve always loved being up in a lighthouse tower,” she said. “There aren’t too many other places quite as beautiful.”
He took in the landscape too, his features softening with satisfaction. Then he reached for a brass nautical spyglass on a tall table that sat next to the galley door. He lengthened the mechanism and peered through the glass at the narrowed end. He was quiet and intent for a moment before speaking. “They’re still there.”
He passed the spyglass to her, and she held it to her eye, pointing it in the same direction he’d looked just seconds ago. She held it steady, but all she saw were the daunting waves with their foamy caps.
“Here.” He moved behind her so that his chest touched her back. He reached around and put his hand over hers on the spyglass. His fingers were both strong and gentle, and he tilted her to the north.
“Do you see anything now?” His voice rumbled near her ear. For a second she was too distracted by his nearness to pay attention to what she was viewing on the other end of the spyglass. She could only think about the contours of his chest pushed against her, his arm brushing hers, and his breath tickling her neck.
She tried to focus again. “What am I looking for?”
He took the spyglass from her, looked into it for a minute, and then carefully, without moving his aim, lowered it to her eye.
She attempted to be just as careful and focused as best she could. After a few seconds she saw a whale burst from the water and splash down on its back into the waves. “Oh, my!” Before she could say anything else, another whale, this one slightly smaller, arched out of the water and twisted, with its long flippers extended, exposing its white underside.
“Incredible,” she whispered, awestruck.
“They’re humpbacks.” His voice was laced with awe too.
As she watched, one of the whales lifted its fluked tail out of the water and splashed it back down. “They’re beautiful.”
“Some say they’re being hunted to the brink of extinction,” he said.
She lost sight of the majestic creatures and handed the spyglass back. He didn’t move but relaxed against her, putting the spyglass to his eye and watching the distance.
“Did you know they only eat in the summer?” he asked.
She settled back into his hold. “How can they survive the winter?”
“They feed off their stores of fat.”
She couldn’t see the whales anymore but was content to rest in his arms and listen to him talk about the whales, their feeding habits, migration patterns, and the singing done by male whales and the fact that the songs could last for ten to twenty minutes.
“Have you ever heard them sing?” she asked.
“Plenty of times.”
“Then sing one of their songs for me.”
“No.”
“Oh, please.” She craned her head and smiled up at him. “I’m curious to know what a whale song sounds like.”
He took the spyglass away from his eye and cocked his brow. “Do I look like a whale?”
She pretended to study him. “Maybe a little.”
The corners of his mouth twitched with the beginning of a smile. “In what way?”
“You’re big and strong.”
His grin broke free. “I’m still not singing.”
“Please. Please. Please.” She twisted so that she was facing him.
“Never.”
“Then you’ll force me to take drastic measures.”
Again he lifted one of his brows, revealing the humor in his eyes. “I’d like to see what you think is drastic.”
She smiled. Then before he could stop her, she tickled his stomach. He didn’t budge. She tried his sides,