Shipwrecked with Mr. Wrong - By Nikki Logan Page 0,35

her moments to understand what was different. What was missing. Then shame knifed through her.

The ache belonged to Nate and Justin. Like the scars, it reminded her daily they were gone. On the best days, she woke with a light heart, then the pain flooded in with the memories. But sometimes she could hold the pain at bay for a moment and remember, just briefly, how it had once felt to wake like that every day. Once, so long ago.

Like today. No pain. Her breath came easier, her back was straighter, there was none of the nausea she’d learned to live with and the crushing pressure on her soul wasn’t there.

She closed her eyes against the fear that it was disloyal to have woken so ache-free.

Or did that blessed lightness belong to something different? The kisses she’d shared with Rob last night?

Familiar nausea kicked in and the weight redoubled. It hadn’t gone far at all.

Honor pulled her hair into a ponytail, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts and slipped her feet into raspberry-coloured thongs, trying, all the while, not to think about those kisses. She’d drifted off to sleep at dawn trying not to think about them and had proceeded to dream heartily all night—day—of those expert lips on her face, her mouth. How every cell in her body had turned to jelly as his breath tickled her neck, the moment his tongue finally worked its way into her mouth.

She’d never been kissed quite like it. That was no slur on Nate, any more than acknowledging Rob’s superior skill as a diver or a sailor. There were plenty of things Nate would have bettered Rob at.

Particle science. Sudoku. Lawn mowing.

He’d been older when they’d met. Older and more serious. And his kisses were warm and sweet and made her feel utterly treasured. Even if they’d never made her feel quite like a woman. The way she felt when Rob so much as smiled at her.

Outside, she stretched and glanced around tentatively. Damn it, how was she going to get on with her work if she was too scared to step outside her tent? There were only five days before the supply boat returned with her next batch of supplies. Before Rob’s boat would be fixed. Less than a week—that was survivable. What passed between them last night wasn’t. Five long days to ensure they never crossed the line again.

She put her hand to her chest. Did the ache just intensify?

For all his interruptions to her routine, she had to admit Rob also brought a refreshing energy and outlook. He was the human equivalent to the frigatebirds—large and in-your-face, but free, fearless and windswept.

There was something to be said for fearlessness.

Honor sighed. She’d told herself she had done all the thinking she was going to about her handsome interloper. In a few days, he’d be on his way back to civilisation and his time marooned in the Indian Ocean with her would just be a great story to carry around like a drink at cocktail parties.

The thought hurt a little.

A lot.

‘Good morning.’ Rob walked back into camp from the lagoon, dressed in nothing more than board shorts and deck shoes, his usual attire. Would she even recognise him with clothes on? ‘I have a proposition for you.’

That devilish glint in his eye was beginning to grow on her. She took a deep breath. ‘Another one?’

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. When had he stopped playing that game?

‘A more decent proposition.’ The lively sparkle in his eye caught her interest and she waited while he came closer. He took her hand and led her to her favourite log.

I need to be sitting down for this? Uh oh...

‘I would like to take you diving, Honor.’

Her gut turned over and her pulse immediately responded to her panic. Rob’s gentle hand on her shoulder prevented her from leaping up.

‘Hear me out. Not like before, not me diving, you cooling your heels on deck. Both of us, exploring the reef, together.’

Acid burned low in her throat as nausea threatened. Fear wobbled in her voice. ‘I don’t know how to dive.’ It was an excuse, of course, but also the truth.

‘Snorkelling, really; just diving as far as your lungs can take you. There’s so much beauty down there, Honor. You’ve got to see it.’ Blue eyes sparkled with sincerity and hope.

Why on earth did he think this was a good idea?

‘No, Rob. You can’t ask me to do that.’

‘I’m not asking, I’m offering. If you say no I’ll