you on this bluff—”
“No bluff.”
“We’re already late. Put on a swimsuit, grab a wrap and a towel and meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”
“Where are you going?”
His hot gaze scorched across her skin again. “Out, before I say to hell with it and climb back into that bed with you.”
“I wouldn’t mind.”
“You would if you knew what we were doing.”
Colt didn’t exactly disappear. Instead, they managed to get ready together with only one or two brief delays when they got too close to each other and good intentions were overwhelmed.
He made a fruitless attempt to cover her eyes—Lena patently refusing to submit. They walked to the opposite side of the resort, Lena becoming more and more confused when they passed the pool, the beach and even the main hotel building. They were on the path toward the dock before realization struck.
“We’re taking a boat ride?”
Colt answered, “Maybe.” Although when they rounded the corner in the path it became obvious they were.
The boat—although she hated to use that term since it appeared big enough to carry twenty people—bobbed softly on the swells of a calm sea. A man, she assumed the captain, lounged against the tall wooden post the bow was tied off to.
“Welcome,” the man said as he took Lena’s hand and helped her aboard.
Once they were on, the captain went to the helm, which sat high above the deck. Beneath it, there was an open doorway and a set of stairs leading down into a dark, pleasant hold. Lena peeked far enough inside to see a small galley, table and banquette, and in the back, a wide bunk built straight into the side of the ship.
Spread across the surface of the table were several masks, fins and bent rubber tubes. Lena had never been snorkeling before, but she’d seen pictures of the equipment.
“We’re going snorkeling?” she asked, spinning on her heel and ramming straight into Colt’s chest.
His arms automatically wrapped around her, pulling her tight against his body.
“You said you wanted to go.”
She’d made the comment once in passing, and he’d remembered. Reaching up on tiptoe she placed a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw. “This is very sweet.”
He leered at her in an exaggerated gesture that made her smile widen. “I’m sure we can come up with a way for you to repay me.”
Smacking him playfully, Lena twisted out of his hold and headed straight for the table. “Okay, so explain to me how all this works.”
Lena was glad that she didn’t get seasick as the boat bounced over the waves. After a few minutes below deck, they brought everything above, settling into the seats at the bow so that they could look out. Dolphins joined them, jumping playfully alongside the boat, keeping pace as they raced into open water.
The water was crystal clear and she was actually getting excited about the prospect of snorkeling. The captain explained that they were heading out to a sunken ship he promised would be teeming with a rainbow of fish. She had to admit that Colt’s surprise was a good one. Touching in a way that made her heart constrict and race all at the same time.
This was the sort of thing a man did for his lover. And she could get used to being spoiled. The problem was it wasn’t real. This experience, this week—they weren’t real. She tried to keep reminding herself of that, but it was becoming harder and harder to do.
She had no idea what was going to happen at the end of the week. Whenever she let herself think about it, a sharp pain shot through the center of her chest.
But she refused to let her worry about tomorrow ruin today.
The boat powered down and the captain released the hydraulic anchor. Once they were secured and the only thing visible for miles around, the captain switched modes and became their snorkeling guide.
Colt, obviously comfortable around the equipment, sat silently and listened to the instructions their guide provided. They went over safety and signals. After practicing a couple of times on deck, she and Colt dove off a platform at the back of the boat and into the water. Their guide remained with the boat.
It took Lena a couple of tries to get the hang of diving beneath the surface without choking on the water that poured into her open breathing tube. But it didn’t take long before she was cruising after Colt, who raced back and forth as if he were born with fins