gone rotten because he’d stayed here as long as he had?
“You know, I understand. If that makes a difference to you,” I said. “About the fact that you fought on the old barons’ side during the rebellion. Lots of people I know did; some of them I’m still on good terms with, some of them I’m not. It all depends on how they treated me and everyone else afterward. And everything I’ve seen from you tells me you’re a good person. You were just standing up for the people you believed in at the time.”
Emeric was silent for a long moment. Finally, he let out a rough chuckle. “Yeah, I was. I appreciate you looking past that misstep. I’m planning on working my ass off so I can get past it too.”
“Well, you seem to have made a good start of that.”
He shot me another quick smile, and we lapsed into a silence that felt more comfortable. I found myself studying his face again, but possibly thinking more about whether he might try to kiss me tonight than whatever else might be going on behind those pale eyes.
It wasn’t long before Emeric motioned to the window. We’d left behind the city proper and were now cruising down a road past rocky coastline and an open stretch of the sea, only a few scattered buildings around. “I told you I like the water. I figured I should show you just how much I can do with it.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I’m intrigued. Do go on.”
“You’ll see.”
A few minutes later, he pulled down a dirt laneway that ended at a small parking area patchy with grass. Evening had settled in completely, no light making it all the way from the main road to the water. The headlights gleamed across the ocean in a stream of sparkles for the moment before Emeric turned them off.
“Out you go,” he said.
I peeled myself off the seat and stepped out into the sticky summer atmosphere. The temperature had barely dropped with the sinking of the sun. A few feet from where we’d parked, a patch of gravelly sand between the jutting rocks led down to a small bay. The water frothed gently as the waves hissed over the pebbles. There was nothing else around.
“Another of your secret favorite spots?” I asked Emeric.
“I promised I’d show you them all.”
He walked down to the area where the highest waves reached and shucked off his shoes and his gloves. Then he pulled off his shirt and draped it over one of the higher rocks, setting a shoe on it to hold it against the breeze.
I hadn’t realized just how much brawn he was hiding under his clothes. Toned muscles wrapped around his broad shoulders, along his arms, and across his chest to a magnificent six-pack.
Faint scarring dappled his peachy skin across his side—from the blast that’d destroyed the lower half of his arm, presumably. The titanium prosthetic now on full display appeared perfectly fused below his elbow, moving as if it’d always been a part of him… as he reached for the waist of his pants.
“Um,” I said, warmth tickling across my face.
“Don’t you want to get out of this heat?” Emeric kicked off his jeans, set them next to his shirt, and stepped into the ocean in his boxers. “The water’s perfect for weather like this.” He glanced back at me, a sly glint dancing in his eyes.
I hesitated, abruptly self-conscious. If we’d brought bathing suits, sure, but—
I shook off that inner protest and reached for my blouse. My bra and panties covered up just as much as a bikini would have—more than some of the bikinis I owned, honestly. And tonight was supposed to be about letting loose before tomorrow’s all-important mission.
Rather than watching me undress, which would have felt a little too close to leering, Emeric walked on into the ocean. He stopped when he was up to his chest and looked back just as I was dipping my toes in.
The water nibbled at my feet, crisply cool—colder than I’d normally have preferred but enjoyably refreshing as an escape from the summer mugginess. I hurried farther in so the surf could cloak all the territory my clothes no longer did. The chill washed over my skin, licking away the sweat that had already started to form there.
When I reached Emeric, he grasped my hand under the water. The spray had dampened his cinnamon-brown hair, darkening it to auburn. He waved his titanium hand toward the deeper