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“I turned fifty and decided I’d stop dreaming about things I wanted and start doing them.” Sam grabbed one end of the cooler and lowered it into the boat while Natalia held the other. “So I got a full sleeve of tattoos and this lovely lady.” Sam chuckled before divulging the next part. “And I pay way too much money to keep it in a wet slip because I’m fifty and risk-averse and fully terrified of backing a trailer into the water and losing my car to the watery depths.”
Natalia bit back a smile and handed her the bags. “And again, you accuse me of being the control freak.”
“That’s not being a control freak,” she objected.
“Isn’t it?” Natalia handed Sam her purse. “You don’t trust the current because you can’t predict it.”
Sam turned her head to the side, never having thought about it like that before. “Shit, you might be right.”
“Are you going to state the obvious all day, or are you going to invite me on?” Natalia crossed her arms over her chest.
Clearing her throat, Sam extended her hand. “My sincerest apologies, Ms. Flores. Would you please come aboard?”
Natalia ignored Sam’s chivalrous hand and put one white sneaker-covered foot on the edge before placing the other on a seat carved around the outer edge of the deck. Instead of waiting while Sam unfastened the cover protecting the non-fiberglass parts of Sol from the salt and sun, Natalia found the cushions locked in the cabin and put them in the right place before guessing correctly where Sam secured the cooler. With Natalia’s help, they were ready to go in minutes.
“Do you have a boat?” Sam asked while opening the sunshade that covered the helm and the bench seat to the left of the captain’s chair.
“No,” Natalia replied without explaining how she knew her way around, and then pulled out her sunblock before storing her purse in the cabin. “Off with it,” she demanded, pointing at Sam’s shirt.
Sam obliged, but not before hooking her finger in the loop of Natalia’s shorts and pulling her in. “You’re an exceedingly good crew member.”
Natalia’s face didn’t betray her thoughts. “Professor, I’m beginning to think you’re not paying very much attention. I’m good at everything.” She kissed her before Sam could react and then yanked off her shirt and slathered her in a redundant layer of protection.
The trip to Sam’s favorite spot was an easy hour over smooth waters. It was a secluded spot far off from a popular sandbar, but close enough to be surrounded by clear, blue water that was perfect for swimming.
“There’s no reception out here?” Natalia asked while glancing down at her phone.
“I know,” Sam replied with a mischievous grin. “Isn’t it amazing?” She plucked the phone out of Natalia’s hand and tossed it onto the captain’s seat. “You have no choice but to relax,” she added, revealing her master plan.
“Are ambushes relaxing to you?” Natalia couldn’t sell her feigned distress. There was too much flickering joy in her tone.
“It depends.” She started unbuttoning Natalia’s shirt to reveal a white bathing suit. “Are you the one ambushing me?”
“You think you’re so cute.” Natalia took over peeling off her clothing to reveal a mouthwatering, stylish one-piece with the sides cut out. Sleek and elegant and expensive, like Natalia.
Stunned into silence exactly like Natalia probably intended, Sam was helpless to do anything but receive the discarded clothing Natalia handed her and watch her move like liquid glass stepping out onto the platform covering the propellers and diving smoothly into the water.
A grin crept onto Sam’s lips. She tossed the clothes on one of the bench seats, tore off her shirt, and dove into the cool water after her.
CHAPTER 48
As a rule, Natalia never napped. Not ever. Sleep was for the evening. She wasn’t a toddler.
And yet there she was, blinking awake in the small cabin that was just a full-sized bed, low ceiling, and storage. Mid-afternoon sun streaking in and warming her lower body until she was uncomfortably hot.
She could blame the boat’s gentle rocking or the soothing sound of water lapping against the hull or the hours they’d spent in the water for her slip-up. She could blame needing a break from the sun and having nowhere else to take it, or the breeze coming in from the open hatch directly above the bed.
The cause didn’t matter, she decided. It was time to get up. She’d been out of phone contact for hours. Anything could be happening at Dominion and she wouldn’t know.
A pang of anxiety didn’t follow that thought like it usually did. Instead, her traitorous, mutinous brain made her think of Adriana and Lola. Tricked her into thinking that they could handle something if it came up. An irrational thought that made her body slow to react.
If she hadn’t doled out sun block by the gallon, she would fear her sluggishness was sun poisoning. What other reason could she have for wanting to stay in bed in a cramped, stuffy, sweltering cabin?
The menace inhabiting her skull took over, forcing her to acknowledge the slow breathing and similarly sweaty body lying next to her. With her back to her, Sam was sound asleep.
Sam had been adamant about never bringing alcohol on board, and yet Natalia felt drunk anyway. It was the kind of intoxication that made consequences seem so far away. A contact high that made a bad idea look so good. So reasonable. So inevitable.
In some distant part of her, Natalia knew she should wake Sam and demand they return. Knew she should armor up and pull away before she drowned in wanting. Before she melted into the surf and came up as useless foam on shore. But the hypnotic sway of the boat kept her anchored in place, waves wearing down her sharp edges like sea glass.
