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With her arms draped around his neck, he led her to a car driven by someone else and placed her gently in the backseat. From there, she was taken down to the docks, where he once again picked her up and carried her onto a boat, which was also driven by someone else. It seemed he had it all worked out. He’d had a driver and a captain and who knew how many others waiting to whisk her away.
What if I’d said no? What if I’d refused to go with him?
Who was she kidding? She would have never said no. Not to this guy. Thane was everything she wanted. Her life had been an endless carousel of waking up, sitting around in her pajamas to type away at her computer, heading to her next medical appointment, and then going home to a lonesome dinner with maybe a phone call from Sylvia. She’d go to sleep watching a TV show she had little interest in and then she’d wake up and do it all over again. Wrapped up in Thane’s arms, she felt life might be different. It might mean more.
“I don’t know about going out on the water again,” she whispered to him as he lay with her on a bed below deck.
“Rest,” he told her. “Sleep. When you wake up, we’ll be there. I’ll stay awake and make sure nothing happens to you. I promise.”
She didn’t want to rest. She was exhausted, and her body begged for sleep, but her mind told her she might wake up and find that this had all been a dream. The doctor had given her some pretty good drugs the day before, and she wouldn’t have been surprised to find out this was all a hallucination.
“You won’t leave me?” she asked.
He pulled a blanket up to cover her and slid his body down so his face was closer to hers. His fingertips touched her chin, so tenderly, and then he whispered, “I’ll never leave you again.”
“Never is a long time,” she said.
“Never isn’t long enough,” he replied.
She closed her eyes and the last thing she felt was his lips caress hers softly.
When she woke, she felt none of the stiffness in her leg. At the hospital, it had been wrapped in bandages and filled with ointment. Yet, the pain had been constant. She’d felt an itch she could never scratch and an annoyance that nagged at her constantly. But now it was gone.
Penny was alone in the room below deck. Throwing off the blanket, she was completely naked. Her hospital gown had been removed and the bandages on her leg were gone. So were the cuts and the dried blood. Scars had formed where the deep grooves had been torn into her leg by the shark’s teeth, but other than that, she was completely healed.
What the fuck? This is a miracle. But seriously, what the fuck? Is this even possible?
She’d heard the stories of shifters being able to heal people, but she’d heard so many tales that it was impossible to tell which were only rumors and which were truth.
The cool sea air on her pussy reminded her she had better cover up before someone came into the room.
He saw me naked?
An invisible foot kicked her in the stomach and the cramp made her almost nauseous. It was a mix of hunger and disappointment that the first time her man saw her naked was when she was completely knocked out and looked like shit. She hadn’t been able to put on sexy panties and her favorite bra. She’d worn a fucking hospital gown, white with little blue diamonds on it.
This is great. Just fucking great. He’ll never want to see me again.
“Hello, are you awake down there?” someone asked.
It was a male voice, but it didn’t belong to Thane. In fact, this one sounded Spanish, which struck her as odd given all the other accents she’d heard since arriving in Queensland had been mostly Australian aside from a few British or American tourists she’d met at the hotel.
Oh my God! How many
people have seen me naked?
“I’m awake!” she yelled. “But I’m not dressed! Please do not come down here.”
She searched around her for some clothes but found none.
“Mr. Thane said to check in the drawer to your right. He put a dress in there for you!”
She leaned over and opened the drawer. Sure enough, he had put a soft, yellow sundress in there, the kind of dress one might slip over her bathing suit had she been wearing one at all. Thankful for the gesture and the fact that she wouldn’t have to walk naked off the boat, she pulled the dress over her. Unfortunately, he hadn’t left a bra or panties to go with it. It would have been weird if he had she supposed. What were the chances he would have guessed her sizes?
Nice. Scoring points here. But where the hell are you and why am I having a conversation with some strange person yelling at me down the stairs?
Once she was dressed, Penny made her way up the stairs, careful to pin her dress down at her sides with her arms in case a strong wind decided to blow through and lift it up over her head. That would be a great way to make a first impression with Thane’s friends.
An older Hispanic man took her hand to help lead her to a ladder and down to a small rubber dingy tied to the side of the boat. The water around her was so crystal clear that she could see small fish racing around and crabs burrowing beneath the white sand. It was a scene she could imagine seeing in the Bahamas or maybe even in Hawaii, but here she was off the coast of an Australian island, and it was beautiful.
