Page 51 of Deadly Waves

Sixteen

“Morning, baby.”

James stretched languidly, making sure to balance Mandy on top of him before slipping his arms around her and tugging her close.

They played long into the night. “Play” being the operative word. James found once she broke past his barrier that his insistence on treating her like glass faded away faster than a top story on a twenty-four-hour news cycle. They were ravenous with one another over the course of the night, and it wasn’t with the same neediness he felt after her return. He needed her, there was no getting around that, but the smiles and laughter were back along with their singing hearts.

“Morning,” Mandy murmured, rubbing her face against his chest. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost eight,” James replied. “We have to be in the dining room in an hour. I promised Grady we would come up with a plan of attack to figure out what happened to Zoe. I’m sure Maverick is going to have some files for us to go through.”

“I want you to stay in bed with me all day.” The statement was simple and declarative. Mandy knew it was unreasonable to ask, but she made the request anyway.

“I can’t stay in bed with you all day,” James said, stroking the back of her head. “We might be able to figure something out, though. We need to go to breakfast first so I can talk to Grady.”

Mandy shook her head. “Bed.”

James grinned. “How can you be ready to go again? You shouldn’t be able to walk.”

“Oh, I probably won’t be able to walk,” Mandy conceded. “That’s why I want to stay in bed, though. We haven’t had an all-day bedfest in a long time.”

“That’s not true,” James protested. “After … .” He broke off, swallowing hard. Did he really want to bring up Clint now?

Mandy made the decision for him. “After we captured Clint we spent two days in bed,” she supplied. “They were wonderful days, but they weren’t like this. Those were … restful … days. I don’t want this to be a restful day. Er, well, I only want it to be half-restful. I want it to be half-sweaty, too.”

James pursed his lips as he studied her face. She looked serene, happier than she had in weeks. He would never deny her anything. That didn’t mean he could shirk his duties. “Baby, I’m going to figure out a way to get things done and spend the entire day with you,” he said after a beat. “I need you to give me a little room to maneuver, though. Can you do that?”

Mandy shook her head.

“No?” James’ heart rolled. She wanted him. He always enjoyed it when she wanted him. “Baby … .”

“We need to get in the shower,” Mandy said, cutting him off. “There’s very little room to maneuver there, but I’m sure you’ll figure something out. After that, we can head to breakfast and you can figure out how to spend the day with me while I’m stuffing my face.”

“You’re going to stuff your face?” James was amused.

“I’m starving,” Mandy admitted. “I burned more calories last night than I’ve eaten in a week.”

“Then breakfast it is,” James said, spanking her rear end. “You need to get moving if you want me to wow you in the shower, though.”

“I thought you could carry me.”

“You don’t like being carried.”

“That’s not true,” Mandy countered. “I don’t like being carried as if I’m a damsel in distress. I love being carried when you’re going to treat me like a salty sea wench.”

James barked out a laugh. “Oh, I love you.” He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth, keeping it gentle for a moment before increasing the intensity. When he finally pulled back, Mandy was breathless. “Come on, wench. Let’s see what you got.”

“I WASN’Tsure if you two were going to make it,” Grady said dryly, looking Mandy and James over an hour later as they made their way into the dining room. “I thought maybe you were going to sleep in.”

“We did consider skipping breakfast … and lunch … and dinner, but sleep was never on the menu,” James shot back, running his hand down the back of Mandy’s head as he leaned closer and kissed her cheek. “Baby, if you get the juice and fruit, I’ll get everything else. I want to talk to Grady for a moment.”

Mandy didn’t look thrilled with the suggestion, but she was in far too good of a mood to argue. “Okay, but I want an omelet with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, ham, and cheese. I also want hash browns, patty sausage, and some of those French toast sticks.”

Grady arched a challenging eyebrow. “Why don’t you just kill your own pig and chow down?”

Mandy ignored him. “Get some shrimp cocktail, too.”

James nodded as he watched her shuffle off. She was walking a bit stiffly. Hopefully he would be the only one to notice.