Page 74 of Love Everlasting

“Me too,” she whispered, the heat of Sam’s hand against hers making her warm all over. She peeked up with a shy smile, hardly able to believe she and Sam Cunningham were dating.

“You know what’s really freaky, Shan?” Pausing, he looped an arm around her waist to face her head-on. “One day we’re the best of friends, and then the next?” He feathered her hair away from her face while moonlight highlighted his handsome features. “I’m so head over heels, all I can think about is holding you …” His eyelids shuttered halfway as he traced her mouth with the pad of his thumb. “Kissing you …” Her stomach quivered when he bent in to gently skim his mouth against hers, the taste of him almost buckling her at the knees. As if sensing the effect he had, he groaned and clutched her closer, devouring her with a kiss so urgent, it completely consumed her, taking possession with a fierce urgency as if to stake his claim.

He pulled away, and the separation was almost a physical ache, her lips following as if he were a magnet. Eyes closed, her body swayed forward in a dizzy lean, desperate to recapture the sensation of his mouth. His husky chuckle lured her eyes open as he cupped her face in his hands. “You know, Shan, I thought a walk might be nice and safe, but I’m not sure anyplace would be safe when I’m with you.”

The heat pulsing through her converged in her cheeks as she nibbled on the edge of her lip. Her smile was shaky and shy, and she was quite sure the glow of love in her eyes was brighter than the harvest moon overhead. “I think I know now why they call you Dr. Love,” she said softly, the sigh that sifted through her lips as wobbly as her limbs. “That kiss was …” A warm shiver skittered across her bare shoulders, and she wasn’t sure whether it was the sea breeze or Sam. “Unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

“That’s because it’s not just a kiss,” he whispered, bowing his head to touch his forehead to hers, “it’s the gift of my heart, Shan, all wrapped up in the need to cherish both you and this fragile feeling inside that I never, ever expected.” His quiet sigh feathered her face. “After a lifetime adrift, you anchor me unlike anyone I’ve ever known, Shannon, and just being with you completely calms my soul.” He paused and she felt his smile rather than saw it. “Of course it would appear that you also stir my body with a passion that is anything but calm, Angel Eyes. Which,” he said, putting distance between them with a gentle brace of her arms, “is why I’m going to employ some of that famous will power I’ve fine-tuned over the last few months to avoid serious temptation.” He grazed her lips with a bare breeze of a kiss. “And Jack’s fist.”

Grinning at the reference to the teasing threat Jack had made when he discovered she and Sam planned to date, she stood on tiptoe to return a tender kiss of her own. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, Sam, because I’m not sure I could survive too many kisses from the notorious Dr. Love. At least, not unscathed.”

He threaded his fingers into her hair to cradle her head with an intensity that stilled her, the unflinching sobriety in his eyes revealing the core of the man she’d come to love. “You have my word, Shannon, I will do everything in my power to try and never hurt you,” he whispered.

Try. One word that reminded her there were no guarantees in love. But somehow she sensed Sam was different. He would never betray her like Eric, she just knew it. A shiver tiptoed down her spine.

Would he?

“You cold?” He took off his jacket before she could stop him and draped it over her shoulders, bundling her in a magical cocoon of his warmth and scent. “We should get you inside,” he said softly, “even though I really don’t want to go.”

“Hey …” She glanced up, the dark stubble on his jaw making him look like a pirate in the moonlight. “Ever been in a dory?”

One corner of his mouth jagged up. “I’ve never been in a boat, period.”

She blinked, mouth hanging open at the notion that Sam Cunningham, all-around sportsman and man about town, was a complete landlubber. “Never?”

His smile was sheepish. “Not even a canoe at Camp Hope,” he admitted, nudging her hair over her shoulder. “Still love me?”

“Mmm, I don’t know …” She wiggled free from his hold, a mock serious look on her face as she perched hands on her hips. “I’ll have you know I’m Queen of the Dory, mister, a title hard-won against both my brother and sister in a race timed by my father.”

A competitive spark lit in his eyes. “Ahhh … an overachiever. That’s my girl.” He trailed her lip with a glide of his thumb, his eyes following the motion before they connected with hers in a potent look that pooled heat in her belly. “Queen of the Dory, huh? So I’m in good hands if I ever go with you?”

She swallowed hard. “You won’t be in any hands, Dr. Cunningham, I promise, because I’m as adamant as you about not rocking the boat. Besides,” she said with a wiggle of brows, feeling as impish as Cat, “each person has to sit on his or her own bench seat several feet apart, so we don’t upset the balance.”

Stepping closer, he slid his hands into his coat and around her waist, a bob in his throat telling her he was feeling the intensity of attraction as much as she. “And we wouldn’t want to do that, would we?” he whispered, enfolding her in a hug before he deposited a kiss to her hair, finally resting his head on top of hers. She felt his chest expand and deflate. “This is going to be harder than I thought, Shan,” he said quietly, his shaky sigh feathering her hair.

Tell me about it. Shannon slipped out of his jacket, handing it back before she took his hand. “Come on, Doc, your moonlight sail awaits.”

“Whoa, wait a minute ...” She practically bounced off his chest when he jerked her back, his body rooted to the street more firmly than the lampposts lining Bluff Drive. His brows lifted high as he put on his jacket. “You don’t mean tonight? In my good clothes and shoes?”

She giggled, his obvious reluctance making her grin. “Yes, tonight, mister, and I promise neither you nor your beloved wardrobe will get wet.”

“B-But … can’t we just sit on the dock?” His voice hitched as she dragged him across the street.

“Nope. The chairs are too close and the moonlight too tempting. It’s best in the dory, where we can enjoy the beauty of the night while we keep our distance.” She halted halfway down the ramp, brows in a scrunch. “You can swim, can’t you?”

“Oh, now there’s a confidence builder!” He eyed the row of Adirondack chairs with a look of longing. “Yes, I can swim, Teach, but just barely.”

“Don’t be such a baby, Sam.” She grinned while she retrieved two life jackets from the storage closet, kicking off her heels before leading him to the dory that was tied up to the side of the dock. “This will be an adventure you’ll never forget, I promise.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered, peering over the side with a suspicious squint.

She tossed the life jackets in the boat and hopped in, taking her position at the stern to lower the trolling motor into the water. “Come on, Sam, get in. We’ll just putt upstream a bit and float down. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

“You, I trust,” he said with a wary look, “but this sad excuse for a boat?” His smile went flat as he carefully removed his shoes, placing them beneath an Adirondack chair prior to methodically draping his jacket over the back. “Neither I nor my J. Crew loafers and favorite ‘trappings’ are feeling too cozy about this.” With painstaking care, he slipped his “preowned” Rolex watch into his blazer pocket, then began unbuttoning his Armani slim-fit dress shirt, the one he’d told her he only wore for special occasions.

“For goodness sake, Sam,” she said, watching as he took the shirt off, revealing a well-muscled T-shirt beneath. “We’re not going to get wet.”

He cocked a brow as he meticulously laid the shirt over his blazer. “Well, my prized wardrobe won’t, that’s for sure,” he said with a ghost of a smile, shocking her when he began to unbuckle his belt.