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"Your hair smells like orange blossoms. When I woke up on the island, I could smell it on my pillow.
She lifted her head. "I didn't know it was that strong. Sorry."
"Don't apologize. It's enticing—seductive. It suits you."
"I like enticing and seductive."
"So do I," he replied with a smile.
"You look happy right now, Drew."
"Well, that's because I am happy. How about you?"
"Deliciously exhausted."
"It was better than the last time," he said. "Better than all the memories."
"Was it? It seems good every time to me." She paused. "When I'm with you, I'm myself. I felt like that on the island, and I feel like that tonight. Somehow you strip away all my barriers, all my fears. In your arms, I'm young, fun, and free. It's like you release something inside of me."
Her words touched him deeply and scared him a little, too, because he felt much the same way. With Ria, he didn't seem to have his usual defenses in place. And he wasn't quite sure how to handle something serious. But he was going to have to learn quickly, because what he felt for Ria was serious and intense. He might bring out her fun side, but she brought out the side of him that wanted more than just a fling.
"Nothing to say?" she teased. "I can hardly believe I've rendered you speechless."
"Just thinking," he said. "When I first met you on the island, I felt like I'd just walked into the sun after a long time in the dark."
"That's because I was blond then."
"It wasn't just your hair color. It was you. Your sparkling eyes, teasing smile, your smart mouth—"
"What?" she interrupted.
"You gave me a hard time, Ria."
"You asked me to go to bed with you, and I didn't even know you."
"But I wanted to know you. I had to know you," he corrected. "That night, a feeling of desperation ran through me. I was afraid I would have to leave the island before I had a chance to talk to you, to touch you. Thank God you came to my cottage."
"I'm not sure you should be grateful about that." She sighed and put her head back down on his chest.
He tightened his arm around her shoulders, loving her soft curves alongside his body. "It was the best night of my life."
"Mine, too," she murmured.
She'd no sooner finished speaking when a spray of water hit him in the face. "What was that?" he sputtered.
Ria sat up, wiping water off of her face. She glanced at the tall ship passing not too far away from them and smiled. "We caught some of the wake. Maybe it's a sign that we should go back to the harbor."
"It's gone now."
"But the wind is picking up."
"That's a good thing," he said.
"Why?"
"Because I'm in the mood for a wild ride. What about you?"
"Absolutely," she said, throwing one leg over his hips. "And this time I'm going to be on top."
"Honey, you can be wherever you want to be."
* * *
Ria woke up to the early morning sun on her face. A glance at her watch said it was just after six. She wrapped the blanket around her as she stood up, knowing there would be fishing boats going out for the day. Then she grabbed her clothes and went downstairs to use the restroom and get dressed.
There were no supplies in the galley, so coffee would have to wait until they got back to the harbor.
Drew came down the stairs with a blanket wrapped loosely around his hips. "There you are," he said, swooping in for a kiss. "I was getting lonely."
"You were asleep when I left."
"Yeah, and you really have to stop leaving before I wake up."
Despite his smile, there was an edge to his words, and she realized that he was thinking about the first time she'd left him.
"I never wanted to hurt you, Drew. If you can't believe anything else I say, I hope you'll believe that."
"I know you didn't leave because of me. I just can't forget the ground moving beneath my feet when your boat blew up and the terror that followed me all the way out there. You weren't supposed to mean anything to me, Ria. I was shocked at how shattered I felt."
"You weren't supposed to mean anything to me, either." She put her hand on his face, caressing the rough stubble along his jawline. "But you do—mean something. I just don't know what I have to offer you."
