“I think so. I think I see...” She trailed off, because she couldn’t be certain her eyes weren’t deceiving her. Or that her brain wasn’t conjuring up a mirage of what she so desperately wantedto see.
She would swear she caught a glimpse of a white hull. But it was so far away, and it disappeared so quickly behind a wave that—
No! A flash, like sunlight glinting off glass, blazed across the distance and she was convinced. There was aboatout there!
We’re saved!she silently cheered. Aloud, she wheezed, “Flare gun!”
The sand did its best to slow her steps when she bolted toward the life raft. Mia wasn’t any quicker, falling into step behind her and only catching up once Cami skidded to a stop next to the rubber watercraft.
“Doc!” Cami yelled, grabbing his big, solid shoulder to give it a shake. He was using the flare gun case as a pillow. “Wake up!”
He didn’t flinch. There’s wasn’t even a lull in his snoring.
“Doc!” she yelled, louder this time. And when that didn’t work, she tried, “Dalton!”
“Mmm,” he muttered and smacked his lips.
“Screw this,” she grumbled. Time was of the essence. The boat was already so far out. And who was to say it wasn’t getting farther away with each passing second?
Reaching beneath Doc’s head, she grabbed the handle on the flare gun case and gave it a yank. Instead of pulling it out from under him, however, she only managed to jostle him enough so he rolled onto her arm. Given her precarious position, cantilevered over the side of the life raft, that was all it took to completely unbalance her.
A loud yelp shot out of her as she tumbled on top of him, bumping her forehead on his scruffy chin.
Thatwas enough to wake him. He blinked open his eyes and frowned at her when she pushed up on one hand and used the other to rub her forehead. In a voice that was rough from sleep, he said, “You’re giving me whiplash, woman. One minute you’re telling me you don’t mix business with pleasure, and the next I wake up to you molesting my unconscious body. Make up your mind. Are we doing this or not?”
He slapped one of her body parts that no man on the face of the planet had ever slapped outside the bedroom...or without her throwing a drink in his face.
Since she didn’thavea drink, she simply sputtered and wished she’d said something articulate and cutting. But her brain had gone offline the moment his hand met her ass, because it repositioned her just enough so she felt the hard column of flesh that pressed into her lower belly.
And yes. She knew it didn’t mean anything. He was a man. He’d been asleep. Erections caused by slumber were a simple fact of biology.
Still...wowza.
In the next instant, her faculties returned—thank goodness. And with them came her acerbic tongue.
“Everyone is entitled to be a prick once in a while, but you are seriously abusing the privilege today.” She pushed away from his chest and the broken arm she knew she had to be crushing. Although why she should care after the way he was behaving was anyone’s guess. “And let me assure you, I was taught to think before I act. So if I smack the shit out of you for touching my ass without permission, understand I thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was the only appropriate choice left to me.”
He blinked and glanced to the side. When he saw his hand palming her butt, he seemed genuinely shocked.
Was it possible he’d still been half asleep when he grabbed her and mumbled that nonsense? He was definitely still half-baked. She could tell by the size of his pupils.
Good ol’ period pills. Works every time.
“What the hell’s going on?” he demanded, removing his hand like her butt cheek might light his fingers on fire.
“What’s going on is that you’re lying on the flare gun, and we need it because there’s a boat!”
He scowled. “And you thought the best way to get it was to crawl on top of me and—”
“I didn’t crawl on top of you, you idiot! You rolled onto my arm when I tried to grab the case, which made mefallon top of you!”
“Likely story.” He harrumphed.
“Oh!” She wanted to smack him. She really,reallywanted to smack him.
She might have done exactly that had Mia not stopped her by saying quietly and succinctly, “People. Focus. Gun case.”
“Right.” Cami reached behind Doc and whipped out the case. His head landed on the bottom of the watercraft with athud.
