When he laid his hand on her shoulder, the strengthening sun had turned her silky skin feverish. “Do you want to jump in together?”
She cast a dubious glance at the narrow gap in the rail. “There’s not room for both of us.”
“There is if I hold you.” He’d lowered his voice to a whisper, since maybe the crew wouldn’t love that idea. But he couldn’t come up with another solution that would allow Callie to move past her anxiety and give herself what she wanted. “We’ll just have to make sure we jump far enough out from the boat.”
She nestled into him, front to front, her arms wrapped around his waist, and he almost whimpered as her breath ghosted against his earlobe. “Not to be rude, but maybe potentially-dangerous feats of physical prowess aren’t exactly your greatest gift?”
“I’d never let you get hurt.” He might whack himself against the boat on the way down, but she wouldn’t get a single scratch. Not while he was alive, conscious, and within arm’s reach. “Trust me.”
Silence.
Moisture glinted on her lashes as she stared up at him, and she was biting that lower lip.
Dammit. She was going to be so disappointed and angry at herself if they didn’t do this, but he wouldn’t push her to do anything—anything—that made her uncomfortable.
He frowned. “Sweetheart, we don’t have to jump. We can stay on board, or there’s an inclined ladder toward the back of the boat?—”
She nodded toward the gap in the rail. “Are you ready?”
He blinked at her. “Of course, but like I said, we don’t?—”
“I trust you.” Her voice was firm. Decisive. “So here we go.”
As it turned out, Callie boasted not only surpassing beauty and softness, but also a startling amount of physical strength. Because the next thing he knew, the two of them were flying off the side of the boat, powered only by the might of those curvy legs.
Somehow, they lost hold of one another as they smacked into the water, and as soon as he made his way to the surface and oriented himself, he swung his head in a frantic search for Callie.
The search didn’t last long. He just needed to follow her giggles.
“Are you all right?” She reached out a hand and tugged him to her side. “The water’s so warm!”
“I’m fine.” More than fine, actually. Delighted and proud.
Her legs shifted in a graceful, sinuous kick beneath the water as the nearby crew member handed them their inner tubes.
She hooked an arm around her yellow doughnut, contemplated the opening for a moment, looked down at her chest, and shrugged. “I think I can wedge myself into this thing. Let’s find out.”
After a couple minutes of fumbling and goggles readjustment, the two of them were floating on the surface, their faces in the water, the inner tubes supporting their middles as they studied the deliberate wreck and the schools of glinting fish darting beneath them.
Callie’s fingers had intertwined with his, and he couldn’t spot any signs of tension in her movements. Which was why he was startled when she squeezed his hand and suddenly went vertical.
He did the same, only to see her remove her goggles and mouthpiece.
They’d only been snorkeling for a short time, but maybe she’d gotten a cramp? Or started worrying about drifting too far away from the boat?
He yanked off his own goggles and mouthpiece, so he could see her better and speak intelligibly. “Are you o?—”
Her free hand curled around the back of his neck and guided him closer, despite the hindrance of the inner tubes. Then closer, until all he could smell was salt and Callie. The goggles had drawn a faint line on her forehead, her hair sleeked against her head in a shining cap, and her tongue?—
Her tongue, unless he was mistaken, had just licked a drop of water from his ear.
The nearby tourists, the boat, the ocean itself ceased to exist.
“I can’t wait any longer.” Her fingers threaded through his hair and cupped his skull. “I’m sure, Thomas. So you need to trust me.”
Her lips pressed to his, soft as velvet and warm as the sun on his back.
It was loving affirmation in kiss form, neither hurried nor demanding. When his hand cupped her cheek, she nestled against the touch with a sigh he breathed into his lungs, and that cool cheek heated beneath his fingers as her mouth opened to his tongue.
