“What about the boat?”
“I’ll fix it as best I can, but without the waves and the rain, it should get us there.”
Should.
“Where are we going?”
“The closest island is Lewis, but as I don’t want to risk that, it’s North Uist instead. It’s in the same chain, but I don’t think they’ll be looking for us there.”
“And then?”
He held her gaze, giving her nothing. She hadn’t thought he would. He would leave her and go on his way. What else was she expecting?
It was for the best anyway. She’d avoided his type for a reason. Even if he wasn’t in trouble, she couldn’t gothere. Conservative, former military, and alpha. The trifecta of not going to happen. No matter how attracted she was to him. And how hot that kiss had been. She’d had enough of wannabe superheroes.
“Get some rest, Annie. I’ll be back.”
When the door closed behind him with a slam, something in her chest seemed to do the same.
•••
They left the small island not long after dawn. Dean hadn’t slept well, and he was anxious to be away. The longer he spent with Annie, the greater the risk—and not just from discovery. He knew there was something growing between them, and it had to stop.
Heneededit to stop. And not just because he’d spent thebetter half of the night calling himself a fool for not having her under him. On top of him. In front of...
Fuck.
But it wasn’t just a hard dick. He wished it were. No, the reason he wanted to get away from her wasn’t just that he wanted to fuck her—which he did really badly—it was that he liked being with her.
He’d never talked to a woman the way he did with her. With her it was more like talking to the guys on the team, although with them it was usually preaching to the choir. They all had pretty similar politics. Who knew idealistic left-wingers could be so much fun?
She also wasn’t intimidated by his rank and gave it right back to him. And didn’t seem intimidated when he challenged her back.
It was oddly freeing. He could say what he wanted and not worry about how she took it or hurt feelings. Had he unconsciously been holding back in previous relationships? Maybe. Although admittedly the women he met at Hula’s weren’t usually environmental scientists with a PhD.
He might need to change things up when he got back and this was all behind him. Which had better be soon. Dean had never had much patience, but what little he had had been exhausted a long time ago. He couldn’t sit back and wait with his hands tied much longer.
As soon as he landed somewhere safe, he was going to make a call. She was right. He did believe in the system, and going dark like this went against every instinct.
“How much farther?” Annie asked.
She’d been unusually quiet all morning—and contemplative. Other than thanking him for another protein bar and for sharing the small travel-sized soap and toothpaste he carried in his bag to freshen up in the morning, she hadn’t said much. It was almost as if she was as anxious as he to put this all behind them.
He was glad they were on the same wavelength about not getting involved. He might not like her reasons, but it made things easier. He didn’t know whether he’d be able to stopthings a second time. Not after a long night of thinking about the first time. He could still taste cherries—from the lip balm he saw her use—and feel the spasms of her body as she came apart, and the firm grip of her hand on his cock.
That most of all.
He didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Mickey hadn’t made another appearance.
“Not far,” he answered, forcing the memories away. “Probably another ten miles or so. You can try the radio again. We’ll have a better signal now.”
Dean had turned on the radio this morning to check the weather report before they left. It had stopped raining in the middle of the night, and the skies were clear, but he wasn’t taking any chances—not with the inflatable being held together with duct tape.
In the emergency box on board, he’d found a hand pump that enabled him to do a bit of repair work on the boat before leaving the island. Sometimes inflatables of this size also had acetone and tape or a repair kit on board. He wasn’t that lucky. The acetone would have given him a better seal on the tape. But so far it seemed to be holding.
The signal earlier hadn’t been good enough to hear the full report, but “clearing skies” had sounded promising enough to leave.
The signal was much better this time. They caught the tail end of the weather, but it was what they heard next that changed everything.
