She turned back to the sea, now restless. Just looking at him had warmed her to her toes, and the knowledge made her uneasy.
The waves were breaking harder over the reef, and the reef seemed even closer now. She squinted. Itwascloser. That was odd. And the sun no longer kissed the deck’s polished wood.
The clouds that had followed them had suddenly turned nasty, were now black and ominous. Something clanked against the boat’s hull, a metallic warning for them to get out of there. Like summers in Texas, storms over Florida developed fast, and this one looked to be a doozy. She twirled around, about to call for Tony when she realized the boat was moving, drifting backward closer and closer to the reef.
That couldn’t be good.
“Tony!”
He was already looking up, frowning as he stared at the clouds. He turned toward her voice, and she pointed.
“We’re moving,” she said.
The wind raced over the boat, slapping her hair into her eyes and sending it stinging against her skin.
“It’s okay. We’re anchored. You’re just feeling the boat rock. We’ll be fine until the squall blows by, but we should go below. I don’t think it’ll last too long.”
“No,” she shouted over the wind. “It’s really moving.” She looked out toward the reef again. “Take a look.”
He did. “Damn. You’re right. We’re dragging anchor.”
The boat rocked upward as the waves got into the groove of the storm, and she grabbed on to the side as the front end slapped back down against the water, sending ocean spray shooting up into the air.
Tony stumbled toward her, trying to keep his balance on the rocking boat. The front dipped down as yet another wave crashed over the boat, and she was thrown forward. He caught her around the waist.
“I need to get the anchor up.”
She moved toward the front, where the rope hung down, taut now from the pull of the current. “I’ll help.”
He shook his head. “I need you in the cockpit.”
She didn’t argue, but he must have seen her confusion. “I need you to nudge the engine forward. That’llgive me some slack so I can pull up the anchor.” The boat tossed once again, and he grabbed her shoulders, bracing them both against the stomach-churning motion. “Do you remember how?”
She nodded, wiping the spray off her face, then turned and carefully picked her way to the cockpit. When she turned back around, she saw Tony sprawled out over the front of the boat tugging at the anchor line, but the drag of the boat still pulled it too taut, and he wasn’t having any success at all.
The boat heaved, a huge wave crashing up as the nose went down. Kyra screamed as a wall of water broke over Tony. She held her hand to her mouth, chewing on her knuckles, until he turned around and signaled that he was okay.
He yelled something that she couldn’t hear, but she gave him a thumbs-up anyway, certain he wanted her to ease the boat forward and give him some slack. With her hair flying, she concentrated on the controls, trying to remember the crash course he’d given her when they’d set out that morning. After a hesitant start, she got the engine to cooperate. Forward, then halt. He’d take up some slack. Then forward, and halt again. And over and over, until they’d found a rhythm working together, not needing words, but somehow communicating as they worked together to get the best of the storm.
Tony secured the anchor, then clambered over the deck to her. “Great job.” He adjusted the boat, then puther hands back on the wheel. “Just hold us steady for a bit.”
After fiddling with the sails for a few moments, he came back and took control. “You okay?”
She nodded. Already the storm was dying. But still her pulse throbbed so rapidly she could barely tell where one beat stopped and the next began. She was soaked to the skin. She still couldn’t catch her breath.
All in all, she was more than okay. She felt wonderful.
“When you promise a girl an adventure, you deliver.” Impulsively, she raised up on her toes, wanting to kiss him, to hold him close. Wanting to continue that awesome feeling of togetherness, like they were joined in mind and body, moving in a timeless rhythm.
But as she moved in closer, she saw the surprise and shock reflected in his eyes, and managed to catch herself just in time. Embarrassed, she took a step backward, twisting her hands in front of her.
“Kyra?”
Mortified, she couldn’t meet his eyes. “I…I left the portal open down below. I better go make sure we haven’t flooded the cabin.”
Careful not to stumble in the drizzle, she hurried below, then threw herself onto the bed. She grabbed a corner of the spread and wiped her face, not sure if she was drying rain or tears.
She needed to get a grip, needed to get her emotions under control. This was just hormonal. PMS, probably.Sure. That’s all. Just an emotional reaction to riding out the storm together.
