I go.
But I feel his eyes on me all the way down the cabin stairs, and the memory of his mouth on mine follows me into the narrow berth where I bury my face in the pillow and try to remember why waiting is the right choice.
Nine more days.
Nine more days of wanting what I can't have yet.
Nine more days of sleeping feet apart from a man who just promised to destroy me in the best possible way.
I press my thighs together against the ache between them and wonder if I'll survive the wait.
5
FORD
The waiting is killing me.
Two days since I kissed her. Two days since I tasted her mouth and felt her body pressed against mine and made promises I have every intention of keeping. Two days of sleeping on deck while she's below, knowing exactly how close she is, knowing I could go to her if I let myself.
I don't let myself.
Instead I run checks. Monitor radio channels. Watch the horizon for threats that haven't materialized. The unfamiliar boat finally moved on yesterday, and Cal confirmed they headed north toward Charleston without making contact with anyone in Tidehaven. Could have been innocent after all. Could have been reconnaissance that didn't pan out.
Either way, the immediate pressure has eased.
Which means the pressure between Sera and me has nowhere to hide.
She's standing at the bow right now, face turned into the wind, her dark hair streaming behind her like a banner. We'reanchored in a new spot tonight, a hidden cove on the back side of an island with no name on any official chart. The sun is setting behind the marsh grass, painting everything gold and rose and amber.
She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
And she knows I'm watching her. I can tell by the slight tension in her shoulders, the way she's holding herself just a little more carefully than she would if she thought she was alone.
Seven days left on our arrangement. Seven days until someone from her father's network comes to collect her and I go back to my quiet life of charter fishing and solitude.
Seven days feels like both too long and not nearly enough.
"You're staring." Her voice carries back to me, amused.
"I'm admiring the view."
She turns, and the fading light catches her face, illuminating the curve of her smile. "The marsh is behind you."
"I know what I said."
Her smile widens. She moves along the deck toward me, barefoot as she's been most days, comfortable on the boat in a way she wasn't that first afternoon. The thin cotton dress she changed into for the evening clings to her curves in the breeze.
I grip the helm tighter to keep myself from reaching for her.
"Cal called while you were below," I say, forcing my mind back to business. "The boat that was watching us is confirmed gone. His contact at the Coast Guard station tracked them all the way to the Charleston marina. They've been there for eighteen hours with no sign of movement."
"So we're safe?"
"Safer than we were."
Sera stops a few feet away, leaning against the cabin housing. Close enough that I can smell her now, that lemon scent mixed with something warmer. Close enough that if I reached out, I could touch her.
"Does that change anything?"
