Page 28 of Deadly Waves

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” James said, joining her on the floor. He kept his face stern even as his heart told him he wouldn’t be able to muster a lot of energy when it came to chastising her. “I got worried when you weren’t on the deck with Ally.”

“I had to run to the bathroom,” Mandy said.

“Uh-huh.” James rubbed the back of his neck. “You know there are public bathrooms on the deck, right?”

“Yes, but … .” Mandy was caught. They both knew it. “I wanted to see if there was a shark.”

James didn’t bother hiding his smile. “I know that, baby,” he said, sliding his thumb over her soft cheek. “This is supposed to be a social vacation, though. I didn’t get this room for us so you could lock yourself away. We’re getting enough guff about that as it is.”

“I didn’t mean to be gone so long,” Mandy explained. “I was only going to look for five minutes.”

“How long ago was that?”

Mandy glanced over her shoulder, her eyes landing on the clock next to the bed. “An hour.”

James snorted as he reclined on the floor, patting the spot next to him so Mandy could get comfortable as he spooned up behind her. “You can have another twenty minutes and then I’m walking you to the deck. Deal?”

“Deal.”

James kissed her neck as he relaxed behind her, inhaling her scent as he basked in her warmth. Her body was slight but coiled with enthusiasm as she watched the window. She chatted away happily, pointing out fish and other things she saw as they swam by the window. He listened with one ear as he kept his gaze on her face. Before he realized it, he was asleep. Mandy never stopped talking, and he floated on clouds made of her smile as he napped.

“JAMES.”

Mandy’s voice invaded a nice dream from somewhere far away. She was with James in slumber land and yet the Mandy he looked at wasn’t responsible for uttering his name.

“James.”

James snapped his eyes open, taking a moment to remember where he was and why they were on the floor. That’s when he heard her again. She was much more fervent this time.

“James!”

James jolted to a sitting position, glancing around. He recognized the excited tone of Mandy’s voice, but he couldn’t figure out why she was so worked up. “What is it, baby? Why did you let me fall asleep?”

“Because you needed it and I knew if I woke you up you would make me leave,” Mandy answered honestly, never moving her gaze from the window. “If I let that happen, I would’ve missed this.”

“Missed what?” James wasn’t really cross with her, although he hated being jerked out of a good dream. When he shifted his eyes to the window his heart lodged in his throat and he instinctively gripped Mandy’s hips tighter. It was a ridiculous reaction since she was perfectly safe, but the sight of the behemoth shark on the other side of the glass caused his heart to flip. “Holy crap.”

His voice was barely a whisper as it brushed against the back of Mandy’s neck. He leaned closer, pressing his chest to her back, and didn’t miss the excited thump of her heart. She was practically delirious with glee.

“He showed up two minutes ago,” Mandy said. She had no idea why she was whispering. “I couldn’t find my voice for a full minute. No joke. I kept trying to say your name and no sound would come out.”

“I can see that, baby,” James said, wonderment filling him as he stared at the large predator. It was hard, but he managed to drag his eyes away from the shark and stare at Mandy. He’d never seen her so flushed with delight. He tried not to take it personally since this was a dream come true for her. He would never ruin this moment. “What kind of shark? Is that a Great White?”

“Yes.”

James slipped his arm around Mandy’s hip and pressed his palm to her flat midriff as he rested his chin on her neck. He knew there was no sense prodding her back to the deck now. She would remain in this exact spot until the shark left. Heck, she would probably stay here forever waiting for it to return if he didn’t put his foot down.

“He’s big,” James said as he watched the creature. It seemed to be oblivious to their presence, instead swimming along at a leisurely pace. “He must be twenty feet long.”

“He’s huge,” Mandy agreed. “He’s … beautiful.”

James flicked his brown eyes to her. “He’s not the only one.”

Mandy giggled as he kissed her neck. “How long do you think he’ll stay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can you get my phone and take a photo?”