Page 49 of Deadly Waves

They shook together, gasping and mewling, and then James fell to the floor and clutched Mandy to his chest. Her eyes were closed as their hearts thundered against one another.

James rubbed his hand over her bare back, sucking in gasping mouthfuls of oxygen as he fought to come back to Earth. “How was that? Better?”

“It’s always good with you,” Mandy murmured, snuggling closer. “It honestly doesn’t get better than that.”

James smiled. “That shows what you know, wife,” he said. “That was simply round one. You’ve got several rounds ahead of you tonight.”

Mandy giggled. “Oh, yeah? Are you sure you can handle that?”

“Oh, baby, as long as I have you, I can handle anything,” James said. “Prepare to be amazed.”

“Something tells me I’ll never forget this day … or night.”

“Something tells me you’re right.”

“HOLY CRAP!”

Grady made a face as he walked past James and Mandy’s room, the sounds coming from inside making it obvious what was going down behind closed doors.

“They sound as if they’re having a good night,” Sophie said, grinning.

“He sounds as if he’s killing her,” Grady corrected. “I guess it’s good we don’t have a bunch of strangers in this area with us, huh? They’d be getting complaints.”

“I would smack anybody who gave them grief,” Sophie said, waiting patiently for Grady to open their door. “They’ve been through so much that I don’t care if they make those noises for the rest of their lives. They’ve earned them.”

“They have been through a lot,” Grady conceded. “I’m still going to mess with them tomorrow about this, though. I feel it’s my place to do it. I am the younger brother, after all.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Sophie asked dryly, kicking off her shoes. “So, we didn’t get a chance to talk,” she prodded after a beat. “How was the shark watching really?”

“It was … amazing,” Grady admitted, his eyes glazing. “I don’t know if I can explain it, sugar.”

“Try,” Sophie suggested. “I’m sorry I didn’t go with you guys. I wouldn’t have wanted to get in the cage, but I’m sad I missed seeing Mandy’s reaction.”

“Yeah, well, as much as I like to tease her, that was glorious, too,” Grady said. “There was almost an issue when we arrived. James was going to keep her from the cage because he thought better about it during the trip out there.”

“How come?”

“Because Mandy always seems to find trouble and James was afraid she’d somehow end up in the water outside of the cage and get eaten by a shark.”

“Well, that obviously didn’t happen,” Sophie said. “What changed his mind?”

“I did.” Grady’s answer was simple. “I told him he could not steal that experience from her and he relented. Deep down, I think he already knew that it wasn’t fair to hold her back. He’s just been struggling so much since Clint took her, though, I’m not sure if he can identify the line before he crosses it these days.”

“They’re getting past it, Grady,” Sophie said, running her hand through his hair as he sat on the bed and she stood between his legs. “You can’t expect them to bounce back from everything overnight. That’s not fair.”

“I know it’s not,” Grady said, slipping his hand beneath her dress and running it over her soft thigh. “I think I got spoiled by the fact that Mandy always bounces back faster than should be humanly possible. It’s not right, but there it is.

“Then, when this happened, they both fell apart,” he continued. “Usually one of them falls apart and the other holds it together long enough to make things okay. The only other time they both fell apart at the same time was after the explosion.”

“Grady, they didn’t fall apart this time,” Sophie said. “They … waded through quicksand until they found their way.”

“James fell apart when she was gone,” Grady countered. “You weren’t there in the hospital when she was crying and he was going to let her have her own way even though it wasn’t what she needed. He was going to let her be in pain rather than tell her no.”

“Okay, they had a brief moment of weakness,” Sophie conceded. “You were there to be their strength that day. You drugged your brother and ordered them to knock out Mandy so they could work on her foot. Then you fought for them to stay in the room together. Then you stood guard the entire night. You were their hero.”

“I guess that’s a commentary on how much their love has affected us all, huh?”

“No, it’s a commentary on how good of a brother you really are,” Sophie corrected, forcing his chin up so he had no place to look but her eyes. “You’re a wonderful man, Grady. You’re strong … and handsome … and unbelievably funny and charming.”