Page 9 of Deadly Waves

Mandy nodded. “I mean, I think it would be cool to see whales, seals, turtles and other stuff,” she said. “I would love to see a shark, though.”

“The owner says that they regularly see sharks,” James said, loving the befuddled look on her face. “There’s a light.” He flicked a switch next to the window and the water beneath was illuminated thanks to a little help. “It’s a special light so we can look when we’re in here at night.”

When Mandy lifted her face to stare at James, his heart rolled because she had tears in her eyes.

“Why are you crying?” He reached for her, his stomach twisting. “Do you want to change rooms? I’m sure Grady will take this one.”

“Oh, you’re going to have to pry this room out of my cold, dead hands,” Mandy said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. “I just … this is so wonderful.”

“Baby, just for the record, I would appreciate it if you didn’t cry when you like things,” James said, rubbing her back. “That freaks me out.”

“You freak me out.”

“I think we both freak each other out,” James said, pulling back after a few moments and kissing her upturned mouth. “Do you like it?”

“Other than the shark tour on our honeymoon, this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen,” Mandy admitted. “Depending on what we see, this might move to the top spot.”

“Oh, yeah?” James loved a challenge. “What if I tell you that when we get to a stop at one of the islands – I can’t remember which one offhand – we’ll get a chance to go out onto a smaller boat to see Great Whites in a feeding area?”

James didn’t miss the uptick in Mandy’s heartbeat and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling when her cheeks flushed with color.

“I think you’re going to have to get naked really quickly,” Mandy replied, reaching for his shirt. “Take off your pants.”

James barked out a laugh as he wrestled her down, fighting off her busy hands as he pulled her close. “I would generally never say no to you, but I promised the owner we would meet him on deck for a tour once we get settled,” he said. “I can’t break a promise. This is a job, after all.”

“I’ll be quick.”

“Baby … .” James’ expression was pained. He would deny her nothing and yet duty weighed heavily on him. “I promise to take off my pants the second it’s feasible.”

Mandy blew out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to busy myself with the cool window while you’re getting the tour.”

“Oh, no,” James said, shaking his head. “You’re going on the tour, too. As cool as this window is, I’m going to set some ground rules.”

Mandy’s forehead creased. “Ground rules?”

James nodded. “The first is that you cannot spend all of your time in here staring out the window,” he said. “You have to go to the deck and drink frilly cocktails with umbrellas in them. You have to eat dinner and you have to spend time with me. This window is not an excuse for you to hole up here and never leave.”

“But I can still look out the window, right?”

“Definitely.” James pressed a firm kiss to her mouth, not breaking it until he heard footsteps at the open door. When he looked up, he found Ally barreling her way into their room. “Do you knock?”

Ally ignored the admonishment. “Aren’t these rooms cool?” she asked, moving closer to Mandy. “I heard horror stories about cruise ship rooms, but these are great. I … hey, what is this?”

“That’s Mandy’s surprise,” James replied, exchanging a quick look with Jake as the normally quiet man joined them. “This is why we got the bigger room.”

“It’s a marine life window,” Mandy explained, beaming. “It has a light and everything.”

Instead of being jealous – something James was legitimately worried about – Ally returned the smiled. “So you can see sharks.”

Mandy nodded. “Isn’t it cool?”

“It’s amazing,” Ally said. “You guys are going to have a ton of sex by this thing.”

James scowled as he glared at his sister. “Really? Do you have to take things to the lowest common denominator every single time?”

“It’s a gift,” Ally replied, shrugging. “Mandy gets turned on by sharks, though, and you get turned on by Mandy. You guys are going to be humping like … how do sharks hump?”

Jake chuckled as James shook his head.

“It is pretty cool,” Jake said, moving toward the window. “I can see why you wanted it for Mandy.”

“I knew she would be the one to appreciate it the most,” James said.

“You can come watch with me,” Mandy offered Ally. “It will be fun.”

“No offense, but I think James was right about this room being wasted on anyone but you,” Ally said. “I’ll watch for five minutes and then be bored. I don’t care about sharks. You, on the other hand, will have to be dragged away every afternoon when it’s pool time. I’ve already resigned myself to that.”

“And I think you’re the perfect person for that job,” James said. “You’re … uniquely qualified.”

“I’m a total badass,” Ally agreed, returning her attention to the window. “Still, it is kind of neat.”

“It’s freaking awesome,” Jake said pursing his lips. “Grady is going to pitch a total fit when he sees this. You know that, right?”

“I can handle Grady,” James said, pushing Mandy’s hair away from her face so he could study her profile. She was enthralled with the window. “As long as my wife is happy, that’s all that matters.”

“Your wife is happy,” Mandy said, kissing his mouth before leaning closer and whispering so only he could hear. “You’re going to get really lucky tonight because now your wife is horny, too.”

“And that’s why you’re the best wife ever.”