Bring It On (16 page)

“You like
my
surprises.”

“When have you ever surprised me?”

“That time I showed up on your doorstep when I was supposed to be in Kenya.”

Oh, yeah. She did remember that. The first year out of college had been difficult for her. She’d hated her job writing bad copy for a third-rate marketing firm. Her apartment had sucked and no one in the building seemed interested in making new friends. She’d been lonely, but had tried to hide it from Colt whenever he managed to call. He’d been so excited about the project he was working on.

That conversation, she must have failed miserably because two days later he was on her doorstep, a bottle of wine in one hand and a fistful of movies in the other. Granted, he’d brought shoot-’em-up, world-destruction, epic adventures instead of chick flicks. But spending those two days together had made a huge difference in her disposition.

A few months later she’d gone to work at Rand doing graphic design—what she’d wanted to be doing in the first place—met Wyn and everything had changed.

For the first time, Lena wondered what would have happened the next time Colt came home if she hadn’t been dating someone. That weekend, something had felt different, but she’d convinced herself it was all the changes in her life, not how she felt about Colt. Would all the sparks flying now have erupted then?

“Okay, so I reluctantly give you the opportunity to surprise me. But I retain my right to balk at any time.”

“Trust me, you won’t.” With a mischievous glint running through his bright green eyes, Colt scooted off the bed, grasping the covers and dragging them with him.

The entire knot—comforter, sheets, pillows—fell with a plop to the floor leaving her totally naked. Two days ago she probably would have squealed, made some ineffectual attempt to cover up and then quickly disappeared. Today, she simply stretched, arching her body toward him.

“No fair,” he growled, his eyes going dark and dangerous as they traveled up the length of her body.

A heavy heat settled low in her belly. “You’re the one who took the sheets.”

“As much as I’d like to call you on this bluff—”

“No bluff.”

“We’re already late. Put on a swimsuit, grab a wrap and a towel and meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”

“Where are you going?”

His hot gaze scorched across her skin again. “Out, before I say to hell with it and climb back into that bed with you.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“You would if you knew what we were doing.”

Colt didn’t exactly disappear. Instead, they managed to get ready together with only one or two brief delays when they got too close to each other and good intentions were overwhelmed.

He made a fruitless attempt to cover her eyes—Lena patently refusing to submit. They walked to the opposite side of the resort, Lena becoming more and more confused when they passed the pool, the beach and even the main hotel building. They were on the path toward the dock before realization struck.

“We’re taking a boat ride?”

Colt answered, “Maybe.” Although when they rounded the corner in the path it became obvious they were.

The boat—although she hated to use that term since it appeared big enough to carry twenty people—bobbed softly on the swells of a calm sea. A man, she assumed the captain, lounged against the tall wooden post the bow was tied off to.

“Welcome,” the man said as he took Lena’s hand and helped her aboard.

Once they were on, the captain went to the helm, which sat high above the deck. Beneath it, there was an open doorway and a set of stairs leading down into a dark, pleasant hold. Lena peeked far enough inside to see a small galley, table and banquette, and in the back, a wide bunk built straight into the side of the ship.

Spread across the surface of the table were several masks, fins and bent rubber tubes. Lena had never been snorkeling before, but she’d seen pictures of the equipment.

“We’re going snorkeling?” she asked, spinning on her heel and ramming straight into Colt’s chest.

His arms automatically wrapped around her, pulling her tight against his body.

“You said you wanted to go.”

She’d made the comment once in passing, and he’d remembered. Reaching up on tiptoe she placed a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw. “This is very sweet.”

He leered at her in an exaggerated gesture that made her smile widen. “I’m sure we can come up with a way for you to repay me.”

Smacking him playfully, Lena twisted out of his hold and headed straight for the table. “Okay, so explain to me how all this works.”

Lena was glad that she didn’t get seasick as the boat bounced over the waves. After a few minutes below deck, they brought everything above, settling into the seats at the bow so that they could look out. Dolphins joined them, jumping playfully alongside the boat, keeping pace as they raced into open water.

The water was crystal clear and she was actually getting excited about the prospect of snorkeling. The captain explained that they were heading out to a sunken ship he promised would be teeming with a rainbow of fish. She had to admit that Colt’s surprise was a good one. Touching in a way that made her heart constrict and race all at the same time.

This was the sort of thing a man did for his lover. And she could get used to being spoiled. The problem was it wasn’t real. This experience, this week—they weren’t real. She tried to keep reminding herself of that, but it was becoming harder and harder to do.

She had no idea what was going to happen at the end of the week. Whenever she let herself think about it, a sharp pain shot through the center of her chest.

But she refused to let her worry about tomorrow ruin today.

The boat powered down and the captain released the hydraulic anchor. Once they were secured and the only thing visible for miles around, the captain switched modes and became their snorkeling guide.

Colt, obviously comfortable around the equipment, sat silently and listened to the instructions their guide provided. They went over safety and signals. After practicing a couple of times on deck, she and Colt dove off a platform at the back of the boat and into the water. Their guide remained with the boat.

It took Lena a couple of tries to get the hang of diving beneath the surface without choking on the water that poured into her open breathing tube. But it didn’t take long before she was cruising after Colt, who raced back and forth as if he were born with fins and gills. She knew that he was certified in scuba, but she was amazed by how natural he seemed in the water.

The sunken ship was nothing like she’d expected, nothing like the
National Geographic
specials she’d seen. The dark pieces of wood were hard to distinguish, covered in centuries of barnacles, sand and underwater debris. Once Colt pointed out what she was looking at, it became easier to distinguish the edges of the broken ship from the rock and reef around it.

It was cool to think that she was looking at a piece of history. However, it was a little creepy, as well, and she quickly abandoned the site to follow a school of brightly colored fish as they swam close to the surface.

She should have signaled that she was going up, but she knew Colt would have insisted he follow her. He was enjoying his exploration of the ship and she didn’t want to ruin his experience. It just wasn’t her thing.

Lena went up to clear her snorkel and simply floated with her face in the water staring at the vista below. It was easier up here—she could breathe regularly, and didn’t have to worry about swallowing a mouthful of water. She could still see the pink, blue, green and yellow fish as they swam in and out of the ship and reef below.

She kept Colt in sight, watching as he moved down, over and through the ghostly timbers of the ship. He was beautiful, a sleek bullet cutting through the water, coming up for air every couple minutes.

She had no idea how long she stayed there. Her back, no longer covered by the water began to heat, but she didn’t move. It actually felt good, a nice contrast to the cool water. Fifteen, twenty minutes later, Colt came barreling around the distant corner of the ship, heading straight for the surface. And her.

His gaze locked with hers through the wavy plastic of their masks. For a moment she thought she saw panic but as he got closer she convinced herself that she must have been wrong because all she saw in his clear green eyes was desire.

He shot through the surface of the water beside her, spraying droplets across her hot back. She lifted her face out of the water just as he reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

His snorkel dangled beside his face, caught in place by the connecting strap on the mask he’d shoved to the top of his head. Lena pushed up her mask as well, spitting out the bulky mouthpiece so that she could smile at him.

“Where did you go?” he asked.

His arms were cool as they touched her sun-warmed shoulders. She shrugged. “I like it better on the surface.”

“I wish you’d told me you weren’t enjoying this.”

“Who said I wasn’t? I like snorkeling just fine. I’m just not as experienced at it as you. You were having fun.” She leaned closer into his embrace, mock-whispering as if she didn’t want anyone around them to hear. “Besides, I enjoyed watching you.”

Colt laughed. His teeth flashed in the sun and an answering bubble of happiness grew inside her.

The day was perfect. His arms were around her, his smooth skin sliding against hers. He didn’t kiss her or caress her or turn up the dial on the desire that constantly simmered beneath the surface whenever they were together now.

Instead, he simply held her close as they bobbed together in the waves, enjoying the pleasure of the shared moment. Lena realized these stolen hours were the best of both worlds. The ease of their friendship had somehow melded with the passion they’d found.

And that bubble burst as she realized she loved him.

It slammed into her with enough force for her to lose her breath. No, no, no. How could she have let this happen? She wasn’t supposed to fall for him.

Her legs jerked up in the water, her body curling around itself and the pain and fear rippling inside her.

“Are you okay?” Colt asked, his eyes, just moments ago glittering with the excitement of discovery, were now cloudy with worry.

Somewhere Lena found the strength to nod and give him a sickly smile that she knew was nowhere close to normal. But it was the best she could manage right now.

“I think I have a cramp.” Lena reached down for her calf, rubbing the phantom pain.

What was she going to do? She’d promised him this would be no strings attached. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t allow emotions and hormones to rule her decisions.

And, really, that was still possible. So she loved him. Hadn’t she always? Sure, the emotion had somehow grown and changed, but she could deal with that.

At the end of the week, he would leave and head for whatever adventure came next. She’d go home, start circulating her résumé and try to find another steady, stable job as a graphic designer. Her skills were in high demand. And a few months from now, out of the blue, he would call.

And by then, maybe, she’d have figured out a way to deal with the inevitable pain.

Why had she fallen for Colt? The worst possible man for her to want. A nomad of the highest order, who didn’t even bother ordering cable because he wasn’t home long enough to watch it.

He was her opposite in every possible way. The craziest thing she’d ever done was deciding to buy her apartment even though she only had ten percent instead of the recommended twenty saved. He threw his body off the side of mountains, trekked into distant jungles, experienced exotic cultures. And enjoyed every second of it.

They would be terrible for each other. She couldn’t ask him to give up that part of his life—his career, his dreams, the very fabric of his identity—anymore than she could change who she was and what she needed.

Dammit, she wanted to scream.

Somehow she managed to get back into the boat, although she didn’t remember doing it. Colt insisted they eat lunch in the galley, to keep her pale skin out of the sun as much as possible. The dark, cool interior was far better than the bright sunlight outside. Beneath the stark sunshine, he might have seen more than she wanted him to.