Stranded With Her Ex (10 page)

Chapter 10

D
aniela made her way along the path to the sea lion blind, her hair whipping around her face.

The wind had kicked up again, stealing every hint of warmth.

Brent offered to accompany her, but Daniela wanted to be alone. She needed some time to think about her reawakened feelings for Sean.

Had she given up on him too soon?

She knew he’d tried harder than she had to make their marriage work. After the accident, he’d given her space. Too much space. And when he started pushing her to get well, to let go of her grief and accept his touch again, she’d…panicked.

Making a sound of frustration, she pushed the hair out of her eyes. It was foolish to rehash the past, but she couldn’t help it. The more she thought about Sean, the more confused she became.

She ducked into the blind and closed the door behind her, shutting out the rest of the world. Inside, she was met by silence. There was no wind, no sound, no sunlight. Just a cramped, airless space.

Smothering a surge of anxiety, she picked up a pair of binoculars, examining the shoreline. When she noticed a rash of cormorants circling the air above Dead Man’s Beach, her mouth dropped open.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she murmured, her heart beating faster.

The wounded seal had been nowhere near Sea Lion Cove yesterday, and Daniela hadn’t expected to see hide nor hair of him again. She couldn’t see his body on the sand, so she wasn’t sure he was there. Hoping the bird formation wasn’t just an unhappy coincidence, she set aside the binoculars and searched the shelves for supplies.

After shoving a pair of wire cutters, a can of formula and a few first aid items into a canvas tote bag, she was off, scrambling toward the small beach. It wasn’t easy to get to, but Daniela was a fairly good climber. The way back up would pose more of a challenge, but she didn’t worry about that as she descended the short cliffs.

In a few moments, she’d maneuvered her way down to the beach. Kneeling behind a large rock, one of the last opportunities for cover, she surveyed the scene.

The wounded seal was there, lying on his side, his breathing labored. The birds who’d plagued him on the other side of the island were keeping their distance, but not because the pup was in better shape than yesterday.

A full-grown Northern elephant seal lounged at the edge of the water, his considerable bulk settled in a rut on the sand. The birds stayed high for good reason. Male elephant seals, called bulls, were loud, toothy and cantankerous.

This one must have weighed at least five thousand pounds.

“Jesus,” she whispered, considering her options. Elephant seals rarely attacked humans, but they would charge if they felt threatened. She couldn’t outrun an angry bull on sand, and the area was narrow, surrounded by steep rock on three sides. If he made a move on her out in the open, she’d be in big trouble.

But if she didn’t act soon, the pup would surely die.

She hesitated, her eyes on the wounded animal. Elephant seals had been known to kill harbor seals. The bull probably considered this beach his personal stomping ground, and could very well trample the unprotected pup.

She waited, hoping the elephant seal would get bored and swim away. The harbor seal turned his head toward her and bleated weakly. The desperate sound tugged on Daniela’s heartstrings, and the sight of his liquid brown eyes, so full of pain, strengthened her resolve. She couldn’t stand by and watch him suffer a moment longer.

Legs trembling, she removed her jacket and rose from her crouched position. At five-two, her full height didn’t impress anyone, especially not the lounging bull. When she moved out from behind the rock, he snuffled into the air, his fleshy nose wobbling with indignation.

While some seals and sea lions were friendly, others were skittish and quick to strike, as fractious as wild dogs. Daniela had a faint scar on her backside to prove it.

Sean had often said it was his favorite place to kiss.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t keen on getting bit again. Beneath that bulbous proboscis, an elephant seal had a powerful set of jaws, capable of breaking bones.

Pulse pounding with adrenaline, she edged her way along the base of the cliff behind the tiny beach. If the bull charged, she could try to take cover among the smaller clusters of rocks that jutted from the sand, but there was no safe hiding place, and no real escape, other than the way she came.

She approached the pup warily, keeping her eyes on the bull in the shallow surf. He made a braying sound, warning her to retreat. The gulls and cormorants overhead cawed and circled, wings flapping with excitement.

Farallon Island didn’t have the luxury of an emergency medical clinic or round-the-clock veterinary services. On rare occasions, an injured animal was taken to the Marine Mammal Center in San Francisco for care and rehabilitation. In this instance, whatever Daniela could do would have to suffice.

Luckily, the plastic ring didn’t appear to be lacerating the pup’s flesh, and the seal’s temperament was docile. He allowed her to examine him in stoic silence.

Just as she was about to snip the plastic, the bull on the beach let out a thunderous roar.

Frozen with fear, she watched the elephant seal rush toward her, his massive body slamming across the short beach.

Her choices were to drop everything and run, leaving the seal behind, or to attempt to drag the pup to safety. Blood thundering in her ears, she wrapped her arms around his plump middle and heaved backward, her heels seeking purchase in the shifting sand.

She didn’t make it. She didn’t even come close. The pup was small, less than fifty pounds, and Sean could have picked up two or three of these little guys, but Daniela couldn’t even handle one. Before she knew it, she was flat on her butt, staring up at a huge elephant seal, her face just inches from his ugly mug.

He bellowed, misting her cheeks with what had to have been the most awful halitosis in the entire animal kingdom.

Tears filled her eyes even as the smell soured her stomach. “No,” she screamed, hugging the pup closer. “Leave us alone!”

In some part of her mind, she knew she was acting like a madwoman. This wounded seal wasn’t her baby. He wasn’t a human being. He wasn’t even a pet.

And yet, in that moment, she’d have risked her life to protect him. She continued to hold her ground, her chest heaving with pent-up emotion.

For whatever reason, the bull didn’t attack. With another disgruntled roar, he turned and loped away, his portly backside disappearing into the crashing surf.

Amazed by the strange sequence of events, and thankful to be unharmed, Daniela let out a ragged laugh. “Well, I ran
him
off, didn’t I?” she said, looking down at the speckled pup. Sniffling, she trimmed away the ring around his neck.

His relief was palpable, and instantaneous. He bleated again, as if in thanks.

She poured the can of formula into a stout glass bottle and attached a sturdy rubber nipple. Some animals wouldn’t take food this way, but when she poured a few drops into the palm of her hand, he nuzzled her hungrily, and when she put the bottle to his mouth, he sucked the nutrient-rich liquid down in record time.

For Daniela, helping a wounded animal was always satisfying, but her connection to this pup was special. She’d saved him, of that she was sure. And, in some way, he’d saved her. It felt as though a piece of debris had been wrapped around her chest for the past two years, constricting her heart. For the first time in a long while, she could breathe.

Once the young seal’s hunger was sated, he drowsed in her arms, exhausted from the life-or-death battle his body had been fighting. Daniela cuddled him closer, crooning softly. She didn’t need a therapist to tell her that he reminded her of the child she’d lost.

After some initial anxiety about giving birth and raising a child, she’d settled into the idea of becoming a mother. She’d decided to breast-feed. Sean had teased her about the amount of research she’d done on the subject, saying she was already well-equipped for the job.

A few days after the accident, when her milk came in, she’d wept. Without a baby to nurse, there’d been no easy way to diminish her discomfort, and the swelling had been excruciating. Her breasts had been so full they hurt, and her arms had ached from emptiness.

Pained by the memory, she cradled the chubby little seal against her chest, singing Spanish lullabies and longing for something that could never be.

After a few moments, he roused. His neck was rubbed raw and several peck marks dotted his speckled coat, but he was healthy enough to be set free. Drawn to the lure of the sea, he wriggled away from her, waddling across the sand and sliding into the water with a soft, celebratory splash.

She walked to the shoreline and stared out at the Perfect Wave, feeling the wind lift her hair and caress her overheated face. When she turned back toward the cliffs, she saw Sean leaning against the same rock formation she’d climbed down to get onto the beach. With the sound of the crashing surf, she hadn’t heard his approach, so she had no idea how long he’d been watching her. Now the tide was coming in, soaking the sand at her feet.

If she’d tarried here much longer, she’d have been trapped.

Feeling foolish, she gathered up her tote bag and jacket and trudged toward him, anticipating a lecture. But what she saw on his face wasn’t reproof. It was grief. He must have seen her cuddling the baby seal, and it was clear he was having the same reaction she had.

His mouth was thin-lipped with anguish and his eyes glittered with unshed tears.

Daniela had only seen Sean cry once, after Natalie’s funeral. He’d never been comfortable showing this level of emotion, and she’d often wondered if he were capable of
feeling
it.

Muttering a hoarse curse, he pressed his fingertips to his eyelids, as if he could staunch the flow of tears that way.

She couldn’t watch another person suffer without offering her assistance, and this was Sean, the love of her life, so she dropped her things and put her arms around him.

Too often, she’d assumed he didn’t understand how she felt. And how could he, when she refused to let him in? Now she was faced with more evidence that she’d been wrong. Maybe he’d been as devastated by the death of their child as she had.

I’d have done anything to take your pain,
he’d said, and she knew that was true.

Trying to return the favor, she buried her face in the front of his shirt and held him close, smoothing her hands across his back, stroking the nape of his neck. He wept silently, his shoulders trembling under her fingertips, his arms slipping around her waist. Her heart bled for him, tears burning at her own eyes. At the same time, it felt good to share this moment, and absorb his grief.

Too often, she’d cried alone.

After a few moments, he straightened a little, seeming to recover from the uncharacteristic emotional display.

His flannel shirt was soft against her cheek, and he smelled wonderfully masculine, like clean sweat and warm skin. Without making a conscious choice to do so, she inhaled a deep breath and nuzzled closer, her lips touching his throat.

The muscles in his arms tensed, but he didn’t pull away.

She hadn’t meant for the embrace to become heated. One of his hands was resting just above her waist, his thumb making lazy circles over her rib cage, close to the underside of her breast.

Daniela glanced up at him cautiously, moistening her lips. His heavy-lidded gaze dropped from her mouth to her breasts, and even if she hadn’t seen the arousal in his eyes, she could feel it, swelling against her belly.

A beat pulsed between her legs and the tips of her breasts tingled, aching for his touch.

Sean was a red-blooded man, like any other. There was no denying that he wanted her physically, but she knew he wouldn’t take this any further, because of all the times she’d rejected him in the past.

With trembling hands, she reached up to touch his strong, angular face, brushing away the tears. Although he tensed at the contact, she didn’t stop. Holding his gaze, she explored the soft bristle of whiskers along his jaw, finding their texture uniquely pleasurable. She wanted to feel the rasp of that stubble all over her body, and the sensation of his hard mouth on hers, so she stood on tiptoe, pressing her lips to his.

For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to respond, but when he did, it was like a dam breaking.

With a groan, he lifted her up, cupping her bottom in his hands and fitting his erection against the apex of her thighs. She gasped, opening her mouth for him, and he thrust his tongue inside, taking everything she offered and then some. It was the least tender, most inelegant kiss he’d ever given her, by far.

Stumbling forward in the sand, he fell on top of her, catching himself with his palms and raining feverish kisses over her jaw, his scruffy chin scraping her face.

He was clumsy, overzealous and totally off-target.

“My mouth is right here,” she said helpfully, touching her lips.

“Sorry,” he panted, laughing at himself a little before he dove in again. The next attempt was much more successful, but then, he’d always been eager to please. It was his willingness to take direction that made him so damned good in bed, not any technique he’d learned with the women he’d had before her.

This time, he curbed his enthusiasm, finding her mouth with practiced ease and stroking her tongue with his. He also found her breast, cupping the soft weight in his palm and brushing his thumb back and forth over her stiff little nipple.

She moaned, arching into his hand and lifting her hips, encouraging him. He rocked between her legs, rubbing the swollen length of his erection against the cleft of her sex while he kissed and caressed her.

Daniela melted with pleasure.

Then the surf rushed in, wetting her boots.

“Damn!” Sean pushed himself off her, looking down at the soaked knees of his jeans. Clearly intent on continuing what they’d started, he scooped her up and dragged her away from the shore, lowering his mouth to kiss her again.