Water Bound (37 page)

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Authors: Christine Feehan

BOOK: Water Bound
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“I’m not taking any chances.”
She laughed and shook her head as she turned onto the road leading to the harbor. “I love to smell the eucalyptus trees. The scent means I’m close to my boat.”
“When we get to the parking lot, hang back, Rikki, and let me check out the boat”
The amusement faded instantly and she stiffened. “The
Sea Gypsy
is mine. I’m captain. If you think something’s wrong, it’s me that’s going to board her first and check it out, not you.”
“Protection is my field of expertise. I’m not telling you how to do your job,” he said, and his voice went soft and scary.
She glanced at his face. His jaw was set. Not stubborn. Implacable. “I knew you were going to be like this. I
knew
it” She slapped the palm of her hand hard against the steering wheel. “I told you there would be no taking over.”
He shrugged broad shoulders in a fluid, casual way that only made him appear bigger and stronger and more dominant. She considered trying to push him out of the truck while she was driving. Maybe he’d topple down the steep hillside and roll right into the river.
“I’m sharing your thoughts,” he informed her.
She sent him her blackest scowl. “Then you know I’m not in a mood to be messed with. No one takes over my boat. Not even if they’re the best lover in the world.
Especially
not the best lover in the world. He’s already thinking he’s all that.”
Lev found himself laughing. She meant it, that was the thing that amazed him about her. She wasn’t even thinking she was complimenting him. She was too annoyed with him to be pandering to his ego. She simply thought he was the best lover in the world, but to her, she was the captain and he wasn’t taking over her boat. Little did she know, he cared nothing for taking over the boat—just the captain.
He leaned over and kissed her vulnerable neck. Once started, it was a little hard to resist kissing her soft skin over and over. And since he was there, a small nip was in order so he could use his tongue to ease the sting.
“I’m going to crash if you keep that up. You’re sort of distracting.”
He laughed again at her matter-of-fact observation. “I’m
sort
of distracting? Obviously I need to try harder.”
She elbowed him and gave him a look from under long lashes. “Are you going to be this way the entire day? Because I’m likely to throw you in the ocean.”
He flexed his muscles. “I’m willing for you to try. Might be fun.” Even as he teased her, he was already in survival mode, his gaze sweeping the entire Albion Harbor. There was a single recreational vehicle on the grounds, although no one was in sight. She drove through the parking lot to the dock. They were the first ones there, as they’d hoped.
Before she could exit the vehicle he caught her wrist, all teasing gone. “He could have been here, Rikki. It’s just as easy to rig a boat to catch fire as it is to burn your house down. This is where I’d choose to hit you, if I was looking to kill you. You’ll need to check your engine and your air compressor before you touch anything. And when I tell you to get off the boat, you move. Captain or not, your life is more important than anything else.”
She sat very still, her expression unreadable. Her lashes veiled her eyes so it was impossible to see into their dark depths, but he felt a small tremor run through her.
“Don’t be afraid, Rikki. I’m not going to let anything happen.”
Her lashes lifted and the full impact of her black eyes hit him. There was no fear, only a deep anger smoldering there. “I want him to come after me. All these years I believed I might have killed my parents and Daniel. He made me and everyone else believe that there was some monster lurking in me that slipped out while I was asleep. Four homes were destroyed, people’s lives, everything they owned, and my parents ...” She shook her head and her eyes flashed a dark promise. “I’m not running from him.”
He slid his arm along the back of the seat, his fingers curling around the nape of her neck. “No, but we’re going to be smart about it. We’ll be prepared and careful. Right?”
She was silent a moment, tense, sitting upright and not relaxing back into him. He waited patiently. It took a few minutes before she allowed herself to relax into his massaging fingers. He remained quiet, simply waiting her out—he’d learned patience a long time ago. He wanted Rikki to trust in him and he knew she wouldn’t give that up so easily. She’d taken charge of her own life and found a way to live within a world that was alien to her. She didn’t trust or like authority, which was the only reason she hadn’t turned him over to the police. There was no pushing her. She had to come to her own decisions and he wanted her to choose him every single time.
Rikki sighed softly and leaned her head back, turning to look at him again. “I can take care of myself. You know that, don’t you? I’ve made a good life here, Lev. I like being with you, but I don’t want you to think you need to take care of me. I may be different, but I can think for myself.”
He tried not to wince at the word
like
. He wanted her to love being with him. He couldn’t imagine not waking up to her soft body beside his, or her face with the incredible eyes and sexy, generous mouth. He recognized that perhaps he needed her a little more than she needed him, but he wasn’t trying to own her. Just protect her. And there was a difference.
“Have I made you feel that way?”
She bit her lip, her frown back. “Not really. I just think it’s important that you know I can take care of myself and make my own decisions.”
“I respect you, Rikki. If I’ve made you think differently, in any way, then I apologize. I have a certain expertise that I hope you’ll choose to make use of, that’s all. You’re so used to doing everything on your own that you might forget that I can help you.” He was going to track down and kill the bastard, but now didn’t seem the right time to say so.
She nodded. “Just so we’re clear. And I don’t like using you. You’re starting a new life. The last thing you need to do is deal with some crazy person who decided to kill me for something I did when I was thirteen.” She pushed open her door and slid out.
Lev did the same, moving around the bed of the truck to help with the equipment. “Do you remember anyone being terribly upset with you?”
She burst out laughing. “I hate to tell you this, Lev, but just about everyone was upset with me. I didn’t look at them. I refused to talk half the time. I just wanted all the noise to go away. If it was too bad, I had violent tantrums. My parents were the only ones who liked me. I have no idea if I slighted someone or hurt their feelings. I spent most of the time just trying to survive without losing my mind.”
He followed her along the dock until they came to the
Sea Gypsy
. He was grateful she didn’t just jump aboard. She studied the boat first, carefully looking it over before stepping aboard.
“I don’t think anyone’s been on her. Generally, I can tell if someone’s been snooping around her. I’ll check the engine and air compressor though, just to be safe. I’ve taken the engine apart myself and I’ll know if anyone’s touched
it.
”
He believed her. She had already assumed an air of supreme confidence and authority, as if the moment her feet touched the deck she was a different person—and maybe she was. He’d first seen her beneath the water, her eyes fierce and determined, holding his life in those dark depths, and she had been just as fierce on board her boat.
“Get to it, then. I’d like to get out of here before anyone else shows up. The fewer people who see me up close, the better.” He rubbed his hand over the beard on his face. He’d never grown out a beard and it felt strange to him, but it changed his appearance.
“You should have stayed home like I told you.”
“And be a kept man? I don’t think so. I have my pride.”
She paused as she went through her routine check of her equipment to give a derisive snort. “You have more money than I’ll have in my entire lifetime. You just wanted to come aboard my boat.” She narrowed her eyes. “And if you’re considering a mutiny out at sea, I won’t hesitate to throw you overboard.”
“I was considering sex at sea. Lots of sex. I think the fresh air is giving me ideas.”
She laughed and shook her head, stepping past him to peer at the air compressor. “We’re working here, not playing.”
He loved watching her, especially there with the early morning sun shining down on her. The day was cold but clear, with little wind, and the water appeared to be sparkling wherever the sun hit it. She was lost to him again, taken by the water, but this time, it was all right. He could take her in, watch her unhindered, see the smooth, efficient way she moved on board, listen to the way she hummed—he doubted if she even noticed she was humming. Yeah, she was deep in her zone, and he had become part of her boat.
He smiled, realizing she’d accepted him aboard whether she knew it or not. She would be acutely aware of him, feeling as if he was out of place, in her space, if she hadn’t. As it was, she moved from her air compressor to the engine, and he watched her routine, memorizing it carefully, adding it like a diagram to the maps and blueprints stored in his brain. He kept out of her way, and turned his attention from her, to their safety.
She obviously knew what she was doing regarding her engine and air compressor, and she carefully went over both, leaving him to double-check that they had no stalker. He reached with his mind, expanding easily, sending his call to the birds up and down the river, in the harbor and on the sea stacks rising out of the water. In answer, they took to the air in a large migration. There were so many that Rikki actually broke her concentration to look as the air filled with various species. It was quite a sight, so many circling above the cliffs and harbor, over the highway and even along the sandy beach.
The birds called to one another and filled Lev’s head with information on the location of any lone man in the surrounding vicinity. One appeared to be a fisherman and the other was sitting on the bluff overlooking the beach. Lev singled out the cormorant that had shoved the shadowy figure into his head, fought for control and took it, soaring high with the bird, directing it to circle above the bluff so he could see the man for himself. Old clothes, a white beard and an empty bottle of whiskey gave the distinct impression that the watcher had spent the night on the bluff. Beside him was a ragged blanket and curled up on it, a dog. He released the bird and waited, breathing deep to orient himself.
He felt her eyes on him and looked up to stare straight into those dark depths. She had the lines in her hands and a strange expression on her face.
“We’re heading out of the harbor, you might want to pay attention.”
“Give me another minute.”
She knew he had something to do with the birds. She probably felt the subtle buildup of power without realizing what it was. She stayed very still, her body swaying with the boat unconsciously, as if she were already out to sea and riding the waves. He loved that stillness in her, the lack of questions, the acceptance. She watched him without blinking. It took a little longer to send his mind soaring, finding and choosing the bird that had seen the fisherman.
Once again, the man seemed genuine enough, sitting in a small boat just at the edge of the bluffs. But
seemed
wasn’t good enough. He set his watchers to spy on the man and to come tell him if the man should move from his spot and head out after them. He smiled at her. She hadn’t moved, apparently mesmerized by him. “Are you going to get us out of here?” He gestured toward the parking lot where another truck had pulled in.
She turned abruptly without a word and stepped up to the helm. She looked as if she were part of the boat, one hand on the helm, her hair blowing in the breeze as they slowly made their way up the calm waters of the river to sweep under the Albion bridge into the ocean. He knew he should have been admiring all that wood and metal spanning the mouth of the river—and it was a beautiful sight in the early morning hours—but all he could see was Rikki.
She was transformed. He’d thought her beautiful there on the bed, soft skin offered up to him like a sacrifice, but here she was part of the sea, wild and free and very confident. As much as he loved Rikki for her inexperience and willingness to please him, he was intrigued by this side of her—so certain, from her fluid quick movements to her body language, to the rapt look on her face as she stared out over the water.
All he could think about was moving up behind her and taking her right there, while she took them out over the water. Next time, he’d have her wear a long skirt without any underwear so he could just lift up the hem and bury himself deep. They could move with the rise and fall of the boat, a gentle rhythm, or if they hit a little swell, hard and ...
She turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder, speculation in her eyes. “I’m not certain you’re up to the task.” Laughter spilled over before she turned back to look at the sea.
His heart clenched violently in his chest, his emotion for her so strong it was nearly painful. It was nice to know he wasn’t part of the scenery and that she’d chosen to stay connected to his mind. He needed the intimacy, even if she didn’t. She was bright and shiny, as if a light was inside of her, showing him the way out of shadows.

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