Lulu folded her arms protectively over her chest. “You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry for that, but I had to protect Raul at all costs. When he told me he was going to run away from the ship, I couldn’t let him go alone. I insisted on going with him and then I couldn’t be responsible for getting him into even more trouble. I had to be completely certain that you and Maya and the others are trustworthy. Please don’t take it personally. I didn’t know you or your friends or this place, or even this country, and with Mr. Bad Guy chasing after us like that—”
She broke off as Tristan took a long stride until they were face to face. The breath fled from her body. He reached behind her, to the hatch, and with a sudden rush of panic she thought—he is going to toss me overboard. Instead, he closed the door, cutting out the sounds of waves and wind.
The sudden shift in sound disoriented her. Or maybe his sudden proximity did that. He was so close she could see the ring of opal gray around his irises, the scar hiding under his hair, the slight chap of his lips.
He cupped his hand under her chin and tilted up her face. His touch was so tender that she felt tears form behind her eyes. She swallowed hard, unnamable emotions racing through her. He didn’t seem to be angry with her, and yet he’d said that he was.
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“When I tried that on the ship, it didn’t go so well. I wanted to be sure.”
“What about me? You could have told me.” His quiet voice, like rough velvet, struck heat deep in her belly.
“I couldn’t take that chance,” she whispered. “Not at first.” She was hypnotized by his mouth, the firm cut of his lips, the dark gold scruff surrounding it…how would it feel if she touched it with her hand, her lips?
“No. I suppose you couldn’t.”
Her eyes flew up to meet his, and she saw understanding there. Even…respect. And something deeper, hotter.
He lowered his head, closer and closer. The journey seemed to take forever, and yet still it took her by surprise when their lips met. Not because she didn’t know they were about to kiss, but because the contact brought an explosion of sensation that made her stagger.
Sure, it might have been because the boat lurched as a swell passed under it. Perfect excuse to grab onto Tristan’s arms and savor the feel of his hard muscles. She felt the power of them, of all of him, but his kiss was light and teasing. The contrast made her want him even more.
He moved his lips across hers, like a butterfly looking for the perfect place to land. She sighed under his mouth and savored the sweetness of his touch. That first kiss told you so much about a person. Were they considerate? Sensitive? Arrogant? Selfish?
From Tristan’s kiss, she could do away with any thought of selfishness or arrogance. He was direct, curious, unhurried, deliberate. He didn’t do anything until he was good and ready—like parting her lips with his tongue to take the kiss deeper. She welcomed him eagerly, drawing him inside and dancing her tongue to meet his.
And she got even more from his kiss—joy and sadness, two things she understood very well.
At that point, she let go of her thoughts and abandoned herself to sensations. Liquid heat traveled straight to her sex. Her nipples tingled with electric desire. The palms of her hands prickled—always a sure sign of lust with her. Her toes curled inside her trainers, and her inner thighs tightened.
Good lord, one kiss and she was ready to shag this man?
She imagined him hoisting her up on that dashboard and parting her legs. Putting his big hand between her thighs, watching her as he stroked her into a frenzy. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She wanted him. Oh, how she wanted him. This virtual stranger that the mysterious workings of the universe had tossed into her life like a floating clump of seaweed.
He drew out of the kiss, his tongue sliding across his lips as if he was still tasting her. His eyes dark with desire, his breath coming fast, he held her gaze and let her see how much he wanted her. The physical signs were there too; she felt his bulge against her hipbone. It made her dizzy with need.
Or maybe that was the fact that the boat kept tilting and rising and falling. How could she possibly keep her head under these conditions?
“You were supposed to toss me overboard,” she finally managed. Go for the quip. That was her default.
“Change of plans.”
Or was it? Maybe he had tossed her overboard, into a wild ocean filled with crosscurrents of lust and swells of desire.
“You aren’t angry with me?”
“I’m angry with the asshole who kidnapped Raul. I got a few more details from him. His mother is from an extremely wealthy family, but he hasn’t seen her much over the years. His grandparents have a lot of security, but his mother’s more relaxed. That’s how Seb Antonov managed to snake his way in. She has bad taste in boyfriends, apparently.”
Wow. She hadn’t gathered that much information from Raul in all her time with him. Impressed, she pecked a kiss onto the corner of his mouth, only to find herself pressed against his chest.
“Don’t poke the bear.” Half laughing, half gruff, his voice vibrated through her body.
“This is Alaska, what else are you supposed to do with the bears?”
“Avoid them. Save yourself.”
She supposed that was meant to have a double meaning, but all she could think was how good it felt to be held by him. His strength, his heat, his seafarer eyes, his solid wall of hard muscle. How easily she could get drawn into his world and never want to leave.
But she had responsibilities. Or rather, one responsibility. A very important one. She still could hardly believe she’d fallen asleep before she could follow through with their plan and contact Maya Badger. Her mind and body had simply shut down from exhaustion and the ongoing stress of this situation.
Or maybe she really had trusted Tristan, and so she’d allowed herself a moment of rest.
Now part of her wanted to spend the rest of the night kissing Tristan and not worrying about anything else. But she shoved that aside. The crisis hadn’t ended just because Tristan knew about Raul now. But at least she wouldn’t have to deceive him anymore.
“What do you think we should do now?” she asked him.
“Carry on with the plan.” Picking up on her shift in mood, he stepped away from her, back to the steering-wheel. He took the boat out of idle and they resumed their course. She couldn’t tell where they were in this dark world of ocean and night, but he seemed unfazed by the lack of visibility. “We’ll tuck ourselves into a cove and wait until the FBI gets to Lost Harbor. When we’re sure it’s safe for Raul, we’ll hand him over to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.”
“How are we going to know when it’s safe?”
“Maya is really good at her job. I trust her. We can also hire a lawyer to represent him. My friend Kate is a lawyer and also very good at her job. Ethan James, the PI, should be back soon. He’s worked with law enforcement extensively. If all of them are satisfied, I’m thinking we should be too.”
Maybe. But that meant trusting Tristan’s friends. She didn’t know any of those people, other than Maya Badger. Maya had impressed her, but she was only one person, the young police chief of a very small town.