physically and emotionally with little effort on his part, she would be a fool to place herself in a situation where they were alone for hours on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Anything could happen. If he chose to seduce her, she wasn't at all sure she could resist. Her eyes lowered to the enticing expanse of brown throat exposed at the open collar of his white knit shirt, down to the tan length of chino-clad legs. He looked much too attractive for her peace of mind. Torn between longing to go with him and knowing she should not, she gestured uncertainly. Then her resentful green eyes darted up to meet his as he laughed softly.
"Scared, Allendre?" he whispered, stroking the bridge of her small nose with the tip of one finger. "Afraid I mean to spirit you off somewhere and have my way with you?"
"No, of course not!" she denied, blushing hotly as she realized he had voiced her thoughts almost as if he had read her mind. Then she qualified her denial in a weak little voice. "I mean… I don't have any reason to be scared. Do I?"
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and his brows lifted as he shrugged nonchalantly. "I never make promises, Allie," he murmured provocatively. "So I guess you'll just have to take a gamble. Come on, come with me."
The coaxing note in his voice was her undoing. Putting her common sense on hold, she nodded, her breath catching at the sudden intense light in his eyes. Yet she went along willingly after he gathered up her towel, and she suppressed all the doubts that were nagging at her when she got into the Jeep and rode with him to St. George's Harbor.
With a gleaming white hull and varnished wood cockpit, the
Sea Dancer
sparkled in the sunlight at its mooring between Ordinance Island and St. George proper. After hesitating a moment, Allendre took Ric's outstretched hand and allowed him to help her aboard, then caught her breath when he sat down on his heels in front of her and began unbuckling her leather sandals.
"The deck can be slippery," he explained, grinning up at her flushed face as his hand curved around one slim ankle, then the other, and he removed the sandals from her feet. "You're safer barefoot if you don't have the proper shoes."
"Oh, I see." Averting her eyes from the laughter in his, she glanced around at the gleaming wood lines of the cockpit and the chrome fitting that glimmered in the sunlight. "
Sea Dancer—
this must be the yacht I heard Deb talking about the other day. Isn't it?"
Ric shrugged. "Deb calls her a yacht. I call her a boat. I don't suppose it matters as long as she's seaworthy, and she is that. My grandfather had her built as a gift for my grandmother. She loved to sail." With a reminiscent smile, he took Allendre's hand, drawing her into the windowed cockpit. "How about you, Allie? Do you like to sail?"
Confined in such a tiny little space with him, she could feel a disturbing fluttering begin in her stomach, and she tried to lessen her reaction by looking around curiously. "I've only sailed twice, and neither time was on a boat as big as this. So, if you expect me to be your crew, I'm afraid I won't be much help. I know nothing at all about hoisting the mainsail or battening the hatches or all that other nautical stuff."
He laughed at her. "Then I'll just have to teach you some of that 'nautical stuff this afternoon, won't I?" Giving her a playful pat on the backside, he scooted her out of the cockpit. "Now, while I'm casting off, why don't you take that hamper of food below to the galley? No use letting it sit in the hot sun."
With a nod she obeyed, relieved that at least she knew what a galley was. As she stepped down the steps into the cool, dim cabin below deck she was surprised to see how much space there was. It wasn't a ballroom but it was adequate. One forward corner contained the diminutive galley, with a tiny refrigerator and a gas-heated stove built into cedarwood cabinets. She put the hamper down on the table affixed to the floor in
"Scared, Allendre?" he whispered, stroking the bridge of her small nose with the tip of one finger. "Afraid I mean to spirit you off somewhere and have my way with you?"
"No, of course not!" she denied, blushing hotly as she realized he had voiced her thoughts almost as if he had read her mind. Then she qualified her denial in a weak little voice. "I mean… I don't have any reason to be scared. Do I?"
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and his brows lifted as he shrugged nonchalantly. "I never make promises, Allie," he murmured provocatively. "So I guess you'll just have to take a gamble. Come on, come with me."
The coaxing note in his voice was her undoing. Putting her common sense on hold, she nodded, her breath catching at the sudden intense light in his eyes. Yet she went along willingly after he gathered up her towel, and she suppressed all the doubts that were nagging at her when she got into the Jeep and rode with him to St. George's Harbor.
With a gleaming white hull and varnished wood cockpit, the
Sea Dancer
sparkled in the sunlight at its mooring between Ordinance Island and St. George proper. After hesitating a moment, Allendre took Ric's outstretched hand and allowed him to help her aboard, then caught her breath when he sat down on his heels in front of her and began unbuckling her leather sandals.
"The deck can be slippery," he explained, grinning up at her flushed face as his hand curved around one slim ankle, then the other, and he removed the sandals from her feet. "You're safer barefoot if you don't have the proper shoes."
"Oh, I see." Averting her eyes from the laughter in his, she glanced around at the gleaming wood lines of the cockpit and the chrome fitting that glimmered in the sunlight. "
Sea Dancer—
this must be the yacht I heard Deb talking about the other day. Isn't it?"
Ric shrugged. "Deb calls her a yacht. I call her a boat. I don't suppose it matters as long as she's seaworthy, and she is that. My grandfather had her built as a gift for my grandmother. She loved to sail." With a reminiscent smile, he took Allendre's hand, drawing her into the windowed cockpit. "How about you, Allie? Do you like to sail?"
Confined in such a tiny little space with him, she could feel a disturbing fluttering begin in her stomach, and she tried to lessen her reaction by looking around curiously. "I've only sailed twice, and neither time was on a boat as big as this. So, if you expect me to be your crew, I'm afraid I won't be much help. I know nothing at all about hoisting the mainsail or battening the hatches or all that other nautical stuff."
He laughed at her. "Then I'll just have to teach you some of that 'nautical stuff this afternoon, won't I?" Giving her a playful pat on the backside, he scooted her out of the cockpit. "Now, while I'm casting off, why don't you take that hamper of food below to the galley? No use letting it sit in the hot sun."
With a nod she obeyed, relieved that at least she knew what a galley was. As she stepped down the steps into the cool, dim cabin below deck she was surprised to see how much space there was. It wasn't a ballroom but it was adequate. One forward corner contained the diminutive galley, with a tiny refrigerator and a gas-heated stove built into cedarwood cabinets. She put the hamper down on the table affixed to the floor in
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