In Forbidden Territory by Shawna Delacorte Page A

lips, paused a moment as he plumbed the depths of her eyes, then headed for his bedroom.
    Ten minutes later they walked hand in hand toward the dock. As they approached the sloop Ty tugged on her hand to bring her to a halt. “Are you serious about wanting to learn how to sail?”
    â€œYes, very much so.” She cocked her head as she studied him for a moment. “Would you teach me?”
    â€œI’ve love to share my sailing expertise with you. Hasn’t Mac ever taught you any sailing techniques? He goes sailing almost as often as I do. That’s about the only thing that gets him out of the offices, that and his early-morning jogs.”
    He gestured toward the sloop. “This is the one where you really get to sail, where all of the work functions are done by hand rather than computer and machine. This is the one we’ll use for your sailing lessons. Come on, I’ll give you a quick tour.”
    He helped her on board. They spent about fifteen minutes looking around with Ty pointing out the sailing features. “I can easily handle her by myself, but for the more inexperienced sailor it’s recommended that a crew of two be on board.” A soft smile curled the corners of his mouth as he looked around the deck. “I’ve owned this one for almost twenty years, since I was a teenager. I worked, saved and bought it with my own money. I have a real sentimental attachment to it.”
    He then indicated the other side of the dock. “Today we’ll be taking out the ketch.” He shot a teasing grin in her direction. “For your first lesson…a sloop is single-masted with only one mainsail. My racing sloop has a trapeze and spinnaker sail in addition to the mainsail. A ketch has two masts.”
    He escorted her on board the larger sailboat, gave her a quick tour of the deck and the quarters belowdeck, then in another fifteen minutes they were under way. As soon as they left the dock Ty felt the burden lift from his shoulders and his spirit lighten. He never felt more free than he did on the ocean, especially under full sail. And having Angie with him only increased that awareness.
    â€œWhat do you want me to do? As I said, I’ve never been part of the crew, but I’m a quick learner.”
    â€œWe need to get out of here first and into open water. Then we can cut the engine and switch over to sail and wind power. This boat is equipped with the latest in sailing technology so that I can handle by myself what would normally take a crew of at least four to do. For the pure experience of hands-on sailing, though, I definitely prefer the small racing sloop.”
    His large, technologically equipped sailboat allowed him to entertain a beautiful woman on sailing jaunts with just the two of them on board without his time being taken with doing the work of sailing. It also allowed him to have several people on board for a party without needing a full crew.
    The ketch also served as a test lab to check out the latest equipment and technological innovations before the company incorporated them into a design project. But it was the smaller sailboat that he enjoyed the most—the one that provided him with the greatest sense of freedom and escape.
    And now he had someone very special to enjoy it with, someone who had even expressed an interest in learning about his favorite activity. Someone to share it with. None of the other women he dated had ever expressed any interest in learning how to do the work involved with sailing. They had only been interested inthe party atmosphere. And for him that had been enough. But not anymore.
    He glanced over at Angie, her eyes closed and her face tilted up toward the morning sun. His heart swelled in his chest and the feeling of total contentment settled over him. His workday may have started out on a disagreeable note, but the rest of the day would be perfect. It seemed that things were always perfect whenever he was with