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“We only have the hot water in the tank, so I’m going to fill the tub. You okay out here for a few minutes?”
I nod stupidly in the pitch dark before I remember. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
When he comes back for me, I’m nearly asleep. I let him lift me once more and moan in pleasure and pain as he lowers me into the warm tub. I guess all the adrenaline was keeping me warm before, because the heat of the bath makes my whole body break out in tingles.
Ben has lit candles around the room and kneels next to the tub in the warm golden glow. His arms dip beneath the water to help me adjust my position until I’m reclining comfortably in the massive clawfoot.
“Bet you wish you’d gotten those release waivers signed now, huh?” I manage to get out around my chattering teeth.
He scoffs a bit, but I know I'm right.
“You make me crazy,” is his soft answer. The words are not unkind, quite the opposite. He says the word crazy like someone else might say the word love.
Not me, of course. I’d never, ever, ever say that.
I close my eyes as Ben washes my entire body with a soft cloth from his kneeling position beside the tub. I keep telling myself that this is normal behavior for a guy who I'm sleeping with. It’s not strange or sweet or loving at all.
I know I’m starting to drift off, but I feel safe enough to allow it.
Safe. Not loved. Just safe.
Chapter Fifteen
Ben
The last thing I want to do is wake Victoria, sleeping like an angel in my bed, especially with the news I have.
With a sigh, I finally sit next to her on the bed and run my hand up her arm. She inhales and smiles, her eyes opening and finding mine immediately. Her smile brightens and what was a tiny feeling in my chest just moments before balloons into emotion so big and bright that it threatens to suffocate me.
“Morning,” she says, beating me to it.
I manage to swallow down some of the feeling and smile down at her. “Good morning, beautiful.”
Something changed between us last night. I’m not sure if it was the intensity of the game or the way she placed her trust in me so fully, but I woke up this morning a different person. One who sees different things as possible in life. One who just might want different things.
Unfortunately for my hopeful heart, the island also woke up different this morning.
“Why don’t you grab some clothes and come down for a cup of coffee. There’s a situation on Faraday that we need to talk about.”
Her eyes go wide. “The storm? Is everyone okay?”
I nod. “The people are okay. The roads and many of the houses, however, didn’t fare very well.”
“The Sands?”
I nod again. “The Sands is fine. It’s built to withstand hurricanes, so a little tropical storm won’t take it down.”
“Okay,” she says, pulling off the blanket and reaching for her shorts.
The sight of her naked in my bed is sending alarm signals through every synapse in my brain. Don’t let her leave. I want nothing more than to tackle her down and take her right here and now.
But now’s not the time. I haven’t even told her the worst part about the storm damage yet.
I fix her a cup of coffee and bring it into the living room, sinking down onto the sofa next to her. She’s frowning down at her phone.
“Phone’s still out,” she says, tossing the thing to the side to accept the steaming cup.
“Yeah, someone came over this morning to let me know about the damage to this island. Once again, Merit fared much better than Faraday in this one. The main road to town is pretty washed out, only the four-wheel drive carts can pass at this point. The island will have that stabilized soon, though. The real damage happened to the houses along the road, mostly in neighborhoods on the west end. The storm drains clogged early, and then filled completely, and the flooding was pretty severe.”
