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For a moment, all I can see is feathers. The only sounds are a yell from the man and a thud as Sadie drops to the deck and starts to scramble away. I’m running before I even realize it, tugging Sadie into my arms and running back toward the yacht. My only thought is to get her away, to get her safe.
We pass Hunter and Jake and the dogs, and I hear running footsteps and shouts from the other direction.
Glancing back, I see the man down on the dock, German pressing a knee into his back. Sunbeam is yanking at the man’s pant legs, and Jake holds the gun loosely with two fingers. Above them, on one of the dock’s wooden posts, the massive pelican looks bored.
I stop, letting Sadie slide down to her feet, though I don’t let her go. I can feel her shaking, and I’m not sure that she could stand.
Dropping my forehead to hers, I squeeze my eyes closed, breathing heavy. Her hands clutch my shirt, and I can feel her heart racing where our chests press together. Mine matches hers.
“I thought I might lose you,” I say.
“I’m so sorry I left,” she says breathlessly. “It was cowardly and selfish and I’m so, so sorry, Ben.”
I lift one hand from her back, reaching up to cradle her head. “How about we make a promise—no matter how hard things get or how uncomfortable, we don’t leave when things are unresolved. We can take time, we can hit pause, but we don’t leave.”
“Yes,” she says. “That is … if you didn’t change your mind about me.”
“I didn’t. I could never.”
And then I’m done with talking. I don’t care that a man is being zip-tied a few yards away, or that we have a whole audience now—my crew on the boat and half the island gathered at the end of the dock.
I forget all of it and unleash every feeling I have into kissing Sadie.
She kisses me back with a desperation only matched by my own. Our mouths make promises as I deepen the kiss, wanting her to feel every vow I’d like to make in the way my lips claim hers.
We pull back, breathless, and a round of claps and cheers erupts behind us. Glancing up, I see my entire crew standing on the deck of theOakley,wide smiles on their faces. Leandra is wiping away tears, and it appears Tao is also crying. There’s a first.
Down the dock, German and the agents are leading the man away. Jake and Hunter stand watching me and Sadie, smug looks on their faces that I don’t even mind. At least for right now.
Later, I’ll find a way to get them back for being such jerks. Even if they werecorrectjerks.
I fix my attention back on Sadie. “You okay?” I ask, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek.
She nods, then shudders. “I think so. When the adrenaline wears off, I think I may crash.”
I grin. “I happen to know a safe place for you to crash. How do you feel about boats?”
“Boats? Or yachts?”
“Whatever you want, Sadie girl. Anything you want.”
She leans up, pressing a kiss to my lips with a sigh. “That sounds perfect, Mr. King.”
“Hey,” I say, remembering, “what do the three blinks mean? What were you trying to tell me?”
Her cheeks go pink, and she bites her lip. Then she grins and blinks once. “I.”Blink.“Love.”Blink.“You.”
There’s a deep rending sensation in my chest, a deep aching the way growing pains hurt, like my body is making room for new growth.
“You do?”
“Maybe it’s too soon,” she says quickly, suddenly looking unsure. “But something about facing imminent death?—”
I can’t help it. I growl. A purely animalistic, feral sound that makes her grin.
“Did you just growl at me?” Sadie demands with a crooked grin.
“I don’t want to hear you talking about death. You’re here. You’re safe.” I press a soft kiss to her lips, then whisper against them, “And just so we’re clear, I love you too, Sadie girl.”
