“What are you doing?” he asked grimly.
“I was hoping I might find some gloves in one of these lockers. I used to do a lot of rowing with Daddy on the river and can already feel the blisters forming.”
“You must live under a lucky star because the island’s about forty yards straight ahead. Here!” He threw her a life jacket from the bench locker where he’d been sitting. “Put it on, then grab the rope at the front end of the boat and jump in the water.
“You’ll feel the bottom at about twenty yards. It shouldn’t be difficult to pull the boat after you and find a place to secure the rope.”
She supposed she deserved his cavalier
treatment of her. Besides, he knew she was a strong swimmer. He’d seen her dive off the Piccione to swim twenty times that distance in order to reach the port of Lerici.
“What about sharks?”
He cocked his head. “I don’t recall you worrying about them before.”
“You told me there’d been a sighting of a great white near the Marche/Abruzzo border when we were on the Piccione. It wasn’t until later I found out it wasn’t a lie.”
“I’m glad you remembered our little chat. Be sure to slip into the water quietly. If I should see one, I’ll tell you to let go of the rope and swim like the devil for shore.”
“That’s very reassuring.”
It was a warm night, even with the breeze blowing from the northwest. If there was a moon, she couldn’t see it in the mist that seemed to hover around them. In fact she could barely distinguish between the water and the outline of land exposed like the back of a turtle.
“Tell me when you’re ready and I’ll light a flare to help you see.”
She reached for the end of the rope and made her way to the edge of the boat. “I’m waiting—”
There was a hissing sound before light illuminated his handsome features and the water surrounding the boat. It was a surreal sight.
She climbed up on the side and jumped, pleasantly surprised to discover the water wasn’t as cold as she’d feared. Once she’d surfaced, she struck out for the island doing the side stroke. It enabled her to tug the boat along behind her without getting tangled in it. At first she had to pull hard, but little by little she made progress.
Luc must have known these waters well to have gauged how soon she’d be able to touch the sea floor with her sneakers. Though she would never admit it to him, once she walked on dry land, she was glad she hadn’t met with anything out there in search of prey.
Quickly while the flare lasted, she found a good-sized rock and tied the rope the best she could. Then she shouted to Luc to toss the other rope end in the water. Within a few minutes, she’d pulled the boat around to secure it to another rock. Hopefully she’d done a good enough job that the boat wouldn’t float away from the shore during the night.
At least here they would be protected from the many cruise ships and large ocean-going yachts and tankers passing back and forth in the night.
By the time she’d swum to the boat, the flare had burned out. Luc lowered the ladder over the side for her. She grabbed hold of it and swung herself up. He surprised her by gripping her waist to ease her to the deck.
“You shouldn’t have done that!” she cried in a shaky voice. His touch had sent what felt like an electric current running through her body. “Your leg!”
As he slowly removed his hands, they seemed to trail over her hips before letting her go. “No harm was done. I put all the weight on my good one.”
“Nevertheless you shouldn’t have had so much activity this soon after leaving the hospital. Let’s get you off your feet and back to bed.” She handed him his cane and followed him below.
He nodded toward the bathroom. “You use the shower first.” There was an underlying tone of authority in his suggestion that tolerated no argument.
“I’ll get my things.”
When she went to move past him, the confines of the passageway were so tight, her body brushed against the hardness of his. Her breath caught to feel his flesh and blood warmth. She didn’t let it out until she reached the cabin and rummaged in the drawer for a pair of shorts and a white T-shirt she would wear to bed.
On her way back out, Luc had cleared the doorway leaving space between them. She moaned inwardly, wishing he were still in the way so she could experience the thrill of the contact of their bodies again, no matter how brief.
Once she reached the bathroom and closed the door, she clung to the sink for something to hold on to until her trembling stopped.
Earlier in the day she’d put their toiletries in the cabinet. After a few minutes of attempting to get herself under some semblance of control, she took a shower and washed the seawater out of her hair.
Several towels were folded above the cabinet. She pulled one down and wrapped it around her wet curls. Then she rinsed out her swimsuit and Luc’s T-shirt before leaving them over the towel rack to dry.