“I’m sorry I left you twisting in the wind. I never thought that blogger would go after you.”
“I know. The thing is, there’s no one else I trust to have my back. I knew I’d be safe here with you.” She glanced up at him, hoping he didn’t read in her face the pure longing she felt in her heart.
He reached out and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said in a rough and determined voice.
“I know.” Because she knew him. “We do make a good team. I’m sorry I just showed up on your doorstep, but in my defense, I did try to call you.”
He winced. “Service is sporadic around here, and since it’s easy enough to find people, I don’t worry too much about keeping my cell on hand.”
“I left a message.”
This time he let out a low groan. “I’m pretty lazy about listening to those. I must not have seen your number come up, or I would’ve called you back.”
“That’s because I called from a disposable cell phone.”
“Smart.” He nodded, approving. “Now that you mention it, I do remember getting a few calls from a number I didn’t recognize.”
“Well, I came anyway. I hope you don’t mind the surprise.”
“If you’re in danger back home, I’m glad you came here.”
“Like Coop said, two of us injured is the equivalent of one healthy human being.”
“Way to stroke my ego.” He grinned.
“I’m not too worried. Your ego is pretty solid. How’s the rest of you?” she asked.
“Amazingly, I’m feeling pretty good. How about you?”
She glanced down. She’d left the brace back at the B and B. “I’m sure you noticed the limp.”
“How about the pain? The flexibility? Will you—”
“I don’t know.” She cut him off, not wanting to discuss the future of her career. “Time will tell.”
He inclined his head. “Fair enough.”
Another thing she appreciated about Rafe. He instinctively knew when to back off. “Listen, there’s one small problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Angel only has a room available for two nights. I can call around to local hotels, but I didn’t realize there was a festival coming up that was such a big attraction. I may not find anything.”
He waved away her concern. “You don’t have to. You can stay with me.”
She exhaled in relief. “I hoped you’d say that.”
There was just one more thing standing between them. The words were unsaid, yet as loud as the wind. She swallowed hard, knowing she had to bring things out into the open. “What about us? What about what you said that night on the roof?”
“I said a lot of things. Just so we’re clear, what exactly are you referring to?” he asked. But from his deepening gaze, he obviously remembered.
She gathered the remainder of her courage. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. What those words implied.
And she needed to know. “You said I was gorgeous. That I had curves to die for. When the blogger quoted you, I didn’t know if you meant it or if it was the blood loss talking. Then we were linked as a couple, and I couldn’t stop thinking…”
“About?” he asked, his voice gruff.
Sexy.
His gaze bore into hers.
The air around her hummed in anticipation. “About the chemistry we always had on the job. And all the things left unsaid.”
His hands framed her face. “Things like this?” He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers.
She let out a soft sigh, and he deepened the kiss, letting his mouth do the talking. And he spoke eloquently, his tongue tangling with hers, kindling heat she’d dreamed about. Sparks flew between them, delicious, sweet and undeniably hungry.
Oh, yes. She hadn’t imagined the chemistry. And it definitely hadn’t been one-sided.
She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Summer temperatures mixed with body heat. Intensity radiated from him, and she inched closer, seeking more. He complied, alternating long, lazy strokes of his tongue with deeper, faster thrusts, a prelude of what could be.
On and on it went. She didn’t know how long they stood there, his hands threading through her hair, her fingers curling into the soft fabric of his T-shirt, his mouth making love to hers.
Suddenly the rumbling of a motorboat startled her.
She jumped back just as the motor shut down and a male voice yelled out. “Guess I should take my chessboard and go home!”
“You guessed right!” Rafe yelled back, gesturing at the man in the boat to leave.
He swallowed a curse. Didn’t it just figure his uncle Pirro would interrupt at the best—and worst—possible moment?
He’d finally gotten a taste of what could be if he and Sara just let down their guard, and it was more explosive than he’d ever imagined. And if they hadn’t been interrupted, he would have taken it to the obvious conclusion right here on the beach. He’d have finally known what being inside Sara, what becoming a part of her, felt like. But they had been interrupted, and now the reality of the situation settled on his shoulders. Of all the ironies in life, this had to be the worst. The woman of his dreams needed his protection, would be living under his roof and clearly wanted him, too. But taking what they both wanted would be a mistake, for more reasons than he had time to think about now.
The motor started up again, and the small boat turned and headed back the way it came.
“Who was that?” Sara asked, gazing toward the rippling water.
“My uncle Pirro. He’s married to my father’s sister. Actually, he’s Nick’s father-in-law. He has insomnia and often comes by for a game of chess or a talk.” Rafe ran a hand through his windblown hair. “The way things are around here, I’m sure you’ll meet him soon.”
She smiled. “And I look forward to it.” She paused and eased closer, a seductive gleam in her eyes. “So…where were we?”
She wanted to pick up where they left off. So did he. But someone had to think rationally and look out for both of them. As hard as it was, Rafe stepped back, folding his arms over his chest, deliberately placing distance between them.
“What’s wrong?” Confusion followed by hurt flickered over her face.
The hurt hit him in his gut.
Rafe shook his head, sorrier than she could imagine. The last thing he wanted was to cause her pain, but she’d brought up their feelings, and he had no choice but to be honest.