It would help if his intense blue eyes weren’t staring directly at her.
He leaned his head back on a rock as he winced. “And how is it that you know how to do this?”
She went to work placing the scrap of material on his cut and tying it with the straps. “You grow up like I did and you learn to do plenty for yourself.”
Too much, probably. Lauren had never been able to allow herself to rely on anyone else.
“That why you came to help your brother?” he asked.
“Not that it’s your business but, yes. He came to my rescue when one of my mom’s ‘dates’ decided he’d take what he wanted from her fourteen-year-old daughter while said mother was passed out.”
Every muscle in Jaden’s body tensed as she pulled the strap closed.
“Sorry. I’m hurting you,” she said meeting his gaze. His shifted from hers, skipped over her breasts to the makeshift Band-Aid she’d fashioned on his hand.
Being so close to Jaden caused her pulse to pound in her veins and her body to spark, reacting to the sexual chemistry. And here she knew nothing about him. What was it about this guy that was getting to her?
Maybe that was the attraction. A strong mystery man who’d swooped in to save her like a superhero. A real-life good guy.
Who wouldn’t be attracted to that?
“Let me warm you up.” He bent further until he could wrap his strong arms around her and pull her up until she was kneeling inside his thighs. Her hips were inches from his skin. Heat pulsed between them.
“You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” He brushed back her hair and really looked at her. There was a hint of vulnerability in those determined eyes.
The weather had turned.
She sensed he knew it, too.
Lauren grabbed hold of his waist, not so much as a conscious decision as just raw instinct, basking in the warmth his body provided for another moment.
A thin layer of mesh kept her naked skin from his bare chest.
Reminding herself that he’d likely saved her life back there in the water, again, she decided her attraction to him was really gratitude, nothing more.
And what did it matter? No matter how strong her feelings for him were at the moment, they wouldn’t last. Lauren didn’t do ‘close.’ Not since her mother. Not since her brother. Not since opening up to her young and handsome English professor who’d made her believe in the redemptive power of love until she got a nasty phone call from his wife. Jerk.
She regained her senses and stood up.
Chapter 7
The winds kicked up to a cacophony of lightning flashes against the backdrop of heavy clouds and thunder.
Thunder cracked as a lightning bolt raced sideways across the sky. Jaden’s ears rang, his head pounded. Lauren’s wide golden eyes threatened to fracture the emotional wall he’d built.
The air was heavy and thick.
Jaden crouched down at the edge of the water, thinking that he’d never been around another person who retreated quicker than Lauren. The moment he tried to get close, she’d back away. The best and only thing he could do was to give her space.
She moved beside him. He angled his face toward her and studied her.
“I’m sorry about the way I acted a few minutes ago,” she said. “I don’t know what it is about being with you that scares me.”
He must’ve made a face because she quickly added, “I’m not afraid of you. I don’t think you’re going to hurt me. There’s something about being around you, a pull, attraction, whatever you want to call it that catches me off guard. I’ve never felt this so strongly before and I’m pretty certain today might be my last on this earth. So, if it’s okay with you I want you to kiss me.”
Awareness shot through Jaden as he looked into her eyes and saw a dangerous mix of hunger and need there. He brought his hands up to cradle her face and tilt her chin toward him, drawing her lips near his. “This is a bad idea.”
“I don’t really care right—” The rest of the words were silenced when his mouth crushed hers. She parted her lips for him, and his tongue delved deep.
Heat and a shot of overwhelming need warmed rocketed through him.
He broke off the kiss far too soon when thunder rumbled, shaking the ground.
“Still don’t care?” he asked.
She didn’t answer because she had to have felt it, too. The two of them together would be an all-consuming fire that neither could afford. She couldn’t let herself trust anyone any more than he could.
Jaden refocused.
The swells had momentarily lightened up. Good. The winds were fairly calm. Better. He scanned the water. No fins. Didn’t necessarily mean no sharks.
From his position he saw a white object bobbing up and down with the waves. Jaden checked his leg. No blood. Good. Sharks were drawn to blood. The makeshift bandage she’d made had stopped the bleeding.
“Hold on.” Wading waist-high, he counted the waves, and on three dove into one. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard her protests about getting in the water again.
He broke the surface and squinted, trying to get a better look at the mystery article. He didn’t have to swim long before reaching it. A wind surfing board. Looked to be in decent condition and like it would hold his weight. This would keep them out of the water and insulate them against dangers lurking there.
Jaden planted his gaze on Lauren with laser precision as he paddled toward her. It didn’t take long to return to the rocky coast. He rolled off the board and examined it properly.
“Not bad. The rig and the sail have been ripped clean off though. Still, it should work.”
“Are we really supposed to leave on that?” She looked him up and down like he’d lost his mind.
He glanced up at the sky, at the darkening clouds, and said, “We have to go now.”
“Okay.”
Jaden slipped on his facemask and tucked his fins
