Water Bound (16 page)

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Authors: Christine Feehan

BOOK: Water Bound
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“Don’t.”
“I have to go, just for a little while. I’ve checked outside and no one’s around. I think it’s safe. I’ll lock the door when I go out.”
She could tell it was a struggle for him to open his eyes enough to look at her. The impact of that blue stare gave her a jolt in the vicinity of her stomach.
“You’ll come back?”
“I live here.” She was ashamed instantly. He seemed to need reassurance. Why was that so difficult for her? “Soon. Don’t shoot anyone while I’m gone.”
“Take one of my guns.”
She could see the worry in his eyes and that caused some sort of meltdown in her heart. Physical reactions scared her, especially physical reactions to men. Daniel had been an excellent diver who helped perfect her diving skills. They’d spent so much time together it seemed a natural progression to get engaged. But she hadn’t spent time with him off the boat. They’d talked about a future, diving together, but the one time he’d come to her small rented houseboat to spend the night, a fire had taken him.
“What are you thinking about?”
She searched his face, his eyes, not certain what she was looking for exactly. She didn’t want him to die, not in a fire and not on her account.
“Rikki, I need to know.”
“Why?”
“You looked sad. Upset. Did I put that look there?”
She couldn’t help herself. With her free hand, she smoothed the frown from his face. “No. I am just worried about leaving you.”
His fingers moved over her wrist and slid down to the palm of her hand to trace circles there. “I’m a survivor, Rikki. I’ll be here. The house will be here as well. Go do what you have to, but come back to me. I won’t sleep until you’re back with me.”
The drowning sensation was acute this time, and she jumped up, pulling away from him. As his fingers slid from her skin, her stomach did a slow somersault. She backed away from him. No one had ever made her feel the way Lev did, such a gut-wrenching
physical
reaction. She could barely breathe sometimes and that’s why she had to leave her own house. He was forcing her out with . . . with . . .
this.
She glared at him. Scowled. Her blackest, scariest, get-away-from-me-now scowl. He should have been intimidated. That practiced look worked every time. He smiled at her.
Smiled.
Not just with amusement, but with a drippy, dippy, you’re-so-cute sort of look. She backed completely across the room to the door.
“You forgot the gun.”
“
I
don’t shoot people,” she reminded him with a little sniff, and stalked out. She heard him laugh, but she didn’t turn around.
The sound of his laughter was too intriguing. It set off little explosions in the vicinity of her womb. She really needed to get out of there and go sit by the sea, breathe in the fresh air and listen to the gulls. She could almost believe he was a sorcerer who had cast some sort of spell over her. Privately, she would admit to herself that she
liked
touching him. She never touched anyone. And she sure didn’t want anyone touching her. But the feel of Lev’s hands on her skin, the way he stroked his fingers over her, was mesmerizing. The reaction of her body was frightening, yet at the same time exhilarating.
She found herself almost reluctant to drive away from the property and leave him. She got out and walked around in the trees above her house, quartering the area carefully, searching for evidence of a visitor. She should have gotten a dog after all. She’d considered it, but she’d have to take care of it and it might get seasick because she’d never leave it home alone. She sighed. She was leaving Lev alone.
“But he has guns, Rikki,” she reminded herself aloud. “A dog wouldn’t have a gun.”
Muttering curses under her breath, she marched back to her truck and drove straight to the highway.
This
—this
indecision
—was the very reason she didn’t get involved with anyone. Her life was far simpler just living alone. Furious, she made up her mind to throw him out the moment—the
very
moment—he was able to leave.
A siren caught her attention, and she glanced behind her and swore out loud. Damn the man. He’d made her speed on top of everything else. And now she was going to have to talk to a cop. She shuddered as she pulled over and sat, teeth clenched, with her license and registration and insurance out and waiting.
She recognized Jonas Harrington as he walked up to the truck. Her heart pounded and she tasted something metallic in her mouth. She silently handed him the three documents.
“Rikki. You all right?”
She’d seen him around the village hundreds of times in the last five years. Everyone knew him. She knew he was married to Hannah Drake. Her mouth was so dry she wasn’t certain she could speak. She nodded, hoping that would be enough, gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white.
“You were speeding, unusual for you. Everything all right? All your sisters fine?”
She swallowed and nodded.
He handed her back everything. “With our village being overrun with so many reporters, scientists and investigators, we have to be a little careful. Watch your speed.”
Reporters? Scientists? Investigators? Her sisters had chatted on about the yacht that had sunk being owned by a Greek shipping magnate, but she’d only paid attention to the part about the owner having a bodyguard. She was certain Lev was the bodyguard. It would explain his presence in the sea, as well as his weapons. She stared straight ahead, keeping her death grip on the steering wheel. She was thankful Harrington wasn’t giving her a ticket but sent a silent prayer that he’d go away.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk with Judith but maybe you’d pass along a package to her. She’s been working on a special kaleidoscope for Hannah. It’s a surprise.” He leaned his arms on the door and peered in at her, his eyes hidden by his dark glasses, but his expression friendly.
She swallowed and nodded again, staring straight ahead.
He laughed softly. “You talk too much, you know that?”
She turned her head then and looked at him, frowning. Maybe she should try her drop-dead scowl. But really, he was being friendly and nice. She just had to breathe. She took a deep breath and gave it a try. “I’ll take it.”
He smiled at her effort. The wind came up and blew at his shirt. He glanced toward where the Drake house sat up on the bluff above the ocean. “Hannah’s up on the captain’s walk. All of her sisters are on their honeymoon so she’s visiting with her parents today. I haven’t had a spare minute to get the package to Judith. It’s in my car. Can you wait a second?”
Rikki felt it would be wiser not to point out that if he hadn’t stopped her, he might have had the time to drop off the mysterious package to Judith himself. Since she didn’t want him to change his mind about giving her a speeding ticket and she didn’t mind talking to Judith, she kept her mouth firmly closed.
Jonas returned with a very small packet. He grinned at her. “These are all those little things women keep for memories. Judith had this great idea for a kaleidoscope. I wanted something extraordinary for Hannah to focus on when she’s giving birth.”
Rikki nodded. She had to say something. Being socially awkward didn’t mean she was completely inept, and after all, she was representing Judith, not herself. Staring straight ahead, she tried a small smile, hoping he couldn’t tell it was forced. “Everything Judith does is extraordinary. She’ll make it special.”
He looked pleased as he patted her door with his hand and then waved to her. Rikki’s hand shook as she turned the key. She was fortunate that it was Jonas who had stopped and recognized her. And she had to ask Judith about the reporters and what Jonas had been talking about. Really, she should read the paper more and at least turn on the news. She saved the newspapers for a week, just in case she wanted to read them. But they were always so depressing.
She turned off the highway to enter the village. As a rule, tourists came from all over to see the small, artsy town set on the edge of the sea. Today, it was packed. Overrun. Her pulse went into a pounding beat she felt inside her head. Ordinarily she would have driven straight to the headlands to sit overlooking the ocean, but she’d promised Jonas she’d deliver his package. She probably hadn’t been speeding. He’d most likely taken one look at the mass of people and turned tail and run, waiting for an unsuspecting innocent to do his dirty work for him.
She blew out a disgusted puff of air as she found the only available parking place in town—a good distance from her sister’s shop. Even the grocery store lot was filled. Rikki looked down the street and every single parking space was filled. People jammed the wooden sidewalks. And trying to go into the local coffee shop was impossible. There was a crowd ten deep. She’d been thinking about a nice cup of coffee. Damn Jonas Harrington. He was probably somewhere smirking right now.
She sat in her truck for a few minutes, working up the courage to fight her way through the crowded sidewalks to her sister’s shop. Far out, she could see the blue of the ocean, and her entire being yearned to be out there where the waves swelled and crested, rolling in beautiful, powerful displays. She understood the sea and the rules there, the life and death survival. But here . . . She looked around her. Here, she was definitely the proverbial fish out of water.
Well, she had something to do. Resolutely, Rikki shoved open the door of her truck and stepped into the street. Out at sea, on the deck of the
Sea Gypsy,
she could keep her legs under her, riding the swells with perfect balance, but here, on land, the uneven terrain always made her feel clumsy and awkward. Maybe it was all the people. She could barely breathe. There was no way to drown out the noise. She had coping mechanisms that she’d developed over the years. Counting her steps sometimes helped, but she’d never seen Sea Haven so packed.
She kept to the street, walking close to the bumpers of the parked cars to avoid the masses on the sidewalk. Her temperature soared and she had to wipe beads of sweat from her face. She kept breathing, her sunglasses firmly in place, wishing she were on her boat where she could see whatever was coming at her.
She had to push through people to get inside Judith’s shop and it was difficult to avoid touching anyone. Twice she was jostled and nearly fell to the sidewalk. Once a tall man’s elbow struck her in the head, knocking her sunglasses askew. He quickly caught her elbow to steady her, apologizing profusely. She nodded and scurried into the shop, banging the door closed behind her, hoping to keep everyone else out so she could breathe. She stopped, her entire body shuddering. The store was packed.
Judith looked up and saw her. Judith. Her lifeline. Tall, slim, hair flowing like a cascading waterfall of black silk—a heritage from her Japanese mother—Judith came immediately to Rikki, working her way through the crowded aisle, her expression one of concern. Rikki would never have come into her shop with people around, not if it wasn’t important. Rikki felt relief, knowing Judith understood.
“What’s up, baby? Anything wrong?” She looked back toward the counter and raised her voice. “Airiana, I’ll be a minute.”
Airiana, another one of Rikki’s sisters, looked up with a small frown of annoyance until she saw Rikki. There was instant concern. “Of course. I can handle it. Hi, hon. Everything okay?”
Rikki lifted a hand to reassure her, but immediately turned and shoved open the door, practically falling onto the sidewalk. She needed to be outside where she could gasp for breath. There were still too many people, so she pushed her way through them to the street. She drew in several deep breaths, holding her head down to clear her dizzy brain.
Judith put a comforting hand on her back. “I’m sorry, Rikki. I had no idea you were going to come into town or I would have stopped you. This place has been crazy ever since the yacht went down. Unfortunately, a couple of bodies have been found, so the frenzy started all over again.”
“You all talked about a yacht sinking.” Rikki straightened and kept her gaze glued on the distant sea. “But I wasn’t really listening past the fact that it went down. What happened?”
“It was some freak accident that has all the scientists in the world out there. Apparently methane gas from the continental shelf was released in a huge bubble, and it was the yacht’s bad luck to be there at the precise time the bubble hit the surface. Shades of the Bermuda triangle. The gas changed the density of the water and the ship just dropped down. The owner was a businessman, well-known, in fact rather famous. He, his bodyguard and the entire crew were lost at sea. There are reporters and television crews from all over the world here. Along with that, every curious person in the world has arrived as well. Good for business, but difficult all the same.”
“I couldn’t get out there diving even if the day was perfect,” Rikki grumbled. “There are ships everywhere.”
“What are you doing in town?”
“I needed to see the ocean,” she admitted. “I got stopped by that moron sheriff, Jonas Harrington, and he asked me to give you a package.”
Judith’s mouth tightened. “Was he mean to you?”
“No, actually, he was very nice. He didn’t even give me a ticket, but he asked me to deliver this package to you and he knew what it was like in town.”

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