Page 29 of Stranded with a SEAL

“The five miles?” she asked, taking another small bite of cracker. Her face looked slightly red, either sunburn or irritation from the wind and storm earlier.

“Five and half miles. And yeah, that’s the one. We were so hungry after swimming for hours, they had MREs waiting for us on the beach when we were through. Never tasted anything so damn delicious in my life.”

“I can’t imagine swimming for that long,” she said, shuddering.

“It’s what we’re training to do. I couldn’t ever sit at a desk job from nine to five every day. Something like that would just about kill me.”

“Me too,” she agreed, stifling another yawn. “That’s why I bartend. The tips are good, the people I meet are interesting, and I can set my own hours to some extent. I’m a night owl, so getting to work early every morning just wouldn’t do it for me.”

“You’d never make it in the Navy then,” he said, smirking.

She glanced over at him, her green eyes looking amused. “I admire the hell out of what you guys do, but no, that definitely wouldn’t be the career for me.”

“Why don’t you rest, sunshine. I’ll look around and try to make a fire. Even if the driftwood is too wet, I should be able to find something. You can use my backpack as a pillow. Are you still cold?” he asked.

“No, I’m okay.”

“Lie down and close your eyes, sunshine. I’ll be right here on the beach.”

“Maybe just for a few minutes.”

He rooted around in his backpack, pulling out an emergency blanket. It was made of mylar foil and would reflect Bailey’s heat back to her, keeping her warm. The fact that it was metallic would help them on the beach. The sun would gleam off the foil, helping them to be spotted from the air.

He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, wondering briefly why there’d been no signs of the Coast Guard yet. He hadn’t seen any helicopters even off in the distance.

“What’s that?” Bailey asked, looking at the blanket in his hand.

“Lie down,” he said, unfolding it and covering her with the blanket.

“Oh man, now I feel plenty warm.”

“You just got chilled out in the water for that long,” he said, brushing her hair back from her face. Her eyebrow ring gleamed in the sunlight, and he trailed his fingers over the tiny studs in her ear. “Rest. I’ll be right here.”

“Thanks for rescuing me, Noah,” she said softly.

He opened his mouth to answer, but she’d already fallen fast asleep.

Chapter 11

Bailey stirred, warm sunlight beating down on her. Her pillow felt harder and lumpier than usual, but she was so tired and so warm. She shifted slightly, trying to fall back into a deep slumber and ignore her slightly stiff neck. The sun was so damn bright though. Had she forgotten to close her shades last night?

Sniffing the air, the scent of wood burning had her instantly awake.

She sat up with a start, gasping. The bonfire fifty feet away on the beach was baffling. Smoke rose high in the air, and she noted with a frown that dark clouds were off in the distance.

The boat.

The storm.

Memories of their day came flooding back.

She wasn’t at a beach bonfire with Taylor and the guys. She wasn’t dreaming, sound asleep in her own bed.

She was stuck here with Noah.

Rubbing her eyes as she pushed away the emergency blanket and glanced around, she realized he was nowhere in sight. The sun was lower in the sky than earlier, and fear crept through her as she realized they might be stranded out here all night. The fire should alert the rescuers, but with the rain in the distance, would they even be able to come?

Would the rain put the fire out before they even saw it?

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