Page 20 of Merrick

“Thanks.” Going to the wheel, he gunned the engine and made a three sixty degree turn that took them into the opposite direction.

“Where are we going!”

“It is a surprise.” He flashed her a grin and she felt her heart taking a slow dive. She was going to have to be careful here. The man was lethal.

“Want a try?”

She nodded, eyes sparkling. Moving forward, carefully, she positioned herself behind the wheel and tried to ignore the slide of his body against hers as he exchanged positions with her.

Shoving the lever forward, she increased the speed and laughed for the sheer joy of it, when he stumbled slightly.

“Slow down!”

“Why?”

“You are going to capsize us. And you do not know where the hell you are going.”

But he did not care. He loved the fact that she was having fun and realized that he was having fun right along with her. Nowonder he was so fascinated, so damn turned on her. He had never met anyone like her before.

They had been going for twenty minutes, when he stepped up behind her and took control. She started to move, but he imprisoned her body with his hands covering hers as he slowed them down and took a neat left turn.

She was without shoes and barely came up to his chin. His cologne was subtle and expensive and sort of woodsy. His body was lean and muscular. Even with the wind blowing, she felt hot and bothered and it made her uncomfortable.

“Look.”

She jolted as his breath touched her ear.

“What?”

It was a patch of land in the middle of the water, with palm trees growing and was wide enough to build a house.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It is.” Pushing the lever down, he brought them to a halt and, to her immense relief, stepped away from her. “How about something to eat? I think I can rustle up something from the galley. They always leave the place fully stocked.” He gestured to one of the comfortable benches on the deck.

“That sounds good. I am starving.”

“I’ll be right back.” She sat and stretched her legs out, lifting her head to breathe in the fresh air. She was enjoying herself and she did not feel uncomfortable with him. Well, not really.

She had not been on a date in so long, she had forgotten what it was like. But in the past, it never felt like this. Of course, she had never been with a man like Merrick Pendergast before either and she had to quickly remind herself that this was not a damn date.

He came back with a tray loaded with food and what looked like a bottle of champagne.

“Cheese, fruit and crackers.” He dumped the tray on a table attached to the floor and sat across from her.

“Champagne?” She stared at him with lifted brows. “What are we celebrating?”

“Our first date.”

“This is not a date.”

He merely smiled and popped the cork, his eyes intent on her face. She had dug out an elastic band from her foolish little purse that could barely hold her shield and had put her hair up into a careless bun.

“How old are you?”

She stared at him wide eyed at the bluntness of his question.

“Are you supposed to be asking me that?”

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