Page 5 of Unmoored

He tilts his head. “I’m doing a bad job stealing it.”

“Well, you must have brought me back because kidnapping me is a bigger crime than stealing a boat—I mean, I assume, I don’t know the law of the water?—”

The guy holds his hand up and slowly lowers it. “Your boat was adrift.”

Shit.

My outrage pops like a balloon, and now I’m blushing furiously. I have the sneaking suspicion he enjoyed giving me the chance to accuse him of half a dozen crimes before breakfast.

“Oh.”

The stranger is rubbing a hand over his mouth, but I can see the amusement in his eyes. “Mmm.”

“What if I wanted to drift?” I mumble as his brows creep slowly up. “Maybe I’m in a phase of my life where I just wanna see where I end up?—”

He points at something I can’t see, so I turn around… and my heart leaps into my throat. In the distance is the ferry. Not the little Sunrise Island passenger ferry—thehugeone that I took yesterday, coming over from Vancouver.

“You were right about where her bow is now.”

A ferry like that wouldn’t even notice one little rust bucket drifting around in the dark.

Shit. I might be sick. I push myself away from the edge of the boat to sit down heavily on the bench, and my rescuer sits next to me. “Breathe,” he says calmly.

Doesn’t he know he just saved my life?

“Getting dressed wasn’t the only thing you forgot to do last night. Shall we talk about anchors?” I can see a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

“I can’t get to sleep when I’m hot—” I stop myself, swatting a hand at him as I blush furiously. “Never mind.”

“Uh huh. And the anchor?”

“I dropped it. I even made sure it was attached first.” I try to grin like I’m joking, but he’s not fooled.

The guy stares at me with alarm before shaking his head. “Glad that’s settled.” He rises to his feet, loosening the knot in the rope mooring what I can only assume is his speedboat to my deck railing.

Damn it, he’s leaving already?My heart sinks.“I’ll go on YouTube and find out how to anchor a boat,” I promise, standing up.

He grunts. “Don’t move that anchor until you do.” Then he glances sideways at me like something’s only just occurred to him. “Have youbeenon a boat before?”

Okay, so… the answer is no. But he’s already guessed as much, and I’m too stubborn to say it out loud.

I toss my head. “Anyone can make mistakes.”

He snorts. “Mmm. That explains why you bought her,” he says over his shoulder.

“Hey!” I protest with a laugh. “Not where she can hear.”

But he just leaps across, landing in the middle of his own boat. Despite his size, he’s nimble as hell. It barely even rocks from side to side. If I tried that manoeuvre, I’d be in the water—and probably unconscious.

“Wait. I… I never introduced myself before I started wildly accusing you of, um, piracy, and kidnapping, and probably a few other crimes. I’m Eden.”

I offer him my hand, and he takes it. “Murph. Don’t mention it.”

Fuck.

Murph’s palm is so big and rough and warm against mine. Something crackles between us, and suddenly we’re not saying anything… but we’re not looking away, either.

“Um…” I lick my lips nervously, and before I know it, I’m spilling my thoughts all over the place. “You wanna go out somewhere? For a cup of coffee?” I nod toward the interior cabin. “I’d have you—uh, I mean, invite you inside—but I can’t make coffee. Right now. I can’t make it right now.”

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