Page 3 of Sexy as Sin
Fit,she thought dimly.Bloody good-looking.Dark hair cropped close, with silver at the temples. Broad shoulders, muscular build. He didn’t fit the clothes. That is, the clothes fit him perfectly, but there was something wrong about them, too.
One part of her mind knew she was concentrating on him because she couldn’t bear to think about the shark, about the moment when she’d seen it coming for the girl, the sound of her scream. The other part of her mind stayed where it was safer. She looked at the strength of the arm beneath that rolled-up shirt sleeve, at the muscles bunching with effort. At the hands that helped her off her board, and the solidity and warmth of his body against hers as she finally slid off and staggered in the water. He had his arm around her, and she was dragging her board along by the leash, its weight like lead.
Words. He was saying words. “Are you all right?” He’d said that before. It sounded American.
“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah. Fine. I’m fine.” Up the sand, where knots of people stood, looked out to sea, looked at her, and talked excitedly. She didn’t want to look at them. She was shivering, and then she was shaking, her teeth chattering.
She got the leash unfastened somehow, and the man pulled her straight down to the sand in front of him, his legs on either side of hers and her body sprawled over his, and held her.This should be scary,she thought dimly.I don’t know you.His arms were so solid, though, around her, her head was on his shoulder, and his legs scissored over hers so he was holding her there, too. And she felt safe.
Brett held her and thought,Whoa. Whoa.She was shaking, cold and fear and adrenaline, and shewasn’tcrying. He might be shaking a little himself.
“I hate the ocean,” he said, when he could say anything.
She laughed, just a huff of breath, and said, “Yeah? I’m not too fond of it myself just now. Here’s a tip for next time. Most people don’t wear suits to the beach.”
Feisty as hell. He smiled. “Where’s your towel? You’d be better off dry, surely.”
“Yeah. It’s...” She waved a hand. “Somewhere. Over there. I don’t know.”
A shadow fell over them, and Brett looked up. A blond woman stood there, a toddler on her hip, her arm tight around the girl at her side like she could hold her safe. The girl who’d been on the board.
The woman told the redhead, “Thank you. Thanks for... for saving my baby.” She choked up on the last words, and the hands that clutched the girl shook. “Thank you,” she said again.
The redhead started to scramble to her feet, and Brett helped her up. “No worries,” she told the mother. “Anybody would’ve done the same.”
“No,” the woman said. “I don’t think so. When I looked up and saw the board half gone, and the water churning, when I realized it was Melody on there, and then, when I saw what it was...” She was shaking for real now. More than the girl, but then, the girl hadn’t seen those teeth. She’d been turned the other way. Brett had seen them, though, and Melody’s mother was right. Not many people would have faced down a great white, because that was surely what it was.
More people had come over now. One of them, the man who’d towed in the little boy, asked nobody in particular, “How many times have we said we need shark nets? This isn’t happening in Sydney, because they got smart and got proactive. We need those netsnow.What’s it going to take? When a shark has a kid’s leg off, will that do it? When she bleeds out in the water?”
Melody’s mother stiffened in shock, and beside Brett, the redhead did the same. He held up a hand and said, “Stop,” in his calmest, most authoritative tone. The man opened his mouth again, and Brett talked right over him. “Good thoughts for later, I’m sure. For the meeting somebody’s bound to set up to talk about those nets. But the kids don’t need to hear it right now. Everybody’s safe. Look, they’re putting up signs already. Closing the beach. That’ll do for now. Could you help me find this lady’s towel? She needs to get warm and dry."
“Uh...” the redhead said. “It’s blue, has a rainbow on it. And my bag. Cloth bag. Blue and yellow stripes. I think...” She put a hand to her forehead. “Up the beach a bit, toward the Cape.”
“No worries,” the man said. “I’m on it. Come on, Andy.”
The little crowd moved off, finally, and the redhead held it together. She pulled the zipper on her wetsuit, struggled some getting it off, and made a noise in her throat, so Brett gave her a hand yanking the stubborn material down. Black bikini, long, slim arms and legs, and subtle, pretty curves. None of her was what you’d call bodacious, but somehow, it all worked just fine. Surfer girl, brave and strong. Surfer body.
He shouldn’t be noticing. He couldn’t help noticing. He asked again, “All right?”
“Yes,” she said. “Thanks for getting rid of him. I don’t... I can’t think about that now, and I can’t help it. It keeps playing in my head.”
She got her bag and towel back at last, and the man and boy moved off. Brett said, “You need a hot drink. Food. I’d like to take you to get it.”
“I rode my bike down.”
He raised his brows. “Carrying a surfboard?”
“Yeah. That’s Byron, hey. It straps on the side.” She was getting some composure back. A spine of steel, and no mistake. “I’m honestly not sure I’m up to riding home, though I hate to admit it.”
“Breakfast, then,” he suggested. He had calls to make, preparation to do, figures to double-check. But right now, all he wanted was to take this woman to breakfast. Her eyes were a deep sea-green, her mouth was wide, her cheekbones were high, and her skin was so translucent, he could see the blue veins at her temples. Of course, her face might be that white from shock and fear, everywhere except the faint freckles that dotted her nose and forehead. She was scared, yes, but she hadn’t hesitated for a second before going after that shark.
“I have breakfast things at home,” she said. “Ready to go.”
“Surely it would be better to let somebody cook for you.”
She shook her head. “It makes me feel better to cook. That’s my comfort zone.” Some hesitation, and she said, “You could come with me, though. There’s enough for three. Flatmate.”
“Yes,” he said, and she smiled.
