Page 9 of Captured in Love
“We really need to get out there today,” Levi insists, his hands on his hips.
The guy stands, and even though he’s half a head shorter than Levi and twenty years older, the breadth of his shoulders and his stocky build immediately tell me he’s not someone you’d want to argue with.
“If you want my boat, return later,” he barks.
Raphaël clicks his tongue and casts his gaze around the marina, scanning the other moored boats. Fishermen are rushing around, securing ropes and tying down canvases to protect their vessels.
“And you won’t find anyone in this town who would lend you their boat tonight,” the man concludes. “It’s too dangerous.”
At that, he harrumphs and strides back to a storage shed behind him.
I get another face full of rainwater mixed with sea spray. “Guys, maybe he’s right. This is bad.”
A muscle jumps in Levi’s jaw. “I just want to get this over with.”
“Any delay means giving the other teams a head start,” Raphaël agrees. “I could try and glamour someone…”
An enormous wave breaks against the end of the pier, sending up a splash of foamy water.
“But would wesurvivethe trip?” I insist. “I let you come here with me, but we have to be careful. We can’t go rushing into danger if—”
Raphaël turns on me. “Oh, youletus come with you?” He prowls closer to me and crowds into my personal space. “Are you the one calling the shots?”
Somehow, I don’t think we’re talking about the boats anymore. I drag in a shuddering inhale and lower my gaze to his lips. For a moment, I could swear I see the tip of his fang flash behind his full lips, but when I look up at his eyes again, shocked, they’re brown and human. But the intensity of his gaze strums a chord deep down in my gut, and I barely feel the cold rain anymore.
“Let’s get out of here.” Levi flicks up the hood of his jacket. “If we can’t get out on the water, we might as well get some sleep.”
We hurry up the road to the guesthouse, and halfway there, Raphaël takes my hand and tugs me along faster. Thunder cracks overhead, then rumbles into the distance. My skin feels electrified, the fire burning inside me fighting the driving rain.
When we burst through the front door of the inn, the lady behind the counter lifts her gaze from her computer screen and gasps in shock. I have no idea what we must look like, and I start to issue an explanation, but Levi grabs me by my other hand and tugs me toward our room.
We burst through the door, and Raphaël slams it shut behind us, then locks it securely. Then he stalks toward me.
I back up, lifting my arms. “Hey. We said we were going to rest.” I glower at him, then at Levi. “We should also at leasttryto be more inconspicuous.”
Levi flops on the bed—the left side—and puts his arms behind his head. “Why?”
“We don’t need extra attention. And the way you two behave is definitelynoticeable.”
Raphaël draws even closer. “What do you mean?”
I stare at him in disbelief. “Do you seriously not know what kind of an effect you have on people?”
Levi grins. “No, please tell us.”
“And risk inflating your already healthy ego?” I grumble. “I think not. But if you think that woman won’t go out and tell all her friends that two hot filmmakers are currently sharinga single roomwith a woman in her inn, you’re wrong.”
Raphaël leans in and brushes his mouth over my cheek in a featherlight kiss. “And who is to blame for the single room part, hmm?”
I shove my damp hair away from my forehead. “That’s not the point.”
He cocks his head to the side and touches the hollow beneath my throat with a contemplative expression. “But it is. What is more interesting than a beautiful woman who has not one but two men with her?”
I swallow, and heat blooms inside me, slow and seductive. I glance at Levi, who sits up on the bed and draws his t-shirt over his head, revealing tanned skin and hard muscle. I look up at Raphaël again to find him studying me, his perfect lips twisted in a faint smile.
“Guys…” I trail off as Raphaël slips his hand up my throat, to the back of my neck, and presses his thumb to that sensitive spot beneath my ear.
“You heard the sailor,” he murmurs. “It’s dangerous going out in such weather.”
