Page 28 of Moonstone Angel
If anything, his heart had absorbed her even more deeply overnight.
It was an odd feeling to have not a doubt about something as important as marriage.
“Good morning, angel,” he said in a whisper and brushed a light kiss on her forehead before heading down to the beach.
The sun was already beating down on the grass, and it promised to be another hot day. He hurried down the steps, disrobed on the sand, and then dove into the sparkling blue water. The water was cooler than the air surrounding him and quite bracing.
He had almost finished his swim when he noticed several fins gliding in the water toward him.
Oh, hell.
Sharks?
He was too far from shore to reach it safely if those fish intended to make him their breakfast. But as one of those sleek, gray creatures lifted out of the water, Rowan let out a breath in relief.
They were dolphins.
Those creatures were known to be friendly, weren’t they? But as they now surrounded him, he was not certain of their intent.
One swam past him, splashing water onto his face with its powerful tail. It turned and swam back to gently poke him with its snub nose. “Ah, you want to play. Is that it?”
When another swam by him, he grabbed onto its fin and allowed the creature to carry him along for a ride. But he had no intention of hanging on beyond the confines of this protected cove.
To his surprise, the dolphins seemed to understand this and merely took him in a circle around the cove. He was having so much fun, he paid little attention to the time passing until he heard someone shouting to him.
He looked toward the stairs and saw Cara rushing down with a stick in hand. Lord, did she think he was in trouble?
Was she going to jump in to save him?
Of course, she was.
This was Cara, a fierce little thing and so full of heart and courage.
He let go of the dolphin’s fin and swam hard toward the shore. But they must have thought he was still playing and continued to swim beside him, cutting in front of him and nudging him from time to time.
He saw Cara lift up her nightgown to her thighs and wade in, his very own angel come to rescue him. “It’s all right! I am not in danger!”
The wind blew his words toward the open sea.
He reached her as she had the stick upraised and was preparing to strike the biggest dolphin on the nose.
Rowan grabbed the weapon out of her hand and tossed it back onto the sand.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t need saving,” he said with a laugh, scooping her up in his arms.
Hell.
He was naked.
He could not carry her out of the water as he was, so he stayed where the water was up to his waist. “Did you see me, Cara?” He could not contain his smile. “I swam with the dolphins. It was amazing!”
She looked about warily as those gray giants glided close.
“They’re friendly. I promise. See?” he said when one came up and gently touched her toes with the tip of his nose.
She shrieked in delight.
