Page 46 of The Moonstone Hero
“Yes, they piled their crates onto long wooden tables to store them above the water line. This cave does not usually fill to the brim at high tide. It only partially fills, except when the moon is full and the tides are particularly strong. Or during a violent storm.”
“So we won’t drown if we are caught inside?”
Ella shook her head. “No, but we will get uncomfortably soaked. The water comes in fast and hard, and we might get knocked down by a particularly strong wave.”
Caden had marked the passageway they had come through with chalk, just to be sure they did not accidentally take another passage that would lead them to a dead end. Those dead endscould fill with water, so they always had to be alert as to their surroundings and the movements of the tides.
Ella liked that Caden was methodical and cautious about this.
When a little bit of water flowed into the cavernous opening, Caden took her hand again. “Looks like the tide is coming in. Come along, Ella. As you warned, it comes in fast.”
“Yes, it does. Let’s hurry. What a shame. I thought we had a little more time, but we must have caught the tide just as it was turning.”
They spoke no more and hurried out as more water began to trickle in.
Bright sunlight momentarily blinded Ella when she walked out of the cave. By the time she regained her vision, Caden had doused the lantern and placed it and the chalk back in the storage box for the next adventurers to use.
However, they did not immediately return to Imogen.
They climbed onto a nearby outcrop of rocks instead, climbing just high enough to keep from getting wet as they watched the waves begin to flood the cave. The motion of the water fascinated Ella, the sinuous way it flowed in and out of the weathered hollows. It lulled her.
She could see it was having the same effect on Caden.
But she still felt the immense power of each wave as it broke at the mouth of the cave, its white spume dancing in the air.
No one was in danger of drowning on a day like this, but anyone used to living by the sea learned to respect it. One rogue wave could soak them and wash them out to sea.
“Shall we return to Imogen?” she asked, giving his hand a light tug, as he seemed lost in thought.
“In a moment, love,” he muttered.
Ella’s heart lurched.
Did he mean anything by using the endearment?
He turned to her, his gaze fiery as he regarded her. “I promised your sister I would do nothing untoward while we were in the cave. However, I did not promise to behave once we were out of the cave.”
Her eyes widened and her heart beat a little faster. “What are you thinking to do?”
“What I am thinking to do and what Iwilldo are quite different things. I want to do more than kiss you, Ella. But that is all I will do…for now.”
He did not wait for her to accept or refuse him, although she supposed her hesitation in objecting was an indication of her desire to kiss him. A firm denial would have stopped him. But she ached for his touch, for the press of his lips against hers.
He drew her into his big, muscled arms.
Dear heaven.
She felt the strong, steady beat of his heart as she nestled against his chest.
His breath caught as she gazed up at him. “Sweet mercy, you are soft as a kitten.”
He stared at her another long moment, then his mouth sank down on hers and he kissed her with scorching abandon. His lips felt rough as they ground on hers, but she liked the sensation of that urgent pressure and the heat radiating off his body. She ran her hands along his powerfully contoured arms and shoulders, desperate to touch him, to feel the heat of his hard, muscled limbs.
He made her tingle.
He made her melt.
Why did he have to be so perfect?
