Page 41 of Royal Agenda

A rogue wave came up over their legs, and she jumped. He loosened his hold on her and she danced out of his arms, needing just a moment to gather herself. Ryker followed, reaching for her and just missing.

Running into the surf, she glanced over her shoulder to see him chasing, his eyes dancing in the moonlight. That’s right. He was chasing her, chasing her into the water–the unknown. No fear. No hesitation. A man who knew what he wanted and he would have her.

She came up short, and he grabbed her around the middle, spinning them both. “Do you feel the magic?” he asked, his breath warm on her neck and her back flush against his chest. “The moonlight is laced with it tonight.”

Her heart lifted, and she spun in his arms, lifting onto her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. “You don’t talk like the men I know.”

“I told you, I am not like other men.” He brushed his fingers over her lips, lighting the fire inside of her that burned just for him.

“Other men would kiss me right now.” Her mouth was dry with wanting his kiss.

“Perhaps I am like them then,” he said low, his accent swirling her belly into an inferno of desire. He lowered his head, and she lifted up to meet him as he brushed his lips over hers.

She dropped to her feet, floating on a river of moonlight. This one walk on the beach was more romantic, more charged, more magical than any date she’d been on before. Who needed a moon shell when you had an Isoladian to sweep you off your feet? Not her.

She was half-gone for him already.

The swiftness scared her, but when he laced their fingers together, she didn’t care one bit how fast her heart fell for him. She should. She should think things through, but she’d always been one to move on intuition and this felt right.

She’d just have to see where things went. If she ended up with a broken heart, she wouldn’t be angry. Not when she had memories like these to hold close. This moment would be worth a thousand years of heartache. She prayed she wouldn’t have to leave them but that their hearts could exist in this space between the moonlight and the sand.

Fifteen

Ryker strode along the dock at a leisurely pace. Today, the sun was bright, the seagulls sang and squawked a beautiful tune as they bobbed on the water, and the ocean seemed at ease. He was even starting to like the white-sanded beach. How could he not when it was that sand that brought Grace into his arms?

The docks included twenty slips for sailboats and an accompanying boat ramp where Sean and the other SEALs launched for recovery dives. They could pull anything up from the bottom of the ocean, including ships, planes and even a lost cell phone for a billionaire who didn’t think twice about paying the exorbitant fee Sean charged for the ridiculous dive.

They were scheduled to search a new wreck that the local’s called “Allen’s Reef” named after the man who first caught his net on whatever was down there. Sonar imaging said it was something big though that could mean it was anything from a ship’s hull to a satellite that fell from orbit and therefore meant nothing to them. They needed eyes on the item.

Sean and Mack moved diving gear, stowing it in the compartment in the bottom of the boat. They took more tanks than needed in case of a malfunction—though it was unlikely that any piece of equipment would dare malfunction for these men. Their standards of exactness when diving were legendary.

“Look who rolled out of bed,” Sean quipped with a grin. He was in a swimsuit and tank top. He moved the anchor aside to make room for a buoyancy compensator.

“It’s a wee bit beyond sunrise,” Mack razzed him while shielding his eyes and looking up at the sun. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten us.”

“You would be lost without my leadership.” Ryker shot back in an easy manner. Nothing would interrupt the sense of well-being he had after sharing a moonlit walk with Grace. She was … sorprendente—so full of life, wonder, and adventure.

After finding the shell, they’d settled into the sand, and she’d shared stories from her work and travel. Her life was so free—an inspiration for a man confined to a beach town. If he could not see these places with his own eyes, then he could see them through her words.

Speaking of eyes . . . hers were amazing. Crystal blue with flecks of sea foam green and a ring of dark green at the iris. In the moonlight, they were positively mesmerizing.

“I take it by that stupid grin on your face that the date went well.” Liam approached carrying his diving gear. No one teased him about being out late. They reserved that honor for Ryker this morning–he was so lucky.

“I believe so.” Ryker gave a vague and yet honest answer. “I would like to see her again.”

Sean and Mack exchanged a look as Liam passed his gear over the side of the boat. In one jump, Sean was on the dock next to Ryker. “Let’s take a walk.”

Ryker sighed heavily. “If you think we must.”

“We must.” Sean went to put an arm around his shoulder and squeezed, then grinned when Ryker’s spine went ramrod straight. Apparently, these men (and Grace—the lovely sirena) did not get the royal announcement about asking a principe if they could touch them before actually doing it. Grace could be forgiven because she did not know he was a prince, plus he liked when she touched him, but these . . . these ruffians knew. Instead of following protocol, the mention of it egged them on.

If Grace knew who he was last night, she might have felt obligated to follow the rules of etiquette, and he would have missed out on the thrill of her hand on his bicep and her cheek on his shoulder.

Not to mention her lips on his lips.

Now there was something he would eagerly egg on, and planned to do just that at the next opportunity.

“We’re all happy you’ve decided to date, to make a real go of a life here.” Sean steered him to the end of the dock.

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