Page 27 of One Forbidden Night In Paradise (Hot Winter Escapes)

‘We’re diving here?’ She had expected them to go further out to sea.

‘That’s the thing about Bermy. You only have to go a couple of hundred metres from shore and it gets deep real quick. That’s why it’s so popular with divers.’

The dive boat was a lot smaller than theMiranda, but it was still spacious enough for six divers and two other crew members to stand in a semicircle around Chase.

‘So, there’s going to be six of us diving.’ His gaze moved slowly round the semicircle. ‘Billy, Dale, Jonah, Linda, me and Ms Friday, who will be joining us today. Ms Friday is doing research for her PhD.’ The crew either smiled or raised their hand in acknowledgement and then their gazes snapped back to Chase and she wondered again why she had ever thought this man hired out cycles and mopeds for a living.

‘We should be able to fit in three separate dives today. Dive site is eighty feet down. Water visibility is coming in just under two hundred feet so bottles on and then we’ll do a buddy check.’

A buddy check was a standard procedure on every dive she had ever done. Basically it was a pre-dive safety checklist. And a buddy, well, it was exactly what it sounded like. A diving partner who kept an eye on you under the water.

Jemima swallowed. ‘Who’s my buddy?’ She said it quickly to get it out of the way, but she knew what his answer was going to be even before he answered.

‘I am, of course. We’re probably not quite matched in experience but we have a connection.’

Her heart lurched and a trickle of excitement that had nothing to do with the dive wove through her, picking up speed as it travelled as his eyes rested on her face, green and steady and unblinking.

‘Don’t worry, I know it’s been a while, but I’ll be right beside you,’ he said softly.

They ran through the checks and she was surprised and relieved at how much she remembered. Finally, the last check was complete.

The sunlight on the water was dazzling.

She felt Chase’s hand on her shoulder. As she turned to face him, he gave her the thumbs up, and she returned the gesture and then they both took a giant stride away from the boat.

How could she have left it so long? That was her first thought as she entered the water.

It was like jumping into another world. Or into a living work of art. A pristine watercolour as mesmerising as any Monet only down here the colour was not static like on a canvas. It was constantly changing, darkening or growing brighter, shifting in the rippling forks of sunlight.

That she had forgotten.

Chase was right, she thought, with a pulse of excitement. The visibility was incredible. It was like looking through glass. Around her technicolour fish were darting jerkily in every direction, apparently unfazed by the gleaming grey sharks and rays that moved lazily through them in overlapping ellipses. And there, covered in shivering sponges and lurid pink and orange coral that looked too garish to be real, lay the wreck.

Turning, she tapped Chase on the arm and he nodded and they swam down lower. The boat was on its side. Some parts had disintegrated but the shape of the hull was clearly visible and fish were flitting in and out of the shadowy interior.

She swam towards a pair of angelfish, then got distracted by a bright yellow trumpet fish moving vertically through the water. And all the time Chase was there, keeping pace with her.

Within what felt like no time at all, it was time to surface.

Back on the boat, she was elated.

‘That was amazing,’ she said, pulling off her mask and blinking into the sunlight. She turned to Chase and, without thinking, she grabbed his hands and squeezed them with excitement. ‘I’ve seen footage on the Internet but that was so much more incredible than I could have imagined. There were so many species.’ She knew she was babbling but she couldn’t stop the spate of words. ‘Imagine if more people knew about this.’ Her smile faded. ‘Oh, but I forgot to take any photos.’

‘It’s fine, we’ve got another two dives, remember? These guys are going to move on after lunch.’ He jerked his head towards the other divers. ‘But I can take you down this afternoon.’

His words made her blink and, suddenly aware of the press of his fingers, she let go of his hands. ‘I thought this was your dive site.’

Shaking his head, he gave her one of those quick, devastating smiles. ‘We don’t dive until we have a reason to, and so far I haven’t had a reason. As for this site, locals stripped this wreck bare years ago. I just thought it would be good for your research.’

Her pulse was jerking against the skin of her throat. ‘You did that for me?’ she said slowly.

He frowned. ‘You sound surprised.’

Probably because she was, but why? Okay, Chase was cocky and hedonistic and he wanted different things in life from her, but he was letting her stay in his house, and taking her diving. And in bed he had been more than considerate. He had been generous, fierce, tender, using his hands, his mouth, his tongue, his body to unravel and transform her.

She felt his gaze on the side of her face, and, blanking her mind to that memory, she shook her head. ‘I suppose I am a little. After what you said yesterday evening, I thought you’d want to get on with your treasure hunt.’

Her pulse thudded at her temples as his eyes rested on her face. ‘I don’t mind waiting for something if it’s worth it. In fact, I’m a big fan of delayed gratification.’

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