Page 110 of Faking the Pass
Shaking his head, he backed up a step.
“No, it’s your first catch. You can handle it, Rosie. You’re strong enough. Just brace the butt of the rod against your stomach and hold on. He’ll get tired eventually.”
Eventuallyturned out to be an hour and a half later.
During the time it took my aquatic opponent to finally surrender, the guys had pulled in catch after catch, filling the deck cooler with cod and sea bass.
Presley looked like he was having the time of his life—and while he was sweating, he made it lookgood.
The sun gilded his wet skin, caressing his muscles and making him resemble a sports trophy cast in pure gold.
Meanwhile, I was exhausted and probably looked like a drowned rat. My arms felt like overcooked noodles.
I’d managed to reel the fish in to the point I could catch glimpses of it just beneath the surface of the waves.
“Do you think you could maybe give me a hand with this last part?” I asked. “I must have a Plesiosaurus on the end of this line from the weight of it.”
Presley hesitated, but then he moved to stand behind me.
Stretching out his arms, he tucked them against my sides and placed his hands over mine where they gripped the rod. His bare chest pressed against my back, and I could feel his heartbeat through my thin t-shirt.
There should have been nothing sexual about it, but I immediately regretted asking for his help.
It was too much like those blissful final days back on the island. Once again I was enveloped in his heat and strength, and it feltfartoo good.
This position brought back vivid memories of other times when his powerful form had been lined up against the back of mine, when I could feel the unmistakable evidence of how much he wanted me.
Damn it.Who wanted to eat a dinosaur fish anyway?
“Let’s just forget about it,” I said, desperate for some separation from Presley’s body. “Can’t we cut the line or something?”
“After all that work? You can’t give up now,” he said.
Then he lowered his head so he was speaking directly into my ear.
“Once you’ve got a big one on the line, Starfish, you don’t let it get away. This guy’s a keeper. Don’t give up on him now.”
I knew he was talking about the fish, not himself, but a shiver ran down my spine where delicious energy had collected between our bodies, and goosebumps rose on pretty much every inch of my skin.
Wriggling to free my hands, I ducked beneath Presley’s arm and took a step away, creating some desperately needed distance between us.
“I can’t keep going,” I said. “You pull it in if you want it.”
Presley gave me a disappointed look then, with one powerful jerk, hauled the aquatic behemoth into the boat.
Turned out it wasn’t a fish at all but a mako shark. A small one, but still, the sucker had been strong. And feisty. Still was.
When Presley lowered it to the deck, it thrashed and flopped from one side to the other, its sharp teeth and red gums exposed and terrifying.
Jumping on top of the closed cooler, I watched Presley and Matt subdue the shark before climbing off again so they could stow the sea monster inside.
Shutting the lid, Presley smiled up at me. He looked invigorated, while I felt a little queasy.
“Congratulations on your first catch. Ever eaten shark before?” he asked.
“No. I’m not sure I’ll be able to either. Not anytime soon anyway.”
Maybeever.
