Page 168 of Her Reluctant Hero
She might have known he wouldn’t give up his chance to get in the water. Still, she had to clarify. “We just leave the boat unattended?”
“We secure her to the best of our abilities, lock up everything we can, lash her to the barge, anchor her and hope for the best. Either way is risky, Mallory. I wasn’t crazy about leaving you topside alone anyway.”
“The alternative is to wait for more divers to show up.”
He made a face. “Now’s not the time to bring in more people, not until we have some answers.”
“So you called Jeff already to hold off on the divers.”
“Before we left the city.” He tapped the tines of his fork against the plate.
“But you don’t want to wait to check the site.”
He sat forward, both arms on the table. “I can’t wait.”
“Then we go.” She stood, pushing her plate toward him. “I believe since I cooked, you do the dishes.”
After they cleaned up, they donned their new gear and dived. The site was in good shape. Relief damn near buoyed Adrian to the surface when they rolled back the rubber tarp to see the bronze masthead intact. They’d have to wait for Jeff’s divers to raise it once this was all done, but knowing it was still there, that it hadn’t gone missing, eased his mind. He glanced over at Mallory and saw the smile in her eyes behind her goggles.
They had discussed making the casket their priority over the next few days, so Mallory gave the lion’s head a gentle pat and swam down the belly of the boat to excavate a new area.
God, he loved her. He loved the graceful movement of her legs as she finned to stay in place, loved the concentration, the gentleness of her hands as she stroked away the sand. He loved that she’d stowed away to be with him, ignoring his own stubborn high-handedness. Yes, he’d thought he was right—he still wished she’d gone so he’d know she was safe, but he loved that she was with him.
He loved her. So he joined her.
The two of them, in their limited time, weren’t able to accomplish much, and the alarm on his watch went off too soon. Together they swam to the first decompression stop, and he twined his legs about hers, rubbed his heel against the back of her calf, letting her know what they’d be doing once they surfaced. Already he could sense the storm above them, stirring up the water. They could make love while the rain pounded. It’d be nice not to worry about a leaking tent.
The minute they reached the boat, he stripped off his mask, spat out his regulator and reached for her. Above them, clouds churned, obscuring the sun. Only the running lights of the boat illuminated them. She laughed and scrambled over the edge of the boat, where her laughter cut off abruptly, a dying echo over the ocean. Alarmed, Adrian heaved himself up and over the side.
“Good evening, Adrian.” Valentine Smoller sat at the small table, leaning back in the chair, his eyes narrowed. “It’s been a long time. Mallory, I’m surprised to see you here after all you told me about Adrian.” He looked from one to the other. “The reunion agrees with you.”
