She shook her head. “Hit the kitchen around seven. I’ll treat you to a real feast.”
She’d managed to shock him. “What did you have in mind?”
“It’s a surprise.” With that, she whirled and ran toward the house.
Mike took off after her. Catching up with her was easy, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her down on top of him easier still. To his never-ending surprise, she didn’t resist or try to pull away. She lay in the V of his legs, breathing hard from her run and laughing at the same time. Her face was flushed pink and her carefree smile told him that she’d left her problems behind, at least for now.
Lying beneath her sent a jolt of awareness through his system. Her soft laughter caused her body to move against him and he couldn’t hide his instant reaction. He wanted her.
He knew the exact moment she realized their intimate position and his state of arousal. The joyful laughter ended and her expression clouded. She braced her arms and rolled off to the side.
As difficult as it was, he let her go. There was much he still didn’t understand, but he recognized her fear. For whatever reason, the intense attraction between them caused her to pull back. He sensed the only way to reassure her was to prove they could control the passion. Easier said than done, he thought. He drew deep breaths, trying to concentrate on the waves crashing against the shore instead of Carly’s ragged breathing. Proof she wanted him, too.
In silence they lay on their backs and stared at the wide expanse of sky. White puffy clouds dotted an otherwise clear blue backdrop.
“Beautiful,” she murmured.
He glanced over at her. “Sure is.”
“Mike?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s it like dropping into the world’s hot spots?”
He stiffened. Her choice of topic surprised him, but he couldn’t bring himself to be anything but honest with her. “Exciting.”
“Dangerous?” Carly asked. Because the thought of Mike in the center of some war-torn country or worse sent goose bumps chasing along her skin.
“Sometimes.”
She wondered how she’d feel, knowing he was putting himself in danger, not knowing if he’d make it back home alive and in one piece. She shivered from the sudden chill. He drew her close, probably mistaking the impact of her turbulent emotions for a reaction to the cool ocean breeze.
Her head lay in the crook of his shoulder and she savored the closeness they’d found on an emotional level. “Why do it?” she asked.
“It’s not for the glory or the thrill of cheating death, though there are some guys who feel that way.” His warm breath fanned her hair. “I’m not sure exactly, but I like knowing I’ve made a difference. That maybe one picture prevented someone somewhere from starving to death or being killed.”
Aid those in need. Did he realize how similar his goals were to her own? “Sort of like the reason for my column.”
“How so?”
She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud. “So many kids have no one to talk to. I hope at least one person is able to make a tough choice because someone cared enough to listen.”
During the worst period of her life, no one had been there for her. No one had listened. Her mother had refused to discuss the tragedy or the impact on their lives, leaving a teenager to cope alone. She couldn’t turn to her obviously grieving father, and besides, her anger at him wouldn’t allow her to. She hoped some teenager used her column to vent feelings he didn’t feel free to express at home.
“We’re some pair.” He chuckled aloud. “We sound like avenging angels.”
“I’m no angel. I’m just making sure no kid thinks he has to go it alone.”
“Like you did?”
Carly pushed herself to a sitting position and stared. She wanted to lash out, to shout at him. Stop finishing my sentences. Stop reading my mind. He was getting too close and it frightened her. “How...”
“Educated guess.”
Obviously she was easy to read. Mike brushed the grains of sand from her back. After this roll in the sand, she’d need another shower. Unwilling to drop the subject at least until she learned what she wanted from him, Carly glanced over. “So what are your reasons for playing the Good Samaritan role?” Some deep, dark secret like her own? she wondered.
“Nothing I haven’t already told you. When you grow up without, you tend to overcompensate. This latest escapade with Pete drove that point home.”