She leaned up and whispered in his ear, “Beat that.”
* * *
DO-OR-DIE TIME.
Cal pulled the dive boat into the cove behind Devil’s Slide, and everybody piled onto the beach for the day’s second dive. Piper and Daeg got busy unloading tanks and gear, while Cal walked the divers through the site. Being this close to Piper on what he might have started calling their beach—words he wouldn’t admit out loud—was distracting. He kept remembering how she’d wrapped herself around him in the surf. The way she’d just been there for him, with him. And, of course, her kiss. He remembered all of their kisses and not because there hadn’t been enough of them.
Five kisses.
One at the Pleasure Pier. The second on today’s beach. He’d kissed Piper right there where he’d anchored the dive boat. He’d also had three kisses—four, he decided—the night she’d decided they were going to bed together. Those kisses had been marathon kisses and might count for more, except they hadn’t come up for air. If he was lucky, he’d up their kiss count today. He was aiming to break into double digits.
Thinking about Piper right now was crazy. She had every intention of kicking his butt in this competition, and he’d all but handed her the win anyhow. He had to go in the water in ten minutes and lead five divers through the Devil’s Slide. Kissing wasn’t part of his plan.
Plus, he had no idea what would happen to them after the Fiesta competition wrapped. If he won the contract, he lost Piper. He didn’t kid himself. Piper played to win. She’d made her position perfectly clear. She was outrageous, impulsive and dedicated. His SEAL training had taught him to value the kind of determination to do whatever it took to get the job done.
Sal Britten, the senior Fiesta executive, spouted off as they made the all-too-short climb to the top of the cliff. Cal had checked the guy’s logbook. Twice. Sal Britten had dived some pretty world-renowned sites. Cal just wished the guy would shut up. He was pompous and arrogant, sure he knew more about diving than either of the two dive masters leading the trip.
And he was also vocal in sharing his knowledge. He’d critiqued the boat, the tanks, the shorties and the amount of weight Cal had added to his belt. Pushing the guy off the cliff, while satisfying, would be a major ethical violation, but Cal was seriously tempted. From the way Piper’s mouth twitched as Sal finished describing the wall dive he’d done in Tahiti two months ago, she felt the same way.
And...showtime.
While Carla and Piper helped Ben and Margie, the other two Fiesta divers, into their harnesses and tanks, Cal walked over to the edge of the cliff. It was every bit as far to the surface as he’d remembered. If his only problem had been the height, he’d have been golden. Piper would be happy to shove him over.
He still had no idea how he was going to do this.
Daeg came over and stared down at the ocean waiting at the bottom of the cliff. “You got this?”
Unfortunately, Cal knew what the other man was asking. He wasn’t stupid. He’d known Daeg would pick up on his issues with diving. As long as Cal’s issues had been personal, Daeg had backed off. He hadn’t pressed, which Cal appreciated. When those same issues came into play with a mission, however, Daeg had to ask questions.
So, the question was: did he?
Mentally he walked through the dive. Forty-five minutes from when his feet left the cliff top until he waded back out on the beach. Four people counting on him. He couldn’t jump unless he knew he could lead the dive, and he felt uncertain. Okay. Scratch that. He felt with heartstopping certainty that diving now would be a big mistake.
“I can lead the dive.” He wasn’t surprised to find Piper standing next to him. “We’ll tell Fiesta you had to dive last night for a rescue and that you’re still in the no-dive window because they moved up their dive times today.”
He wanted to get this right. Hell, he needed to get this right. He knew Piper felt the same way, and yet she was offering to cover for him.
“That what you want?” Daeg loaded weights into his own belt. Without the weight, Daeg would shoot right back to the surface, and it would be dive over.
“Trust me on this one,” Piper said, her eyes watching his. “I’ve got your back. I’ll get this right for you.”
Strangely, he believed her. Staying out of the water was the safe thing to do. The right thing to do.
“You dive,” he agreed.
She flashed him a grin. “I’m thinking you owe me at least one more night.”
Sal strode up then, already talking, talking, talking as he waited for Piper to buddy check his gear. At least the man would have to shut up once he had his regulator in.