Wicked Sexy (Men of Discovery Island 1)

Problem was, he didn’t even believe it himself.

* * *

DANI COULD DO the math. Daeg’s rush back to town represented the second time Daeg Ross had kissed her—and run. They’d both agreed last night that their getting together was a little summertime fun and nothing more. She’d meant it then and she meant it now, so his cold feet made no sense.

Unfortunately, she’d have to sort Daeg out later, since Deep Dive was clearly already the island’s command center. Four all-terrain Jeeps were parked in front of the shop, along with two police cruisers, lights flashing, and an ambulance. The doors opened and closed, people coming and going with purpose, navigating around the supplies stacked on the porch. The ocean beyond was still gray and agitated, but some boats were already back in the water. Men in orange slickers moved around, getting ready to ride to the rescue, while down at the end of the dock another boat brought in a bedraggled group of survivors. If Daeg hadn’t come for her yesterday, they could have been looking for what was left of her today.

“Thanks. I really mean it,” she said awkwardly when he turned off the motor and faced her. Some things needed to be said, even if they were ignoring what had happened last night.

He raised a brow and smiled at her. “I’ll give you a ride anytime.”

She smiled back. Her hero wasn’t comfortable with thanks. “Thanks for coming. For making sure I got out of my car okay and back to Sweet Moon.”

She wasn’t going to thank him for the sex. She had her limits.

“No problem.” He flashed another smile.

“I’m going to head on over to the shelter.” She pulled a plastic bag of pills from her purse. “Reunite Mr. Ramsey with his Friday. Better late than never.”

“You want me to walk you over there?”

She stared at him for a split second. What kind of an offer was that? Did he want to spend more time with her, spin this thing out, or was he merely being polite? “Two blocks.” She pointed down the street. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

“If you’re sure.” His gaze swiveled to the busy dive shop. “Cal and Tag need me on deck.”

“Heck of an introduction for Deep Dive’s search-and-rescue services.” While she was mentally rehashing last night, other people were waking up to devastation. For the first time, she took a really good look around the sea frontage. While the dive shop had weathered the storm just fine, some of the other local businesses hadn’t fared as well. She spotted multiple broken windows, two roofs half blown off, and the vice mayor’s boat was now parked inside the flower shop. Debris littered the beach, too. Mounds and mounds of broken, battered objects and vegetation.

She hopped out of the Jeep. Last night’s storm surge had left the sidewalk covered in sand and she sank in ankle deep.

He came around the vehicle, all long-legged grace. “Let me know if you have any trouble with your car insurance company, okay?”

Right.

Her car.

That had disappeared somewhere into the Pacific Ocean. She eyed the beach, but her sedan wasn’t sitting there washed up on the shore. She laughed at herself—as if anything about this storm was going to be that easy. No, she’d have to call up the insurance agent and explain that the whole blasted car had washed away while she’d stood there and watched.

“Daeg—” What came next wasn’t clear. He braced a hand on the Jeep’s hood, bending his head toward her.

“We’ll be doing recon for a week or more.” His knowing gaze swept the beach. Storm damage had always been an after the fact for her—numbers on a piece of paper. What had happened here, though, was plenty real—affecting real people, people she knew and had grown up with. The storm’s effect could have been worse, but it was still hard to imagine the total consequences of what had occurred. Although the buildings were still standing and the people still breathing, there was also a whole lot of starting over to do. Never mind that she was starting to think she might want to do some of that starting over, too—but Daeg seemed remote, entirely concentrated on completing his original mission and getting her back to town.

Mission accomplished, as he liked to say. A stream of folks passed by; a few waved at her.

“Hey.” Tag came out onto the porch. His flight suit was unzipped to reveal a V of white cotton, but his feet were dressed for business in a pair of steel-toe boots. “We want to put the bird up and do an aerial survey. We’ve also got locals trapped in the northwest quadrant of the island. We’re debating ferrying them into town or dropping supplies. You want to weigh in?”