“You want to discuss my sex life?” Daeg asked. A rhetorical question only, because he wasn’t going there. Some things stayed between him and Dani.
“Not particularly.” Tag shrugged and looked over at Cal. “But if I’m playing doctor here, you might want to play along. If it’s just hot sex, then no worries. You do your thing, she does hers, and it doesn’t matter how she feels about Rick Lane, because sooner or later, your thing will end and you’ll go your separate ways.”
He didn’t want her going anywhere that wasn’t with him.
Cal studied his face as if it were a topographical map and he was scanning for wreckage. “Okay. So you want to play to win, right?”
“Absolutely.” That was a no-brainer.
“Then you’ve got to woo her, seduce her. There’s your plan of attack,” Cal said.
“Give her all that stuff women like,” Tag added. “Not shopping and not ring boxes, but words. And romantic dates. Show her how you feel, although telling would be better.”
Cal nodded like everything was settled. “Good luck, soldier.”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat, bumped fists with both men. “Thanks.”
That thanks stood for everything. Thankfully, for his buddies, he didn’t have to spell out his feelings like he was going to have to do for Dani.
He didn’t know what her ex was really doing on the island—maybe the man had an ulterior motive he’d kept private—but whatever was going on, Daeg knew he didn’t like it. So that meant he had himself a new mission: seduction. And not just seduction, but seduction of her heart.
Dani had started off wanting passion and wanting it temporarily. He thought he’d wanted the same thing. Happily ever after scared him...but he was brave and knew how to put aside his fears and go for what he truly wanted. Who knew that love worked the same way? He was determined to convince Dani to take a chance on him—just as soon as he’d made himself that chance.
And then comes the hard part.
The part that scared him more than any other mission he’d ever led.
Three words.
I. Love. You.
All he had to do was open his mouth and say what he was feeling. He knew what was going to happen, however, when he looked at her. He’d get that tumbling, free-falling sensation somewhere near his heart and he’d forget the plan. He’d want to stand there and just look at her because she made him forget everything else apart from touching her.
Loving her.
Then he’d be kissing her and the words would still be bottled up inside him, where they didn’t do her any good.
He’d just have to steel himself to tell her that he loved her. There was nowhere he didn’t dive. No site too remote, too dangerous. He always went in. No hesitation. So he was going to do this.
These were three words, words he meant, and even better than the motto he’d lived by for so long. This wasn’t so others may live. This was so Dani could live. With or without him, although he was hoping desperately that she’d choose with.
15
THE CUPIDS WERE crushed, one more casualty of the week’s storm that no amount of glue could fix. Dani took stock of the damage from Sweet Moon’s front porch. She’d never liked the cutesy statues, but her grandparents had collected them over fifty-plus years of marriage. The carnage wasn’t going to make them happy.
Two hours later, she had a backache, three full bags of broken pottery pieces and a date with the Dumpster at the end of the driveway. She lugged her trash bags along the walkway, hoisted them inside the metal bin, then eyed the lawn. She’d barely made a dent in the devastation. With a sigh, she straightened up—and slammed straight into a hard, male chest.
Two strong, sun-bronzed arms closed around her, steadying her.
Daeg.
She turned in his arms, breathed him in for a moment. He looked weary. Weary, but good. His eyes smiled at her, the sun lighting her hero man up from behind. She had to stop herself from reaching for him, because she’d missed him and he’d come back. Sort of. Something inside her melted and she smiled back.
“Did Deep Dive give you time off for good behavior?” she asked.
The rush of excitement wasn’t only due to the scare he’d given her; no, a traitorous part of her—a very feminine part—drank him in and appreciated their closeness. His sexy smile really set her off, so what if she wanted to wrap her arms around him and pull him down into a kiss?