Air Bound (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart 3)

He hadn't known he could be gentle. Not like this. Not bordering on tender. He was a rough man, so much so that he'd never really been asked to seduce a woman, when he knew every trick there was.

Emotion burst through him, as if somewhere deep inside a dam had burst. She was small, inexperienced, yet he felt as if she'd taken a battering ram to his heart. He was actually shaken by her touch. In that moment, with his mouth devouring hers, he felt as if no one in the world could possibly feel such intensity of emotion as he did. She was building a firestorm in him--and that was dangerous to both of them.

Reluctantly he lifted his head, knowing he had to stop. He stared down into her face for a long time, fighting to find that place of stillness in him. His heart raced. His breathing was ragged. She affected him as no one else had ever done--or could ever do. He was certain of that.

"Why did you let me kiss you?" he asked, still shaken.

A small, mischievous smile curved her lower lip, the one he was far too intrigued with. Her blue eyes had gone smoky. Sexy. A little glazed from his kisses.

"Well, we're probably going to die trying to kill Saeed and his friends. Or if we make it off the ship and into the ocean, the sharks will finish us off. Even if you survive, my chances are fairly slim. I'm sure you noticed I don't have a lot of experience, in fact, you're the first man to ever kiss me, so since we're going to die, it just seemed like a good idea."

He stared down into the amusement in her amazing blue eyes. He found himself smiling with her. "I'm your first?"

She nodded. "Yep. Probably my last as well. As kisses go, it rocked. Just in case you wanted to know." She pulled back, slipping off his lap, hugging her knees to her again, back against the wall. "I suppose if I have to die, at least I can check that off my list."

His eyebrow shot up. "What else can I help you with on that list? Surely a kiss isn't the only thing you're looking forward to doing before you die."

A small laugh escaped her throat. Soft. Amused. A thread of sound, no more, but his insides did a crazy slow somersault and his palm itched like hell. She was killing him without trying. For a moment he entertained the idea that she was the enemy agent trained in the art of seduction, because he was the one being seduced.

"I think we'll leave it at a kiss."

"Have you forgotten those sharks? Great whites feed here."

"Really? I thought they fed in coastal waters mainly. We're far from coastal waters and moving fast."

He sighed. He had to do something about that. He glanced at his watch, surprised Saeed hadn't made his move yet. The man had been furious that Maxim, a lowly arms dealer, would dare deny him a woman he wanted. "They'll be along any minute. They'll be coming in hard and fast, trying to kill me to take you. I'm going to give you a rifle, an MP-5. It's a semiautomatic and shoots nine millimeter cartridges so it has a low recoil. That means you're going to fire one round at a time if necessary to save your life. Only if absolutely necessary. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves and bring the crew down here. The magazine has the standard thirty rounds, but if we need it, we have more."

"I'm familiar with the weapon," Airiana said. "I've been working with various firearms. Thomas and Levi, my brothers-in-law, have insisted all of us know how to shoot. I'm fairly decent." She tried to look innocent and wide-eyed when she mentioned his brothers.

He ignored the reference. "Aim for the middle of the body if you're a fairly decent shot. Don't get creative and go for the head shot. You don't want to miss. Remember, shooting at a human being is different than shooting a target and you can't hesitate."

Airiana nodded, watching as Maxim opened a locker and pulled out a fairly large war bag. He handed her a small stack of neatly folded clothes. She took them reluctantly. They were all black, thin, but warm. A turtleneck, long sleeve sweater, as well as form-fitting pants. "These are my size. I suppose you went shopping?"

"You'll need to change right now," he instructed, his voice once more brisk and impersonal, as if he still wasn't reeling from his close contact with her. He kept his back to her. He didn't need to see bare skin--and he wasn't about to answer her loaded question. "I've got soft-soled shoes for you and a wet suit. You won't need the wet suit until later, but get changed."

He could hear the whisper of clothing and was grateful she didn't argue with him. She was aware of the danger and definitely had made up her mind to aid him. Maybe the fact that she knew he was a Prakenskii was an advantage. She seemed to accept her two brothers-in-law. He did have to consider her family, the only thing he was truly loyal to and fiercely protective of, so his behavior couldn't possibly be as bizarre as he first thought.

"Okay," she said softly, "you can turn around now."

He took her folded clothes from her hand, resisting the urge to inhale their scent, and stowed them in his waterproof bag. He'd noticed the old sweater seemed to mean a lot to her. He exchanged the clothes for new shoes. Her combat boots would be too loud, too heavy and clumsy where they were going.

He didn't dare leave her behind in their room while he took care of Saeed as he'd intended. It was too risky. He'd seen the way Cyreck had looked at her and knew it was only a matter of time before the man got stupid and came demanding he get his turn. In any case, he doubted if Airiana would have been satisfied being left behind now that she'd thrown her lot in with his.

Knowing that the cargo vessel was really part of the Gratsos floating sex trade made his mission far more encompassing then he'd first thought. He had to make certain what was on the ship came to light.

"We're going to have to do something about your hair. It's too--blond." The color was highly unusual. "Does it glow in the dark?"

"Ha, ha, and I'm not dyeing my hair black."

She looked a little hurt, although he'd been attempting a joke. She was frightened, but standing with him, giving her his trust when he hadn't really earned it, and that nearly broke him right there. He wasn't a man anyone trusted. He caught strands of her wild, bedroom hair in between his fingers. Pure silk. "A man would give his life to feel your hair on his body, moving over his chest and thighs. It's beautiful. Truly beautiful. But we'll have to cover it up so you're safer."

She blinked at him, a little shocked, but she nodded.

He hadn't really intended to say what was in his mind, but it was there, a little bit of the erotic fantasy already playing in his head when he didn't have such things. "A hat. A scarf. Something," he added briskly. He ripped a piece from a dark shirt from his pack and handed it to her. "Do that thing women do when they want to cover their hair."

She rolled her eyes at him, but obediently tied back her hair and wrapped it with the strip of material. "Seriously, do you know how chauvinistic you can sound?"

"Yes." He made up a small pack for her, with a knife and extra ammo, just in case, before handing her the rifle. "Don't be tempted to shoot me."

"You'll have to take it back before we enter the water," she cautioned, her smile tight. Frightened. Not lighting her incredible eyes. "That's the only way you'll really be safe."

He shook his head, wanting to smile when he could feel his muscles beginning to grow loose and relaxed, while deep inside he coiled tighter and tighter like a snake, just waiting. His alarm system had begun shrieking at him and there was no time left. He caught her hand and tugged her toward the locker.

"Get behind my bag and lay on the floor of the locker just in case they come in with guns blazing." He kept his voice a thread of sound between them, allowing the air to create their own private communication system. "I doubt they'll do that because they won't want any undue attention drawn to them any more than we do."

Airiana glanced at the locker. It was very small. She could fit, but she didn't much care for closed-in spaces. "Where will you be?"

"Where I can see them coming at us, but they can't see me," he said. "No matter what happens, Airiana, you can't make a sound. Do you understand?"

"How will I know it's you when I hear someone trying

to open the locker door?"

The fearful note in her voice turned his heart over. "You'll know it's me." He reached out his hand to her. "Get in now." Instincts were kicking in, his radar warning him the enemy was close.

"If you really stop them from taking me," Airiana ventured, "won't the crew try to kill you as well? And if they think you'll tell someone about what really happens aboard this vessel, won't they just kill the women and children immediately?"

He cursed her intelligence under his breath, but he wasn't going to lie about it. There were too many other things he had to lie--or at least mislead her--about. "Yes." His voice was grim. "Now get in the damned locker."

She placed her hand in his. Small. Soft. Not the hand of a woman used to fighting for her life--or the lives of others. She looked him straight in the eye. There it was again. That trust. To a man like him that was pure gold. A treasure beyond any price. She had no idea what she was gifting him with, and that made it all the sweeter.

He kept his eyes on hers, holding her gaze captive while she stepped inside. Her face was stark white, and her mouth trembled, but she slowly knelt and then lay behind his heavy, waterproof bag.