"Hey there, Keagan," his personal siren called, waving as she pulled her feet from the water. "About time you showed up."
How long did it take to draw a pair of never-ending legs from the water?
Finally she stood and swiped beads of water from her tanned skin.
Max swallowed and concentrated on docking the boat rather than parking himself in Darcy. "Busy day."
One that left him itching. He was so damned close to locating that tap. He could feel the logic pattern of which cable contained it gel in his mind. He knew. But until he had solid proof, the knowledge was useless to his superiors. He'd run Lucy and Ethel up and down the cable four times with no luck. What was he missing?
He couldn't afford wasted time with operatives in the field and crews flying missions over Cantou. Darcy's words on the VOQ roof after the snake attack came back to haunt him. How she wanted to be in the action in Cantou. The edge of urgency to plug that damned leak upped tenfold.
Soon, he reassured himself. Soon. Then the real maneuvering would begin in the dance of filtered misinformation to flush out the traitor. He counted the hours until Darcy's departure took her away and safe. Took her away. Period.
Damn it. He couldn't afford to regret her leaving.
The tide drew the boat closer, engine in idle gurgling water behind. With a familiarity two weeks in the making, he pitched her the line to tie off the boat.
She looped it around her hand but didn't move to secure the craft. "Get your party Tevas on, Doc. Crewdogs are throwing a farewell luau on the base beach. It's sure to be hokey and full of food, just like the 'Brady Bunch Goes to Hawaii' episode."
He wanted to go with her. Too much. "Thanks, but I'll have to pass. Stacks of paperwork."
She perched a hand on her hip. "So don't sleep tonight. Time's awasting, and I'll be leaving soon. There'll be ukulele solos by torchlight. More shish kebabs than you can eat in two lifetimes. You don't even have to talk to us humans if you don't want. God knows, no one can get a word in edgewise around Bronco and Crusty, anyway."
Or around her, either, but damn she was mesmerizing to listen to and watch.
Darcy inched closer. "At least give me a ride over. I'm still too wasted from yesterday's flight to hike back to base," she groused, her body screaming a vitality that mocked her claims of weakness.
He hesitated.
She scrunched her nose. "If you don't come, Bronco's going to pair me up with that new copilot. The big lug is so happily married he thinks everyone should invest in a ring and make a pack of Kodak memories. Pretend to be my date and protect me from that overgrown Cupid."
Protect. The single word reminded him of his need to keep her clear of a lot more than that. "When you put it that way, how can I say no to you?''
"You can't."
No damn kidding.
Darcy stepped onto the nose of his boat and tossed the line back to him. Her water shoes slid along the slick deck. Max steadied her. Hands to her waist, careful to keep a safe distance, he lifted her into the boat, steeling himself to keep his distance. As if the tempting give of womanly flesh under his hands wasn't already tempting him to throw away rational thoughts.
A traitorous wave slapped the boat. Darcy pitched into his arms.
Ah, hell. Warm, wet Darcy molded to him, every inch of him. Every throbbing, too-damn-long-denied, starving inch of him that was fed up with keeping her at arm's length.
He wanted to tangle their bodies together on the floor of the boat, strip away bathing suits and inhibitions. Screw the job. Screw being honorable. Just...screw everything until they both couldn't breathe.
Hell, he couldn't breathe now.
His hands tightened around her waist just as her br**sts tightened against his skin. He wished he'd put on a shirt. He knew it wouldn't have made any difference.
Her full br**sts beaded against his chest. Branded him. Her generous lips parted, lips as generous as the woman. It would be so easy to take from her.
Confusion flickered through her eyes just before she plastered on an overbright smile and stepped back. Damn, it took forever for her to peel herself away.
Okay, maybe five seconds. Might as well have been five hours for all the torture he endured.
"All righty, Doc." Darcy's thready voice drifted along the air as she made her way around a cooler of bottled water. "Let's fire up this boat and hit the beach before Crusty eats all the food." She plopped down in the passenger seat, swiping a strand of hair from her brow.
Her hands shook.