Rescue Me(30)

Climbing from the comfort of the bed, she searched the tiny cabin for her scraps of clothing and dressed herself again, leaving her cover behind. She went up the steps to the deck and looked around, her eyes settling on Cole standing by the railing, looking out toward the horizon.

Moving quietly, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He placed his hands over hers, and spoke softly, a smile evident in his voice. "Feeling rested?"

"Mmm," she murmured against his back. She was indeed much more relaxed now, but just the feel of his strong abs beneath her hands had stirrings of desire rising up in her again. She had never been so completely responsive to a man like she was with Cole.

He turned in her arms and gripped her waist, looking down at her with a glint in his eyes. "I think a fling with you is exactly what I need."

"Good. Because if that was any indication of what I can expect, you better be ready for a lot more of it."

He laughed. "I think I can handle that."

"Do you have to get back to the marina for anything?"

"I made sure to book your lesson for the entire afternoon. We can stay out here as long as we like."

"Works for me," she said. "So tell me about this life at sea I heard about."

Cole placed a kiss on her forehead and walked over to a cooler near the cockpit. He grabbed a couple bottles of water and handed one to her, then led her to a soft leather bench seat and pulled her down onto his lap, taking a long drink before he spoke.

"I grew up not too far from here. My dad has a fishing boat and we used to spend every summer on it helping him. I can't remember a time when I wasn't familiar with being out on the water. It's like a part of myself."

She could see the passion in his face as he spoke about it, and it felt familiar. She felt the same way about dancing. The only difference was that he had found a way to make his passion part of his everyday life and she had cast hers aside.

"That must be nice," she said wistfully, not realizing she'd spoken aloud until he focused on her.

"What?"

"Being able to spend your life doing something you love."

"You don't love what you do." He stated it as a fact, not a question.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Not necessarily. I'm just going off of things you've said. And the fact that I can't see you as a banker type."

She laughed out loud. "That's perceptive. But you're right. I never would have thought I'd work in finance. I'd always imagined pursuing dance in some form or another."

"Why didn't you?"

He asked as if it were that simple. It was evident he had never had to explain himself and what he wanted to do. Or at least, that his family was supportive of whatever he chose. What was that like? "Did you choose the Coast Guard because it was expected that you would do something on the water, or because it's what you thought would please your family?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I love what I do. It's a natural fit. But my family would have been okay with me choosing something else if it's what I really wanted." He paused. "Not so with you."

She sighed, staring out at the gentle lilt of the ocean. "No."

"Want to talk about it?"

She was surprised to find that she did. It was nice to be able to talk to someone who wasn't going to judge her. Someone that was temporary and whose questions wouldn't follow her back to her real life.

"After my parents died, Brandon took full responsibility for me. It was the summer after I graduated high school, so I'd already been accepted to a good school. One with lots of options, but particularly for me, a stellar dance department. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew dance had to be a part of my life."

He let her continue without comment. "The problem with that was that I didn't know what kind of future it would hold. Unpredictable for sure, which has never really been an issue for me. But Brandon had always set the bar so high. He'd always been at the top of his class, and our parents were so proud of him and what they knew he would accomplish. I had always been a wild card. And while they were proud of me, I knew they worried that I would never settle down and find my niche."

"You were still a kid."

"I know. But when you have a sibling that's a shining star, you kind of start to feel like you need to step up your game. So anyway, after they died I think Brandon was overwhelmed with the idea of looking after me. He felt responsible for me. And I wanted him to be proud. I needed to prove to him, and I guess to myself, that just because I'd always been a bit of a flake, I could be successful too. I owed it to him and to my parents."

"So you stopped dancing?"

"Mostly. I still took classes in college, but I found what I thought would be a stable career path and took it." She sat quietly for a moment, reflecting on how hard she had worked to earn her brother's approval. How much she had sacrificed.

"But you're not happy. Doesn't that count for something?"

"I don't think so. At least I didn't before coming here. Now I'm not so sure. I've had more fun dancing this past week than I've had in years."

"So tell him. He's not some overbearing jerk. He loves you."

"I know he does, but I still have such big shoes to fill. I don't want to disappoint him."