Playing with Fire (17 page)

“Didn’t figure you to be the princess type.”

“Every girl wants to be a princess deep down.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Derek said, unable to ignore how unprincesslike she looked. Princesses brought to mind little-girl charm and pink ribbons. Macey, in that bikini, had shed all her little-girl anything.

He tore his attention away from her curves and smoothed out the point where the flag stuck into the top of the tower. Grains of sand tumbled down the side from his touch—just a few.

And then some more.

And then the whole damn tower split in half and crashed to a lump of nothing.

“My fortress!” Macey covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide.

Derek tried to hold back a grin, not because the castle had collapsed but because of her obvious horror.

“Macey, it’s okay. Just a sand castle.”

“I paid a hundred and fifty bucks for that castle. Plus labor.”

One hundred fifty bucks? For a sand castle lesson? The girl was a head case. A very sexy one, but a head case at any rate. He couldn’t help laughing.

She punched his arm. “Castle wrecker!”

“The only thing to do is destroy it all the way.”

“What?”

“Try it. Might feel good. Take a running jump right into it.”

“I could fix it,” she said stubbornly, circling to the other side to survey the damage.

He bent to look closely at the collapsed tower as Macey reached his other side. “It’d take hours to fix it.”

“I’ve got time,” she declared.

Derek glanced up at her, shook his head, then faced the castle again. Just as he reached out to salvage the flag, he felt himself tipping forward, courtesy of Macey’s foot connecting with his ass. He had no choice but to land right on top of her masterpiece. Ex-masterpiece.

Behind him, Macey laughed. He rolled to his back, ruining the castle completely, and stared up at her, shielding his eyes from the low sun behind her.

“You were absolutely right,” she said, snickering. “That did feel good.”

He stared wordlessly at her for several moments, then sprang to his feet. No way was she
not
going to pay for that. Macey reacted quickly and darted toward the water. He rushed in behind her, even though he wasn’t wearing swim trunks. Probably destroyed his tennis shoes, but what the hell. Sweet revenge.

Macey hollered, a cross between a screech and a laugh, as he almost caught up with her. Then she torpedoed into a wave and escaped. His shoes were dragging him down, being sucked into the sand with each step.

She surfaced, and when she stood, the water was just above her waist, giving him an excellent view of the way her wet bikini top clung, outlining her nipples.

“You’re going to pay eventually, Mace.” He forced his eyes from her chest, which seemed to be something he had to do a lot. “Whether it’s now or later, you’re going down.”

“Trembling in fear here.” She laughed and dived away again.

Derek would’ve followed her but his shoes were a serious handicap. He trudged back to dry land and removed them, his socks and his drenched T-shirt. He picked up the beach bag Macey had jumped over during her escape, and found her large beach towel inside. He pulled it out and wiped his face dry, looking at Macey, who’d swum farther out. He lowered himself to the sand, catching his breath and preferring to watch her rather than chase her. For the time being.

Still in waist-deep water, she was trying to jump over waves. Her smile was visible from here and he realized a grin was finding its way across his face, as well. How could it not, as he saw how into the moment she was, how much fun she could have just playing in the waves like a kid. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to be so carefree, but he’d never been close to it, even before Julie’s death.

Derek hadn’t felt this relaxed in ages. Clearing the air with Macey had done wonders for his mood. He hadn’t realized how heavily the additional guilt of trying to push her away had weighed on him. He didn’t deserve for her to be so forgiving, but he was damn glad.

He had only a few more days till she left.

Macey kept getting farther out. It looked as if she could no longer touch the bottom. Her head bobbed in the water, but that was all.

Derek straightened as she went under again. She was getting too far out. He stood up to see her better, alarm prickling his neck. Her head went below the surface again, and he took several steps forward as he waited for her to come up.

It appeared Macey didn’t know this or hadn’t figured out what was happening.

Derek ran until he got to water deep enough to dive into. He hadn’t swum for years, but sliced through the water as fast as he could, thanks in part to some serious adrenaline. It seemed a mile out to where Macey was. He was not going to let anything happen to her. Had to get there. Had to keep going.

He treaded water for a couple of seconds to spot her again, then swam full out. He thanked God he’d kept working out, even though he didn’t use his body on the job anymore. The force of the current helped carry him to her even faster.

At last he reached her and saw her go under yet again. He put his arms around her torso and held her up so she could get a breath. She was still moving but he could tell she was wiped out. He pulled her across his body, her head cradled on his shoulder so she could get all the air she needed.

“It’s okay, Macey. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

She went limp in his arms and he checked to make sure she was still conscious. Her eyes fluttered open and she focused on him briefly before closing them again. Thank God. She’d make it. Now he just needed to get her to shore.

He slowly carried her south, not sure how to tell when they were out of the dangerous current. Finally he made it to where he could touch bottom. As soon as he got to water waist-deep, he picked Macey up and cradled her. She held on to his neck, which was a good sign.

He carried her to the dry sand and looked around, trying to get his bearings. They’d gone farther south than he’d thought. He could see the fire station a quarter of a mile down the beach. If they were closer, the guys at the station could help, but Derek wasn’t about to leave her and go that far.

Gently, he put Macey on the sand. She was starting to shiver uncontrollably. He needed to get her into dry clothes and warm her up. Her bag was likely a half mile or more away and wasn’t going to do them any good, either.

There were very few people on this section of beach right now, as it was dinnertime.

“I’m cold, Dare,” Macey groaned, rolling to her side and curling up in a ball. “Tired.”

“I’m going to get you a towel. Stay right here.”

He jogged over to the closest group of people, a family with four rambunctious kids playing football. A woman sat under a large blue-and-white beach umbrella and alternated between watching the game and reading a paperback. Once he told her what had happened, she gave him one of the kids’ towels. SpongeBob SquarePants to the rescue. He thanked her and asked where she and her family were staying. He intended to give them a new towel at the very least. Later. When Macey was taken care of.

He hurried back to wrap the towel around her.

“Th-thank y-you. Who t-turned off the s-sun?”

Derek smiled and picked her up, towel and all. “Let’s get you home. A warm bath and some sleep is what you need.”

She rested her head on his shoulder as Derek made his way off the sand to the street. She wasn’t heavy but he was glad her apartment was only a block and a half away.

As he walked through the small parking lot toward the stairs to her place, he spotted Evan on the second floor walkway, leaning over the railing and drinking a beer.

“Everything all right?” Evan called out.

Derek nodded. He climbed the stairs with Macey still in his arms and only paused for a moment to say, “She got caught up in a riptide. She’s okay.”

Evan rushed toward them. “You sure? She looks pale.”

“She is. Never lost consciousness, though, thank God.”

“Anything I can do?”

Derek shook his head. “Thanks.” He kept going toward her door, then stopped and swore. “Her bag is on the beach. I’m sure her key is in the bag.”

Macey blinked her eyes open. “It is.”

“I’ve got a key,” Evan said, and Derek told himself this was not the time to wonder what the hell Evan was doing with a key to her apartment.

“They let Burn out when I was working,” Macey said quietly.

Okay then. He was a petty jealous bastard to worry about that when Macey was in bad shape. He was just glad they could get into her apartment so she could recover.

Evan came out of his place and unlocked Macey’s door. “You want some dry clothes for yourself?”

Derek realized his shorts were soaked and his shoes and shirt were still on the beach. “Shorts would be great. Thanks, man.”

Derek took Macey into her bedroom and lowered her to the bed.

A couple of minutes later, Evan poked his head in. “Key’s on the kitchen counter. I’m going after her bag. What’s it look like?”

“Rainbow tie-dye,” Derek recalled.

“It says San Amaro Island on it,” Macey added. “There’s a bunch of sand castle tools inside.”

“Got it. If you need anything else, we’re the last unit on this level. Don’t hesitate.”

Derek nodded in appreciation. “She just needs to rest.”

“Take care, Macey.”

She mumbled something unintelligible.

“I’ll see myself out,” Evan said.

Once he was gone, Derek sat on the edge of the bed. “How you doing?”

“Okay.” She opened her eyes. “Thanks for saving me, Dare.”

His throat swelled up as he imagined what could have happened if he hadn’t realized she was in trouble. He couldn’t get any words out, so he trailed his knuckle down her cheek.

“Still a hero,” Macey whispered.

He shook his head. “I did what anyone would’ve done.”

“Dare?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

He brushed her wet hair back from her face. “Ready to warm up with a bath?”

When she nodded, Derek took the shorts Evan had left and went in to start the water for her. He found bubble bath on the edge of the tub and added some to the running water. The lilac scent of it was so like Macey he actually sat there breathing it in for a couple of seconds. Then he searched around and found an oversize, fluffy bath towel in the cabinet under the sink and set it on the floor next to the tub. Stripping, he hung his damp shorts up to dry, then pulled on the borrowed cutoff sweats. When the tub was full, he turned off the spigot and went back into the bedroom.

“Water’s ready for you.”

Macey sat up slowly, dazed and dopey.

“You okay?” he asked. “Do you need help?” He’d do whatever she needed him to, but if that included peeling her swimsuit off her and getting her into the tub he was going to have one hell of an uncomfortable evening.

“I can do it. I’m okay, Dare. Just tired.”

She stood and reached behind her to untie her top. Derek turned away in a panic. Now was not the time for an eyeful.

“I’ll be in the kitchen trying to find some dinner.”

“Good luck,” she said behind him. “Refrigerator’s empty.”

The urge to turn around and look at her was overwhelming; he was absolutely sure she was at least half-naked now. God help him. He forced his feet to move him out of the room.

Macey wasn’t exaggerating when she said there wasn’t much in the fridge. A tub of butter and two orange sodas—that was all. The freezer was bare. She was as bad as he was about feeding herself at home.

Chinese it was, then. He dug up a phone book in one of the kitchen drawers and called a place that advertised delivery. He didn’t know exactly what Macey liked so he ordered four different dinners, plus egg rolls, crab rangoon and wonton soup. After he hung up, he sat there on the couch thinking about the day. They’d been through the wringer. He could feel his exhaustion in every last muscle. Maybe tonight he would sleep soundly once again.

The silence of the apartment suddenly registered and he realized he hadn’t heard anything from Macey. No water splashing, no tub draining…nothing. He hopped up and rushed to the bathroom door.

“Mace?” He knocked softly with one knuckle.

She didn’t respond.

“Macey. You okay?”

Still no answer. He barged through the door. Her head was above the surface, barely, and her eyes blinked open. She sat up, confused.

“What are you doing?” she asked, becoming more alert.

“You…what are
you
doing?” As soon as he knew she was okay, he couldn’t help noticing her breasts, half-covered in suds. His body reacted immediately.

She looked around her. “I think I fell asleep.”

“I thought you drowned,” he said. He knelt by the tub and took her hand. “Don’t do that to me, Mace. One scare in a day is plenty.”

She relaxed against the back of the tub again, not seeming to mind being exposed. Derek didn’t mind, either, unless you considered the blood rushing south with no relief in sight.

“Will you help me wash my hair?” Macey asked. “I’m too tired to stand up and run the shower, but I need to get the salt water out of it.”

Derek spotted a bottle of shampoo on a shelf above her head. He stood to get it, knowing if she opened her eyes and looked in the right place, she would see exactly how turned on he was. Her eyes were closed, though.

He took the drinking cup next to the sink and used it to pour water over her head. He put a dab of shampoo into his palm and lathered it up, then began massaging it into Macey’s hair. She bent toward him, leaning on the side of the tub and resting her cheek on her arm so he could reach her better. The whole time she kept her eyes closed, and he could tell by the look on her face she was content. More than content.

He took his time working the soap through every part of her long hair, rubbing her scalp, her temples, her neck. After he rinsed out the shampoo, she pointed to the other bottle on the shelf and muttered something about conditioner.

He retrieved that bottle and started the process all over again. He combed his fingers through the sleek, slippery strands of her hair, loving the feel of it. He supported her neck in his hand as he poured water over her to rinse the conditioner out.

“Your water’s getting cool. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sat up straight and glanced around her as if coming out of a trance. “I didn’t notice. That felt so good. Thank you.”

He reached between her feet to drain the tub and realized she’d been in so long that the bubbles had mostly disappeared, which made her entire body visible. He closed his eyes briefly and begged God for strength.

She started to stand and he held his hand out to help her up. Then he bent down to get the big towel and to spread out the bath mat. As she climbed out of the tub, he steadied her with his hands on her narrow waist.

“I’m fine, Dare. But you’re welcome to help me.” The smile she gave him hinted at mischief. Did she know what she was doing to him? Was she enjoying this torture?

Because he was. Too much.

He held out the towel and wrapped it around her when she turned her back to him. He risked pressing a quick kiss to the side of her neck before stepping away. He was not going to make a move on her after she’d nearly drowned.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door in the living room.

“Dinner,” he said, having forgotten about that hunger. “Get some clothes on and join me.”