Page 29 of Riptide

“It has its risk. I knew that. But Jesus fucking Christ. People do it all the time, you know.”

“That’s exactly it. Everyone has their own comfort level when it comes to risk.”

“I shouldn’t have helped that guy.” She rolled her eyes, still frustrated with her decision.

“Any decent person can sometimes have a hard time telling the good from the bad. It’s not like every murderer looks like a bad guy. Look, my aunt always said even Ted Bundy acted like a nice guy.” He gave a small laugh.

“It’s true though.” Kaimana raised an eyebrow at him. “You know, I always suspected, after I escaped, they’d come back for me. But then I started getting more comfortable when they didn’t right away. Or maybe they were too chickenshit because Evan was with me.” She stared into the darkness as a silence filled the air. Sadness washed over her. She was far into this mess, and there was no other way but forward. “I want it to be over.”

Seth crossed the room to her, reaching out and taking her hands in his. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve got strength in numbers. If Evan is alive, we will find him.”

Kaimana closed the distance between them, seeking the warmth of his arms. She melted into his embrace. It had been forever since she’d trusted anyone. But Seth wove his easy confident nature and flirty charisma into a web that she couldn’t escape. The way he kissed her, touched her…she craved more, but caring for him made for serious complications.

Seth pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “It’s going to be okay.”

Confusion swept through her. No matter how much she wanted this man, she feared she’d want more than sex. Tendrils of emotion had already penetrated her heart. Best to cut bait and run.

“I’m sorry.” Kaimana pulled away, her body on fire with arousal. Willpower, girl. Still holding his hands, she looked up into his eyes. “I think I’m going to take a shower before bed. I should be, ugh,” her mind reached for the words that did not come. She gently pulled her hands from his and nervously tugged at the hem of her shirt.

“About earlier…what happened between us. I mean I’m sorry about waking you up like I did. I should be okay tonight. I’ll just keep my gun close, which, yeah, I guess you already know that I brought it from the boat. It’ll be fine. We should get some rest.”

Kaimana briefly closed her eyes, her cheeks heating in mortification. If they talked about earlier, she’d struggle not to finish what they’d started. She glanced at his chest and bit her lip.

“Do you want to talk about what happened earlier? In my room?” Seth asked, a sly smile crossing his lips.

“Nope.” Her cheeks flushed. “I’m good.”

“Ya sure now, because holding you right now—” He grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “And what happened earlier. It just seemed like maybe you and me…we might have had a thing goin’ on there…between us. Maybe we should talk.”

“Yeah, no. We shouldn’t talk about it.” Liar.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He nodded with a knowing grin.

“I’m good.”

“Definitely are.”

Kaimana made the move to walk around him, still feeling the swirling energy that seemed to draw her to him like a slab of steel in a magnetic field. Keep walking.

“I’ll just go get that shower.” Naked. Alone. She stopped and turned to him. “Hot water will feel good.”

“It always does.” Seth pinned her with a passionate stare. “You should indulge in things that make you feel good.”

Her body radiated as she reached for the gun and lifted it off the table. “I, uh, I need to relax.”

“Yeah, me too. Know the feeling.” Seth tilted his head, still wearing a sultry smile as she slowly turned and padded into the hallway.

“I’ll just get going. This way.” She awkwardly pointed to the hallway and spun on her heels, walking as fast as she could. Real slick, Kai. Jesus, I’m in trouble.

As she entered her room and closed the door behind her, she exhaled a deep breath. Her body still tingled with a sexual tension she couldn’t shake. Temptation urged her to explore it, but she held firm and attempted to resist her true desire.

“Stop, Kaimana. This is a really bad idea. Just ignore him. Don’t do it.” She headed toward the bathroom, reached inside the shower and turned on the water. “Just get control of yourself. You don’t really know him. You’re just feeling this way because you haven’t had sex in forever. Maybe it’s because you rescued him. Maybe you’re just horny.”

As she looked into the mirror and stripped off her clothes, she scanned her bruised body. “Jesus.”

Her finger brushed over a black and blue mark on her left shoulder. “Oh my God. This. This is what you need to be worried about, girl, not a guy. A smoking hot guy, but still. He’s work, that’s it. He’s helping you get Evan.”

She rubbed her eyes and dipped a toe into the warm spray. “Just focus. We’ll find Evan. Put an end to Marretta. Save the girls. And then I’ll get back to my life. Seth will go back to his.”