Turn the Tide
Page 29
Once there were no more tears left, she brushed them away and then reached up and cupped his cheeks, loving the way his dark stubble felt under her palms. “Thank you. For saving Donny. And for taking such good care of me.”
He shrugged. “It’s my job. But you did one heck of a job of taking care of yourself.” He leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers, a gentle kiss, filled with promise.
Hunter walked in, Charlee right behind him. “EMS is outside.”
Marco nodded but never took his eyes off Sarah. “Once you’re back on your feet, you and I are going dancing. You owe me.”
She raised her brows. He shrugged and then sent her that incredible smile that always melted her insides. “Okay, maybe we owe it to each other.”
The promise in his eyes said he was hoping for more than a simple dance. She was, too.
Sarah was still smiling when the EMTs loaded her onto a stretcher in the back of a pickup, since the roads were still too muddy to get an ambulance way out here.
When Marco reached over the side of the truck and took her hand, lightly kissing her knuckles, she realized life in Ocala might be quieter than she was used to, but it would never be dull. Not with Marco in it.
“I’ll check in with you later.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” she quipped, then braced herself for another bumpy ride.
***
He’d only said that to be nice, Sarah decided, when she still hadn’t heard from Marco forty-eight hours later. The ER had confirmed a strain and given her a brace and told her to rest. She’d known that already, but Marco had insisted she get checked out.
She huffed out a breath and flopped back on the sofa, leg propped up on the coffee table in the little cottage on her family’s horse farm.
“He’s gone. Just like last time.” The thought made her feel hollow and empty, lonelier than she’d ever been, even more than when he’d disappeared in high school. Maybe because she’d started hoping they’d have another chance.
The knock on the door startled her, and she gingerly limped over and opened it. Her mouth swung open in shock as Marco strode in, a boxed corsage in one hand and what looked like a disco ball in the other. “It’s been a crazy couple days. Sorry I’m late. Did you miss me, Princess?” he asked, and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
Sarah wasn’t sure whether to be mad or glad. “Somehow, I muddled through without you, Sanchez, but it was a near thing.”
He threw his head back and laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Good to know your sense of humor is intact.” He followed her back to the couch and sat down beside her, presenting the corsage with a flourish. “Sarah Dutton, will you do me the honor of this dance?”
Hope and a big dose of uncertainty flickered in his expression, and her heart fluttered in response. Did he have any idea what he did to her?
But she wouldn’t let him off too easily. She raised a brow. “Here? Now?”
He shrugged, and one corner of his mouth kicked up. “Why not? I even brought ambiance.” He hitched a thumb toward the disco ball.
Sarah shook her head as he plugged it in and turned it on, flashes of light filling the room as it started to spin on its base. He turned off the lights, then reached for his cell phone, and the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” flowed through the speakers. He held out his hand as the haunting melody from Dirty Dancing filled the room.
Heat spiraled in her belly as he pulled her up and into his arms, his eyes twin flames in the darkened room. He was wearing a soft polo shirt and well-washed jeans, his hair still damp from his shower. The familiar scent of soap and man filled her senses as he pulled her close and nuzzled her neck.
Sarah burrowed into him, amazed again at how right it felt to be held by him. The music flowed around them as they swayed together, finding their rhythm, despite her knee. She clutched his shoulders and moved closer, reveling in the feel of him pressed against her. Their tongues mated, danced.
“Give me another chance, Sarah. Give us another chance,” he murmured.
When he pulled back to look at her, she held his gaze, her voice firm. “Don’t hurt me again, Marco.”
Regret mixed with resolve moved through his dark eyes. “That’s not part of the plan, Princess. Not ever.”
When his lips closed over hers, Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss, into the safety of his embrace, and decided to take the chance. “Let’s get it right this time, then,” she murmured.
He looked into her eyes as though afraid to hope, but he must have decided to take her at her word because the kiss went from coaxing to no-holds-barred claiming between one heartbeat and the next. Suddenly, she couldn’t get close enough either, so she held his face for better access to his mouth. He growled low in his throat, and she could feel his smile against her lips as his hands roamed over her back and cupped her backside, pulling her closer still.
“I love you, Sarah. I won’t let you down,” he growled. “Not ever.”
The words she’d longed to hear for so many years filled empty places she hadn’t known she had. “I love you, too,” she whispered and realized she’d loved him since the day they met.
Grinning between kisses, he scooped her into his arms and walked into her bedroom, following her down onto the bed. He tugged her blouse over her head and whispered, “This is way more comfortable than that cabin,” between kisses.
She tugged his shirt over his head and ran her hands over his chest, enjoying the feel of the crisp hair under her palms. “Probably won’t have a tree fall on the place either,” she teased.
He smiled into her eyes, and then no more words were necessary as their hands roamed and touched, learning tastes and textures, fitting hard and soft together. Sarah’s breath came in gasps, matching his, and she realized she couldn’t wait anymore. “Marco, please,” she muttered. In answer, he threaded their fingers together as he rose over her, all the love in his heart reflected in his face as he looked at her. “Stay with me, Sarah. Always.”
They flew together until the stars exploded, and later, as their heartbeats settled and they lay curled together, Sarah realized what she should have realized before. Home wasn’t a place. For her, it was Marco.
Just as it always had been.
About the Author
Connie Mann is a licensed boat captain and the author of Beyond Risk, book 1 of the Florida Wildlife Warrior series. She also wrote the Safe Harbor romantic suspense series, Angel Falls, Trapped!, and various shorter fiction. She has lived in seven different states, but this weather wimp has happily called warm, sunny Florida home for more than twenty years.
When she’s not dreaming up plot lines, you’ll find “Captain Connie” on central Florida’s waterways, introducing boats full of schoolchildren to their first alligator. She is also passionate about helping women and children in developing countries break the poverty cycle and build a better future for themselves and their families. In addition to boating, she and her husband enjoy spending time with their grown children and extended family and planning their next travel adventures.
Visit Connie online at conniemann.com.
Beyond Risk
The heat is on when a former wildlife officer and her lieutenant discover there’s trouble in paradise.
Someone is after former Florida Fish & Wildlife officer Charlee Tanner, and her best friend, Hunter Boudreau, decides he’s not letting her out of his sight until they catch whoever has Charlee in their crosshairs. As danger closes in and Charlee and Hunter’s unexpected attraction threatens to consume them, Charlee has to decide if she can let her guard down and let Hunter in, or if entrusting him with her heart is too risky a venture…
“Heart-pounding excitement…left me sitting on the edge of my seat!”
—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author for Angel Falls
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