Seduction by the Book

The electricity had gone out about an hour ago and he had not been able to reach any of the research team since then. Using a flashlight, he entered the kitchen and immediately his thoughts turned from dolphins to Annie. Dammit. Not again. He had to stop this.

Just then, a tremendous noise echoed through the house, loud enough to be heard above the storm.

Nick turned and made his way in the dark to Annie’s quarters as fast as he could. He threw open the hallway door and barged right into her rooms, yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Annie! Where are you?” He flipped the beam of the flashlight around but found only an empty bed.

The sounds of the storm had grown louder in here and he could feel the air stirring. He turned toward the source of the wind and bolted to the open bathroom door, reaching it with little trouble in the dark.

But when he stepped inside the threshold, he found chaos. A huge palm tree lay half-inside the bathroom while the other half was still caught by the corner of the roof. But there were fronds and broken glass and now rainwater building higher on the tile floor.

And Annie stood on the counter in the middle of it all, trying to shove bath towels into the hole in the roof.

He swore once then moved toward her through the debris. “Are you all right? Just leave the damned thing alone and come away from there.”

“I don’t have my shoes. I think I already cut my foot on the glass,” she hollered above the roar of the rains.

“Then put your arms around my neck. I’ll carry you.”

“You can’t carry me! I’m too heavy,” she protested.

He waded closer to the counter. “My personal trainer would disagree with you on that one. She says I’m a lot stronger than I look.” He’d said it with a forced smile as he reached to tug her down into his waiting arms, but he was too concerned about her safety to be very gentle.

Annie rolled against his chest and hooked an arm around his neck. Holding onto the flashlight with one hand, he pressed her close. She was as light as a baby in his protective embrace—and soaking wet from standing in the rain that was coming in through the roof.

Slick and cool against his naked, warm chest, Annie’s body slipped lower against his abdomen. He groaned silently and begged for strength. The friction of her skin rubbing against his skin was causing him to lose his mind.

Carrying her, Nick quickly stepped into the bedroom and slammed the bathroom door behind him. He gently let her slide the rest of the way down his body to the bed.