***
The water was warm, like slipping into bath water, which kept my mind focused on the oversized goggles slipping over my eyes and the snorkel gripped awkwardly in between my teeth instead of everything else going on with my life. But my inexperience with snorkeling didn’t matter, not when huge sea turtles with hints of algae stuck to their shells and brightly colored fish in hues of yellow and orange swam inches from my face. I brought my head up and slipped the snorkel and goggles off, taking my first break in almost fifteen minutes. For an environmental nut like me, this was one of the coolest things I’d ever done.
I just kept accidentally sucking in a bit of seawater as I did it.
God, I wish I was just a little more coordinated.
“You done already, princess?” Drake asked, amusement coloring his words.
“I just got a little saltwater in my mouth, needed a break,” I called back, turning around in the water to get a better view of his yacht. “Aren’t you getting in? You’ve been delaying the inevitable for almost an hour.”
“I like getting a view of your assets.”
I blushed, heat flaring in my cheeks, as I looked down at the red and gold bikini that I’d found in my fabulous closet. “You picked it out.”
“Indeed, and I was right. It does look fabulous on you.”
“But you’re still getting in, aren’t you? These sea turtles won’t see themselves. They’re so cute.”
“You’re that type, aren’t you?”
“Huh?” I asked, running a hand through my wet, tangled hair.
In a couple minutes, I was going to poke my head back into the water whether Drake joined me or not. It was so amazing to see the variety of life in the coral reef—from the kelp all the way up to the small nurse sharks. Maybe he’d done this tourist trap thing a million times, but I didn’t have access to a private yacht or the Bahamas, so I was going to take advantage of the day he’d set up for us.
Drake stood up and went to the table on the deck to retrieve his own flippers, snorkel, and goggles. “You’re that bleeding-heart type who probably tears up when you watch documentaries about turtles in the Galapagos and how the odds are against them. I think I have you pegged.”
“I have always been big into conservation,” I admitted. “Besides, turtles are adorable. So slow, but so determined; they never give up!”
He laughed as he finished slipping on his gear. I noticed that he wasn’t taking off his t-shirt though and that it remained on over his swim trunks. He hadn’t taken off his shirt early this morning either. All that struck me as so odd. He didn’t seem to have a lack of confidence in any area. Besides, it wasn’t like he was out of shape. He could probably become a P90x instructor tomorrow. The man had muscles for days, a mass of sinew that would make any straight woman’s mouth water. Besides, it was the Bahamas and warm enough even for me in a bikini. Surely, having that cotton tee on him would both weigh him down and feel stifling hot.
Wouldn’t it?
Shaking my head, I squealed a little as he landed beside me in the water, his cannonball splashing me thoroughly. It wasn’t my business to ask anything, to pry. I’d already dug into his footlocker and things had gotten dangerous from there. Poor Drake still had the swollen nose and the puffy, bloodied lip to prove it. If he wanted to tell me about the shirt and the insistence on it, then he would.
I could be patient and wait.
Really, I could.