Just This Once by Rosalind James Read Free Book Online

The trip back through the tunnel was less frightening this time, now
that she knew what she was doing. She enjoyed the leisurely swim back, the feeling
that she was part of the sea rather than just swimming over it. It was like a
garden, she thought. A garden under the sea.     
    Back on the boat again, Drew handed her a large towel and
took one for himself as they compared notes over the fish they had seen. The
big fish she had followed was a snapper, she found. “Tasty,” he commented. “You
should try it.” They pulled off their wetsuits together, and she realized in
surprise that she no longer felt shy. Something about exploring the ocean
together, sharing the experience, as well as the physical exertion, had relaxed
her.
    When she was free of the heavy wetsuit and was blotting her
long braid of excess water, she looked up to find him watching her with
considerable interest.
    “I like that costume,” he told her. “Much better.”
    “My sister will be glad you approve. She made me buy this
suit. She even told me it wasn’t orange, though I still have my doubts. She
says it’s tangerine.”
    “I’m not too good on the fruit colors, but I’d say whatever
it is, it works. Tell your sister cheers for me.”
    He looked pretty good himself in a swimsuit, she thought
privately. Without the T-shirt, his broad chest was nothing short of
spectacular. She had always preferred slim men, and now she wondered what she
had been thinking. Surely nothing could attract her more than the power latent
in all that muscle.
    She had wondered at first, seeing the boat, if he had
expected sex to be part of the outing. She knew that athletes had more than
their share of opportunities, and guessed that few women could resist his
attraction—and that they hadn’t made much effort to. But although he was
clearly interested, she wasn’t feeling pressured. In fact, other than taking
her hand to help her into the boat or directing her attention to something in
the water, he hadn’t touched her at all.
    Which was maybe just a little disappointing. She was
certainly enjoying looking at him, and watching him move through the water and
climb in and out of the boat had been a pure pleasure. She wouldn’t mind, she
admitted. Not at all.
    No holiday flings, she reminded herself sternly, but the
warning didn’t carry quite the same conviction as usual.
    Drew caught her looking, smiled back at her. She looked away
quickly, reached into her bag for a wide comb, and set about unfastening her
braid. She felt his eyes on her as she settled into a seat at the side of the
boat, spread her hair out around her, and began to pull the comb through the
long, heavy mass, beginning at the bottom and working her way to the top.
    “I reckon I’ve seen a mermaid now,” he said slowly. “I’ve
never seen anyone with that kind of hair. Or so much of it.”
    She smiled ruefully as she continued at her task. “I know,
and I ask myself every day why I keep it. I work out a fair amount, and just
washing and drying it takes me an hour. I keep thinking I should cut it off and
be done with it, but I’ve had it this way for so long, it’d feel like losing a
part of me.”
    “That would be a crime,” he said seriously. “I’ve met a lot
of blondes. But I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone with hair exactly that
color. It’s so blonde, it’s almost white.”
    “My friend Emery calls it Rapunzel hair. You know, Rapunzel,
let down your hair? When I was little, I always wanted sleek black hair, like
Snow White. Or shiny golden hair, like my sister’s. I guess we always want what
we don’t have.”  
    She pulled her curtain of hair around to the front and set
to work with the towel and comb again, blotting and untangling. The fine
strands began to curl as they dried, becoming tendrils around her face and
waving in spirals down her back.
    Finished, she fastened it again in a loose braid that
reached well below her waist. When he protested, she