HIGH TIDE by Maureen A. Miller Read Free Book Online Page B

mother.”
    That made her smile, but he could tell that the subject in general kicked up her anxiety. She switched her attention back to the walls and settled on the newspaper article regarding the landslide.
    Geologist, presumed dead, located after two days, buried under avalanche .
    In the picture, Nick was stoic and grim . Beside him was the striking portrait of the woman he was trying to exorcise.  Even in black and white she gleamed with glossy dark hair and olive skin. He watched Briana’s eyes coast over the caption beneath it. Meleana Kane . Meleana was listed as the sole survivor of a USGS Hazards Team sent to evaluate the slope stability of the Kohala Gulch.
    “But—” Briana protested as she read, “—but, she wasn’t the sole survivor? You are here.”
    “I keep that clipping up there for a reason.”
    She jolted, having been so engrossed she didn’t notice Nick standing behind her.
    “And that is?”
    His smile was forced. “Old news, best left unspoken.”
    Nick looked away from the article and straight into her eyes. Immediately his demeanor improved. “Come on, let’s go outside. It’s a beautiful evening. Let me show you my little slice of heaven.”
    For a moment he could see the debate raging behind her gaze as if she were calculating her inevitable denial. It bothered him that she was plotting her excuse to leave because he really wanted her to stay.
    “Heaven? ” she smiled. “That’s a bold testimony.”
    She wasn’t leaving!
    “Then let’s see if it lives up to it.”
    ***   
    With his back against the coarse bark of a coconut palm, one ankle idly hooked across the other, Nick watched Briana. She was scoring lines in the sand with her toes. Following her movements—the way she splayed her fingers for balance and laughed when she nearly lost it—Nick felt something close to contentment.
    “Do you like the ocean?”
    “I love the ocean,” she gushed, not looking at him, but out towards the water.
    A silver path cast by the moon seemed so real that one could simply step out and follow it to Oz.
    “But you’re afraid of it?”
    Briana spun around, her eyes narrowing. “Why would you say that?”
    “The way you approach it. I saw it the day I met you on the beach. You hovered just at the spot where the foam crested on dry sand, like you’re doing now.”
    “I had to go back to work,” she argued. “I couldn’t go frolicking through the waves.”
    Now that was an interesting image.
    Shoulder hitched against the tree, Nick crossed his arms and contemplated the mystical creature bathed in moonlight. She looked trapped, and her wary gaze jumped anywhere possible to avoid his.
    “It was in your eyes, Briana,” he whispered. “The moment that wave touched you, it was in your eyes.”
    In a casual motion, he shoved off the arched trunk and approached her. Moving in close, he reached out to trace Briana’s arms and felt a tremble charge through her.
    Hooking a finger under her chin, he gently tipped her head back. Anxious and sensuous, her gaze held his, watching him, awaiting his next move. When her lips parted on a breath, he nearly groaned aloud, such was his desire to kiss her.
    Every inch of him was growing taut with need as his hand climbed to cup her cheek, and his thumb skimmed her bottom lip. She gasped, but he paid no heed. Instead, he reached up and combed through her hair, dismantling the ponytail and watching in fascination as the silky strands splayed across his fingertips, like extensions of moonbeams.
    Immersed in those soft tendrils, his fingers clenched as he fought for control. God, she was beautiful . How simple it would be to just dip his head and touch her lips, and sate the desire that was tormenting him. Maybe he could even convince Briana to spend the night. But in the morning, he would turn her away, and neither would feel the better for it.
    Grudgingly, he released her lustrous mane and trailed his hand down her arm until it blended with her