She was right. He’d been a jerk. Right now he didn’t know how to be anything else. But he was slightly sorry for it. Maybe would be more sorry if she’d been hurt by his gruffness. Instead, she’d been annoyed, and her eyes had sparked with it. It was hard to be sorry for that. She had beautiful eyes, annoyed or not.
He’d been standing there for twenty minutes when a movement caught his eye, just off the shore. He frowned. Was that a boat? He squinted; the sun glinted off the water in blinding flashes, but yes, there was definitely a boat out there, maybe a few hundred yards off the coastline. Certainly no farther. The sea was still rough, and he watched the boat bob and rock, at the mercy of the waves.
Foolish person. The boat couldn’t be more than maybe fifteen, sixteen feet. On a calm day, and with a skilled pilot, a boat like that could fare pretty well in open water. He’d certainly gone fishing in his and had no trouble at all. But today wasn’t calm. The surf had been high since the storm earlier in the week, and whoever was at the wheel wasn’t looking very competent, either. He frowned, and turned to get his binoculars from downstairs. When he returned, the boat was closer to shore, and still bobbing as it drifted.
He lifted the binoculars, focused in, and cursed.
What in hell was she doing? Foolish woman! Out there in a boat, camera around her neck, trying to take stupid pictures! Had he not made his point? He ran his hand through his hair and lifted the binoculars once more. A rolling wave hit the boat sideways, throwing her off balance. She fell, and his heart froze for a few moments as she disappeared from view. Had she hit her head? Was she okay? He held his breath until he saw her struggling to stand again. She turned the craft into the waves, and he hoped to God that she was going to give it some gas and get out of there. But she didn’t. She wanted her pictures too badly. As she lifted her camera again, another heavy wave crested and knocked her to the side, while water splashed over boat and woman. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be knocked overboard. Or worse...she’d be swept in toward the jagged rocks at the point. The lighthouse was there for a reason, after all.
Another wave swamped the boat and panic settled in his gut. He took off the binoculars and raced down the stairs, out the front door, and to the natural steps leading to his beach and the private dock. It took only a few moments for him to throw on a life vest and start the engine of the boat that was only slightly bigger than hers. He drew away from the dock and opened the throttle as he made his way toward her, his heart pounding as the boat lifted and bottomed out with each rolling wave. If she wasn’t swept overboard, she was going to hit the rocks, and neither outcome was particularly appealing. The water was freezing, and while he was confident in his piloting skills, he wasn’t so sure about his rescue ones. The only option was to get her out of there.
He got close enough to see that Jessica’s delicate pale skin was even paler, her eyes wide with fear. Her jaw tightened as she saw that he was behind the wheel, and she waved him off. “I’ve got this!” she called. “Go away!”
His fear disintegrated and anger took its place. “Are you kidding me?” He pulled as close as he dared without danger of them crashing together. “You’re either going to fall overboard or run into those rocks! Do what I tell you.”
Her face flattened. “No man is going to tell me to—”
He swore, and loudly, and Jessica’s mouth clamped shut in surprise. “I’m going to tow you back,” he shouted. “No arguments. Now shut up and let me help.”
When she didn’t argue, he figured she’d either finally seen common sense or was too scared to do otherwise. It took several minutes for them to secure her boat to his, with the ominous cliffs of the point coming ever closer. Bran gritted his teeth and pushed the throttle forward, taking up the slack between the two boats as the motor labored to take them both into the oncoming waves and away from shore. Jessica, to his relief, had finally done what he’d told her and was sitting obediently in the captain’s seat. The chop smoothed out as they got closer to the tiny cove sheltering his beach, and once they got close to the dock, he stopped, put down his anchor and pulled Jessica’s boat close enough he could board. She stood, avoiding his gaze, and stepped away from the wheel.
He stepped in just as a wave sent her off balance and crashing into him.
She was damp from spray, and yet warm and soft as he caught her in his arms and their bodies meshed together awkwardly. Bran put his hands on her upper arms to steady her and push her away. But the damage was done. Her gaze caught his and her cheeks—already rosy from the wind and water—reddened. His gaze dropped to her full, pink lips and his irritation grew. It was bad enough she was a thorn in his side...it was too much that she was also adorable. She bit down on her lip, and he nearly groaned. Adorable wasn’t quite the right word. Infuriating and...sexy, dammit.
He pushed his way around her. After disconnecting the towrope, he guided her little boat into his dock and secured it. He left her on the wooden platform and, ignoring the freezing temperatures, dove into the water. Perhaps it would help cool his temper, which was still raging.
The icy shock definitely cleared his mind. He wasted no time climbing the little ladder into his craft, then started the engine and guided it in to the dock. Soaked and shivering, he jumped out and glared at Jessica, who was standing on the dock, looking quite chastised and embarrassingly repentant.
He would not let that get to him. He would not. He focused on tying the knot and not on her frightened face and big eyes.
“Get your things and come to the house,” he ordered, and he didn’t wait to see if she followed or not. She would if she had any sort of sense at all.
But he didn’t check; he heard her feet scrambling up the stone steps behind him. He hurried to the house and stripped off his shirt the moment he got in the door. Within five minutes he’d dumped his wet clothes in the tub and had on warm, dry jeans. He was walking toward the front door with his sweatshirt in his hand when he stopped short.
She’d come inside, just into the foyer, and stood staring at him and his bare chest. Her cheeks blossomed an awkward shade of pink, and she bit down on her lip as he shoved his arms in the sleeves and pulled the shirt over his head. But something strange threaded through him at her silent acknowledgment of...what? Attraction? Awareness? What a ridiculous thought.
He opened the door and guided her outside again, then put a set of keys in her hand. “Where did you get the boat?”
She cleared her throat, and the awkwardness dissipated as they were back on topic. “Cummins’s, about a mile from the resort.”
He knew the location. “Take my car and drive there. I’ll take the boat back. Then I’ll drop you at the resort and that’s that.”
“Branson, I...”
His gaze snapped to her. “How do you know who I am?”
She didn’t answer, and he held back a sigh of frustration. It had to have been Tori or Jeremy. “It doesn’t matter. Take the car.”
He stalked off to the dock again. Damn woman was nothing but trouble.
It took thirty minutes to get to Cummins’s boat rentals, and Jessica was already there, her backpack slung over one shoulder. Bran held on to his anger as he turned the boat over to John Cummins, then followed Jessica back to where she’d parked his car. He got in the driver’s side and immediately hit his knees on the steering wheel; she’d moved the seat forward. Held back another curse word as he adjusted it, and turned onto the road leading back to the Sandpiper.
He never spoke to her once.
She never spoke to him, either.
The drive was short, and he dropped her in front of reception. Then, and only then, did she speak.