“You have the right of it,” she said, lifting her skirts and placing her foot down with care on a flat rock rubbed smooth by sand and wind and sea. “That’s not to say I didn’t visit the Isle’s beaches when my siblings were young. But I never joined in on the exploration portion of those trips.” No matter how much she might have wanted to.
“What a veritable waste of a childhood,” he said.
“I wouldn’t call it a waste,” she said, frowning at his back. He turned, flashing that maddening grin of his. “Ah, I see.” She gave him a wry smile. “You’re teasing me.”
“Of course I am. Did you actually think I have anything but the utmost respect for what you’ve done for your family?”
A warmth filled her that had nothing whatsoever to do with her desire for him. And she knew this newest predicament was the biggest danger to her by far, for it heralded something far more powerful.
“But that does not mean it isn’t an absolute shame that you had to miss out on something so purely childlike, so free and innocent andfun.” He grinned at her over his shoulder. “How lucky that you should have me to teach you the lost art of foolery.”
“Foolery?” she queried, praying he would not hear the sudden breathlessness in her voice that his wicked look prompted.
“Absurdity?” he tried. “Hmm, yes. I quite like that word. Very well, we shall call this Reclaiming Your Absurdity. Or in your case, Claiming Your Absurdity, as you never utilized that talent to begin with. I may even write a book.”
She laughed, his ridiculous little speech awakening a joy and freedom in her she had never thought to possess again. As well as a recklessness she suddenly had no wish to control.
“I’m not completely without skills, you know,” she quipped. “Despite your low opinion of me.”
The doubtful look he threw over his shoulder told her exactly what he thought of her assertion.
“You don’t believe me.”
“No.”
“Well,” she said, fighting a grin, “I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”
With that she released his hand, picked up her skirts, and darted in front of him.
“I was born on this Isle, Quincy,” she called over her shoulder as he stumbled to a stunned halt. “If you think you know it better than me, you’re quite mistaken.”
He was silent as she raced ahead, his shock palpable. Then, letting loose a surprised laugh, he was off like a shot after her. She squealed, hurrying her steps over the uneven ground. Her heart pounded, a heady excitement racing through her veins as his steps, muffled by the sand, came closer. She kept her eyes on the cliff line. Just a few feet more.
Just as he growled a low, “I’ve almost got you,” she saw the opening in the rock. With a triumphant cry she deftly stepped to the side. His fingers brushed her skirts as she ducked into the small cave hidden in the cliff wall.
She turned just in time to see his stunned features as he barreled past the opening. The expression was so comical she doubled over laughing. Arms wrapped about her middle, she laughed as she hadn’t since she was a small child, letting it take over her until tears were running down her face, until she could hardly breathe.
And then she couldn’t breathe at all. For she was suddenly in his arms, his laughter joining her own, his gaze warm with wonder as he looked down at her in the shadows of the cave.
“You minx,” he murmured, his fingers stroking rebellious curls from her cheeks. “You knew this was here all along.”
She grinned unrepentantly. “Surprised you, have I?”
“Oh, yes.”
His voice had dipped, turning husky. Molten heat filled her. Her hands, which had been braced on his arms, slid up to his broad shoulders.
She swallowed hard, fighting for composure. “You shouldn’t underestimate me, you know,” she managed.
“You’re right,” he whispered. His gaze fell to her mouth with a ragged exhale. “And yet I continue to do so.”
His breath washed over her face, sweet with the berries he’d eaten at lunch. She waited, hardly breathing. The recklessness he’d reawakened in her was making her want things she’d denied herself for too long.
But he held back, his mouth hovering a hairsbreadth from her own. She remembered vaguely his promise to her, that he would not kiss her again unless she asked.
There was every reason to pull away from him, to walk away and not look back. There were good reasons. Strong reasons.
But for the life of her, she couldn’t think of a single one.