Free Dark Star by Roslyn Holcomb

looked around but didn’t see him.
Suddenly she felt hands grab her legs, pulling her down as well.
She sputtered as water went up her nose and she swam strongly after
him. The chase was on! They frolicked in the cave like a pair of
frisky otters. Around and around they went, gasping with laughter
the whole time. Eventually Tonya surfaced, begging for mercy as she
realized the foolishness of what she’d been doing. Playing with
Nate was a very bad idea. It was too evocative of the life they’d
had together and her heart, not to mention her nether regions, were
treacherous bitches where this man was concerned. Pleading
tiredness, she swam back to shore. Nate followed. She dried off
with the beach towel she’d brought then spread a second towel on
the pristine sand to sit on. After taking a moment to smooth on
sunscreen, she sat down on the towel. Nate did the same, only he
didn’t bother with sunscreen. He did pull on a bright blue t-shirt
that looked particularly striking with his coloring. She started to
offer him some of her sunscreen, but the implied intimacy of the
gesture halted her. If he wanted to fry in the tropical sun, let
him. That morning had reminded her too much of all the time they’d
spent at the lake back in Maple Fork. Tears came to her eyes as she
reflected on those halcyon days. She quickly wiped them away on her
towel, but she should’ve known he would notice.
    “What’s wrong?” he said reaching over to take
her hand.
    “Nothing.”
    “You’re crying.”
    “No. My eyes are just a little irritated from
the salt water.”
    He stared at her for a contemplative moment.
She held her breath until he nodded. With that small gesture he
conveyed a wealth of information. He knew she was lying and he was
choosing to let her get away with it. She heaved a sigh of relief
and slipped her sunglasses on her nose before lying back on the
towel.
    “Are there other people on the island?” she
asked desperate for a subject change.
    “Yeah. Farther up. They tend to be hermits
like me. Very few people live here year round. This cove doesn’t
belong to me, but I’ve never seen anyone else use it. If they
object they’ve never spoken up.”
    “Maybe they share it the way y’all share the
jeep.”
    “Maybe so. Most of the residents here aren’t
particularly possessive. It’s so isolated we have to share.
Sometimes storms will take out the electricity and everyone shares
food and gasoline for generators.”
    “I would imagine that the atmosphere
contributes to people’s generosity. Who can be petty when
surrounded by such beauty? I’ve never seen anything so wonderful,”
she said, inhaling the salt air, which was ripe and pungent with
the aroma emanating from the lush vegetation.
    “Me either,” Nate said but he wasn’t looking
at their surroundings. Before Tonya could remonstrate him for the
hackneyed line he continued speaking. “Tonya, I,” he said as he
reached out to touch her hand. She stared at the long masculine
fingers, transfixed by the contrast in their coloring. Her breath
caught in her throat as the familiar jolt of pure lust shot through
her loins. “I just want to apologize for all this. I screwed up,
but I’m trying to make it right.”
    “You call kidnapping me a screw up? Dragging
me off to God knows where and ruining my career? Gee thanks. And
how pray tell do you plan to fix it?” Tonya deliberately made her
words as biting as possible. Anything to take her mind off her
body’s response to his touch. She’d dated a lot of men over the
years, but none could make her heart race the way Nate did. Her
skin tingled, feeling feverish and swollen from even this minimal
contact.
    Nate sighed. “I can’t dispute any of that. Do
you want to go back into the water?”
    Tonya shook her head. Nate still hadn’t moved
his hand and she shivered under the onslaught of his nearness. She
started to snatch her hand away, annoyed that she still reacted so
strongly to him after all the