"All my life it seems like sometimes."
Kendle tossed her dripping sweater over the rope, hiding her underclothes beneath her slacks, and her eyes found his, locked.
Luke felt his lungs tighten. Her vivid red skin was a sharp, sexy contrast to the simple white dress that outlined a perfect young body, and for an instant, Luke considered just asking her outright to be his woman. Common sense returned quickly, with guilt on its heels.
He turned away, missing her look of relief. Those were choices she definitely wasn't ready to make yet. She was weak, vulnerable, still dealing with the grief of losing her sister. Men and sex were the last things on her mind…right?
"How long do you think we'll be here?"
"Day or two probably. We'll be able to see the beach come dawn. If the crabs and sandpipers are out, I'll know for sure it's okay. Likely, I overreacted."
Kendle smiled, pulling dry, white anklets over slender feet. "I'm okay with it."
Luke ducked behind the blanket while Kendle wandered the far ends of the long room, impressed. She and her parents had each had an area in their homes, but his was the King of all shelters - medical supplies, survival books, a long box with a picture of a thermal tent on the side, and a generator in the back corner. All these things said Luke was a realistic, reliable person - but the creature comforts, like the cigars, the chocolate bars and music, said life with him wouldn't be cruel either, and it pleased her.
Life with him? Kendle asked herself sharply, hearing the clink of pants with a belt still in them hitting the wooden floor. Are you conceding your real life for this? Not even planning a single, foolish attempt to get back?
She shook her head. No. Going back on the water was unthinkable. Unless a plane came, she was here to stay. With Luke? Kendle wasn't sure yet, wasn't sure how much she could give him. There were younger, more arrogant men here. She'd met them and been asked out by a couple, but had said no, even letting one think she and Luke already had something going on, so he would take the hint and leave her alone.
She felt safe with Luke, knew instinctively he was her own kind, and while she knew people who'd started relationships with less, she didn't think she was ready for all the complications that always came up. She owed him a great deal, and he was definitely one of the good guys, but his eyes said he'd done terrible things in the past, and she often wondered if his solitary life here was a self-imposed penance for it. He was closed-off, giving few details about his life, and she wasn't sure yet how close she wanted to be to him.