Dangerous Tides (28 page)

TYSON didn't say anything as she climbed on the motorcycle behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His gloved hand rubbed briefly over hers and then he looked straight ahead.

Libby pressed her face against Tyson's back as the motorcycle roared to life. Her heart thundered in her ears and she closed her eyes. It was silly to be afraid, especially when he had promised to go very slow, but she was already regretting her decision. That little niggling doubt was beginning to edge into her mind, growing stronger and more fearful as the road sped past the cycle's wheels.

But worse than her nervousness about riding the motorcycle was the way her mind kept coming back again and again to Sam's hurtful accusations and the realization that he didn't like her and didn't want her to have anything to do with Ty.

She tried to shrug it off as Joley would have done, with a casual toss of her head.
He doesn't like me? Well, screw him
! But Libby wasn't Joley and she couldn't just forget it. Sam's accusations had hurt. Being disliked
hurt
.

Oh, for heaven's sake. Why was it so necessary that everyone like her? Yes, she was mortified and humiliated that Sam thought she was after Ty's money, but while she was sitting here wallowing in her own pity party, she could feel Tyson's much deeper pain radiating from him.
She felt
his pain, the ache in his heart. There was no way to take back Sam's cutting remarks. She could only do her best to soothe Ty with warm waves of energy and burrow close in an effort to comfort him. She knew he doubted himself—and her.

With her body pressed up against Ty's, her arms around him and the bike vibrating between her thighs, she eventually began to relax and allow herself the luxury of enjoying being alone with him in the night. She took the opportunity to look around her, to see what he loved so much about riding on a motorcycle.

The sea air felt cool on her face and when she lifted her chin, tears formed in her eyes from the wind. They were out riding on Highway One, moving through the switchbacks above the sea. She looked down at the frothing water, amazed at how close the ocean seemed, dazzled by the way the spray looked like gems thrown into the moonlit sky. The water frothed and folded over, rushing at the rocks and then receding. The bike sped past the stretch of rocks and shore near the seal rookery.

Tyson pulled onto one of the many roads that wound up toward the higher bluffs. She was familiar with the coastline and knew the views were breathtaking from the few enormous properties in the area. He slowed as they approached an imposing set of six-foot iron gates. Pulling out a small remote from his pocket, he pointed it and the gates swung inward and he proceeded down a long drive. Impressive grounds flanked the driveway on either side, rolling lawns dotted with lush banks of flowers and shrubs, all meticulously setting off the huge two-story house at the end of the drive. The entire front of the house was glass. It rose up over the cliff, facing out to sea, designed to blend in with the landscape around it.

Tyson stopped a few yards from the circle leading to the triple garage. He pulled off his helmet and looked down at her. "What do you think, Libby? Isn't this beautiful?"

It wasn't just the ocean views, or the house built with the line of the coast in mind, and the series of wide covered decks, but also the gardens surrounding the house, the windswept trees and the wildness of the boulders and meadows. The pathways were well lit and led into small private alcoves, a flower garden bursting with blossoms leading to the sea itself. This wasn't just beauty. It was… serenity.

Libby slid off the motorcycle and removed her own helmet, waiting a moment to get her legs back under her as she turned in a circle to take in the house and grounds. "It is beautiful, Ty. I had no idea this was here."

"It has a separate guest house. I really liked that about it. The house is on two acres. The land is mostly rolling hills and meadows."

"Are you thinking of buying it?" She hadn't noticed a For Sale sign at the entrance.

"I already bought it. The day after Jonas was shot. I thought a lot about you, Libby, and how we're so different from other people and it occurred to me that you needed me. I've never been needed."

The breath stilled in her lungs. Libby slowly tilted her head to look up at him. "I need you?"

He took her hand. "Yes, you do. After I realized maybe your family might be gifted, it shook my confidence for a minute or two…"

"That long?" Libby's smile was faint. She felt faint. She wasn't ready for what he was going to say. The underlying pain in his heart was apparent to her, although she was certain he wasn't admitting it to himself. She wanted to run, but she wanted to hold him, to keep him safe.

Tyson tucked her hair behind her ear. "You don't know how to say no to people. They use you up, Libby. I'm very good at saying no. You fly all over the world helping out, but you really don't have a home or a life for yourself. I can offer you those things. I can offer this." His hand swept around to include the gardens and house. "I can offer you a sanctuary."

Libby couldn't look away from his face. His features were etched with lines she'd never noticed before. His eyes were dark with shadows. He looked curiously vulnerable and yet very determined. It took everything she had not to wrap her arms around him and hold him close to her.

"Tyson, you hardly know me," she said as gently as she could, all the while remembering that her sisters had said nearly the same thing to her. He was right. She might not want to admit it to herself, but she did have a difficult time setting boundaries.

He shook his head. "You're wrong, Libby. I do know you." He sighed. "Here's the thing, Libby. I've never felt happy before. I didn't realize it. I knew something was missing, but I didn't know I wasn't happy until I actually sat down with you and talked. Being with you makes me happy. I feel good about myself. I don't actually think that much about myself, or life in general for the most part, and then when I'm with you, there I am. All the adrenaline rushes in the world just don't compare to the way you make me feel."

Libby could see it was a terrible struggle for Tyson to choose his words with care in an attempt to convince her he meant what he said. And what was he saying? Surely he wasn't proposing. "I'm not positive where you're going with this, Ty. Obviously I enjoy being with you or I wouldn't keep saying yes when you ask me out."

"But then you didn't really say yes. I tricked you the first time and bullied you and then seduced you."

He let go of her hand and walked along the circular drive toward the path that led to the bluff. Libby followed behind him, hating that she was enough of an empath that she could feel the ache in his heart. It seemed an intrusion on his carefully constructed world. He didn't let people in and yet he was wide open to her.

"Tyson," she told him softly, "if I didn't want to be with you, I assure you, I wouldn't be. Each one of those times we spent together, I came of my own free will because I
wanted
to be with you."

Looking around at the beautiful house, the grounds, the view of the sea, Libby knew this was everything she could have ever wanted in a home. The path made of marble ended in a wide circle at the edge of the cliff. A wrought iron fence provided a barrier, but it was a perfect vista for the incredible view. She stood beside Ty, aching for him, wanting to find the right words to stop whatever storm was coming. She could feel the tension in him, feel it building around them, so she felt edgy and restless.

"I bought this house for you, Libby." He sounded bleak, almost harsh, the expression in his eyes desolate.

Her heart boomed nearly as loudly as the sea below them. "Why, Ty? Why would you do that?"

"I wanted you to see all of me, not just the person the rest of the world sees." His smile was grim. "I do have good parts in me somewhere."

"Do you think I need you to buy me a house to see what's inside of you, Ty?" She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and gave a little tug until he turned to face her. "I'm looking at you, Tyson Derrick, and believe me, I see who you are."

"You deserve the best in the world, Libby."

A small smile curved her mouth, but failed to reach her eyes. "Maybe you should see the real me. You're so worried I won't see all sides of you, but I think you're only seeing what you want to see of me. I'm not perfect and I never will be. And you're right, I don't know how to say no to people even when I should—especially when I should." She ducked her head. "Healing comes with a price. Most of the time, I don't take on the injury, I just send the energy needed to promote healing. That weakens me, but it isn't that dangerous. My sisters are tied to me, just as I am to them. If I choose to heal someone who is mortally wounded…"

"Like Jonas."
Like me
. He couldn't even think about what she'd risked for him.

She nodded. "Like Jonas, then I endanger not only my life, but the lives of my sisters as well. I'm usually very cautious, but it can be difficult to say no or to turn my back when a parent is begging me, or a child is injured beyond normal aid—or if it is someone who I feel affection for."

"You aren't God, Libby, any more than I am. We do what we can and live with everything else." And if he had anything to do with it, she would never put her life or health in jeopardy again.

"I've been to Africa, Ty, and many other countries where they have no food or medicine, where children can't go to school and be educated. It's difficult to see and feel so many children, so many people just thrown away as if they don't matter."

He framed her face with his hands, bending down slightly until his head was nearly touching hers. "It won't help them to hurt yourself, Libby. You're a doctor and in that capacity alone you can do tremendous good. And you don't have to apologize for the way you are or explain it to me. I just know I'm supposed to be with you. I know I can make your life better in so many ways." It seemed so much easier to talk to her there in the dark, with the ocean booming below and the night sky scattered with stars. She was restful and yet exciting. She was also a mixture of compassion and steel that intrigued him.

"I know what Harry and Sam said upset you, Ty," Libby said. "I have no interest in your money."

"That doesn't make me as happy as you think it would. If you were interested in money, I'd have something to offer you."

He was like a small boy offering her his treasures, one by one, in an attempt to entice her to stay with him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him safe forever. "I thought you said I needed you."

"You do, but you probably aren't ready to admit that yet."

She shrugged. "I don't know. Thinking about needing someone in my life other than my family makes me feel more vulnerable than I've ever felt before. We have a prophecy in our family about a gate and finding our true love." She laughed softly. "My sisters and I padlocked the gate just to make certain we were safe."

He touched her face, his gloved finger tracing a path over her cheekbone. "You locked out your true loves? You're dashing all my illusions. Aren't women born wanting marriage?"

Libby burst out laughing. "I think men want to believe that, but no, surprisingly enough, many of us like our independence and view marriage as a male institution."

He threw both hands into the air. "Now you're really shaking me. How is marriage a male's institution?"

"All the advantages are on his side. We women earn money and run our own lives now. If we take on a male, we have to still do all the other wifely chores as well as earn the money." She grinned at him. "How is that appealing?"

"Fine, I'll learn to cook."

"You'll never learn to cook, Ty, so don't even go there."

"Can't you wiggle your nose or something and have dinner on the table?"

"You sound so hopeful. I think Hannah can do that. Maybe you're going for the wrong sister." The smile faded from her face. "I thought about you so often, but you seemed to disapprove of me. I had no idea you looked at me."

"How could I not look at you? Come on, Libby, you're beautiful and intelligent and sexy as hell. Any man in his right mind would be looking at you. I just didn't think in terms of permanency."

"You mean you thought my entire family was a group of charlatans."

"Well, yes. How in the world did you ever come to accept that you could manipulate energy in some way without trying to find a scientific explanation for it? I would have been conducting experiments every day until I figured it out."

"Not if you grew up with it as commonplace. The talents have been in my family for generations. No one thinks about how we do it, just that we do and we have to learn to control and accept the gifts from the time we're children. It isn't all that easy, so the wonder of our talent sometimes gets lost in the wielding of it."

"You should feel special, gifted."

Libby turned in his arms, sinking back against him to look out over the ocean. "Not most of the time. Most of the time what we do is taken for granted, just a part of our lives we don't think about. When we were children, we felt different, apart." She glanced up at him. "Probably the way you felt when you realized you thought and learned on an entirely different level than most people."

He rubbed his chin on the top of her head. "Superior maybe. I was pretty full of myself growing up. I think I had a chip on my shoulder."

"You're bossy and a bit on the arrogant side."

"I'm right. And you need me to help shield you a little bit from all the demands you place on yourself."

"I do?" She laughed softly. "That's the arrogance talking."

"No, it isn't. Don't you want a family? Children? Do you see yourself without a family? Striking a balance is a good thing, Libby."

"With you telling me what that balance is?"

He shrugged. "Someone needs to, Libby."

She pulled out of his arms, spinning around to glare at him. "Has it occurred to you I've done a pretty good job of running my life so far without anyone telling me what to do?"