West Wind (7 page)

"I hope you're happy. You've ruined my night
out."

"Me?" His voice was low and soft.
Dangerous
, she thought.

"Yes, you," she lashed, grabbing the lipstick
and shoving it in her front pocket. "Who do you think you are,
staring at me?"

"You were flirting with me."

Sabrina took a step back and gasped. "I was
not! I was trying to enjoy dinner, but I couldn't because of
you."

Jay stepped closer forcing Sabrina to lift
her chin to see him. It exposed the long, pale line of her neck. He
hungrily followed that line to the swell of her breasts, heaving
against the too-tight shirt. Jay also saw a wisp of dark lace. "You
fooled me."

"You're incredibly rude and you're making me
nervous." Sabrina took another step back.

He pushed his hands into his jeans pocket and
grinned. "Let's start over. I'm Jay; what's your name?"

"None of your business," she snapped,
frantically turning her head, looking for the hotel sign.

He touched her arm gently. "Hey, it's okay.
Are you lost?"

Sabrina looked up into his shadowed face,
wishing she could see his eyes. She forced herself to calm down.
She was in the parking lot of a brightly lit restaurant in the tiny
town of Warren, not a dark alley in Baltimore. "I'm not sure where
my hotel is. It's only a few blocks away, but I don't remember
which way to go."

"I'll walk with you. It's probably the Warren
Inn, right?"

"Yes, but you don't need to walk with me.
Which way is it?"

"This way," he said, turning her, his hand
gentle on her elbow.

Sabrina took several steps toward what she
hoped would be her hotel, then stopped abruptly. She looked
pointedly at his hand on her arm, then at his face and blinked in
surprise. This time, light from the waning sun revealed a
scattering of freckles across a straight nose, a full mouth with
straight, white teeth. His eyes weren't dark after all; they were
clear gray-blue. Glints of red shone in his mussed hair.

He released her arm.

Sabrina caught her bottom lip between her
teeth. From a distance, he was hard lines and angles, but now,
outside in the fading light, he was almost adorable.

Without thinking, Sabrina lifted her hand in
a halting gesture. Jay caught it and gently pressed it against his
chest.

"All right, maybe I was flirting. At first,"
she conceded. "But not now. I don't know you. I think I'd better
go." Shakily, Sabrina pulled her hand away.

"I'd like to know you," he said. "What's your
name?"

This time she couldn't refuse. With bright
eyes pinned on his lips, she answered breathlessly. "Sabrina."

"Sabrina, you're the most beautiful woman
I've ever seen."

"Yeah, right," she drawled.

"I never lie." He changed the subject
abruptly. "It's going to be a nice evening. Would you like to go
for a sunset sail?"

Sabrina blinked again. "What?"

"Take a short sail on the river and watch the
sunset," he explained. "It's a Rhode Island tradition."

"I've never been on a sailboat before." Well,
except for this afternoon, but that doesn't count, she mentally
added.

He gestured to a large, vacant lot across the
street. On the far side of the lot, along the river, several small
sailboats were tied to a pier. "Here's your chance."

She frowned. The idea of sailing with this
stranger was intriguing. "How do I know you're not a murderer?"

"You don't, but this is a small town and
everyone knows me. I can give you a reference."

As if on cue, an older couple walked out of
the bar and headed for a truck in the parking lot. "Good evening
Jay," they called.

"Good evening Paul, Barb," he replied, his
eyes pinned on Sabrina.

"That was convenient," she said.

He sheathed her hand in his, its heat
radiating up her arm. They crossed the street in silence, walking
towards the boats rocking in the current.

"Which one is yours?" she asked.

Jay nimbly dropped into a small boat and
patted the gunwale. "They all are. But this evening, we'll use this
one. She's my favorite. Just give me a minute to get her ready,
then you can climb aboard."

Sabrina watched as he tugged on the shrouds,
making sure that the rigging was tight. He pulled the cover off the
mainsail and checked the sail ties. He placed the rudder in the
water and tied the tiller against the port side of the boat, then
stood in the cockpit and looked around.

"Ready?" she asked?

"Wait just a sec. Going over my list," he
said, then continued his mental survey. After checking in the small
cabin for life jackets and flares, he stepped to the middle of the
boat and held out his hand, beckoning Sabrina.

She gingerly took his fingertips in hers,
then stepped onto the seat cushion. The boat rocked and she grabbed
his arm with both hands. Jay pulled her towards the middle of the
cockpit and the rocking motion stopped.

"You've never sailed before?"

"I told you I hadn't. This is a small boat,
isn't it?"

"Yes, but it's fast and easy and fun. I
promise you won't go for a swim tonight."

"I'd better not," she warned, sitting on the
cushion and placing her purse beside her. She shrugged out of her
coat, the movement again catching Jay's eye as her shirt stretched
across her breasts.

He looked away, then reached out of the boat
and released the lines from the pier. He pulled in the fenders and
stowed them in the small cabin. Using the boat hook, he shoved the
dinghy away from the pilings and they were adrift. Not bothering to
use the small outboard motor, Jay maneuvered the boat into the
wind.

"Would you please sit here and hold the
tiller like this?" He offered Sabrina the teak handle.

"Why? Aren't you going to sail the boat?"

"Yes, but I need to raise the sail. Unless
you want to do it?"

"No thanks," she said reaching for the
tiller. "I think I'll hold the thingy."

Jay stood and deftly untied the sail. Within
seconds, he shackled the top of the sail to the halyard and pulled
the bright white sail up the mast. Sabrina watched unabashedly as
the muscles in his back rippled. He cleated the line, then unfurled
the jib sheet. The small sail curved and filled with the slight
breeze.

"Okay, we're ready to go," he said, smiling.
He took the tiller from Sabrina and sat on the opposite side of the
boat. "Just sit back and relax."

"Great idea," she said. But could she relax?
Impetuously, she agreed to go with this man, putting her life in
the hands of a stranger. A rugged and sexy stranger with beautiful,
strong hands she realized as she watched him steer the little boat
into open water. The sensation of letting go and being uninhibited
for once thrilled her.

The wind was light, yet the little dinghy
moved quickly. Sabrina watched the shoreline, admiring houses and
yachts as the boat forged down the Warren River toward the bay.

"We won't go far," Jay said. "It's nice,
though, to have a stretch of water between you and the sunset."

Sabrina closed her eyes. She reveled in the
warmth of the setting sun and the gentle breeze. The water was
nearly flat, so the small waves ripped in the boat's wake.

"This is wonderful," she said, her face
tilted towards the breeze. "I've never experienced anything like
this."

"Don't you like boats?" Jay asked.

"Well, sure. I've just never had the
opportunity to go on one. I mean, in school I joined the crew club,
but that's rowing on the river. It's more about competition than
relaxation. I've been on a couple of dinner cruises on the Patapsco
River."

"You live near the Chesapeake Bay?"

He knows his geography
, she thought.
"Yes. I live in Baltimore."

"Busy place. Do you like it there?"

"Well, sure. I've lived there most of my
life, so it's home. I went to boarding school in Maryland."

"You went to a boarding school?"

"Yes. Good old Hillcrest. Class of 1998. Then
I went to Boston for college."

"Boston as in…?"

"As in Harvard Business School. I admit it;
I'm a nerd."

"You don't look like the nerds I went to
school with." Jay observed.

Sabrina dimpled at the compliment.

Jay lost his heart.

"Where did you go to school?" she asked.

"I was born here and went to public school.
Then I moved to Maine, worked at a few boatyards there and got my
degree in naval architecture at the Maine Maritime Academy."

"Naval architecture? You build houses?"

Jay laughed gently at her naiveté. "No, I
design boats."

"Really?" Sabrina squeaked. "That's amazing.
I just bought .... ," she began, then yelped and grabbed at his
knees when a large wake rocked the dinghy.

"Careful," Jay said, steadying her. "There's
a couple more coming. They're from that barge over there," he
pointed.

Sabrina placed her hands on either side,
balancing herself. "Sorry; I wasn't expecting that."

"Would you like to steer?" Jay offered.

"No thanks. If you don't mind, I'd rather
watch the sunset," she said. "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

Jay nodded as the sun sank closer to the
horizon. Orange, pink and violet banded together for the
spectacular event. As the sun sank into the bay, Jay turned the
boat and headed back towards the river, tacking slowly towards
Warren.

Sabrina watched as he expertly handled the
sheets and tiller, and all too soon the experience ended. Jay
handed her the tiller and told her to keep the boat steady while he
pulled down the mainsail, tied it to the boom. He let the current
move them to the pier and then tossed a line around a piling.

He held her hand as she stood on the seat and
jumped to the pier. She dropped a loop around a cleat as instructed
and waited as Jay finished docking the boat. Soon, the small vessel
was secure, its fenders cushioning it from the weathered pilings.
He tossed the life jackets into the cabin, tidied up the lines and
lifted the rudder from the water. He slid the cover back on the
flaked mainsail, nodding as he mentally checked items on his
list.

He sprang to the pier and stood next to
Sabrina in the dusk. "Hope that makes up for staring at you in the
bar."

She laughed. "I've forgotten all about that."
She bit her bottom lip, suppressing a smirk and dimpling
instead.

There it is, again
, Jay thought and
before he could stop he enfolded her in his arms. "I've been dying
to kiss you."

She felt heat radiate from him as she swayed.
He's hypnotized me
, she thought, and closed her eyes. When
their mouths touched, his gentle and hesitant, she dove recklessly.
She sought his kiss with demanding lips, leaning into him when the
ground tilted.

He held her as she deepened the kiss, giving
her time to explore, to experiment. Her tongue darted in his mouth
and teased his, then she rubbed it along his parted lips. When she
sucked on his bottom lip, nipping it gently with her sharp, white
teeth, Jay knew he had to stop her while he still could.

He pulled back. "Whoa," he murmured. "Now I
can die a happy man."

She buried her face in his chest, embarrassed
by her wanton exuberance.

Jay wrapped his arms around her and caressed
her back and neck. His fingers slid into her straight, dark hair.
He broke the enchantment. "Do you like seals."

"Seals?" Sabrina giggled.

Jay grinned and lifted her chin. "Yeah; we've
got a lot of seals in Rhode Island, you know. They come up the
bay." He rubbed his thumb against her bottom lip.

"If you'd like, I'll show you. There's a
group sleeping on the rocks behind my place right now. It's just a
block that way," he said, pointing in the direction opposite the
hotel.

"Sure," she said, "why not?" Although
honestly, she knew why not.

They walked along the river towards a high
wooden fence. As promised, seals lounged on a collection of flat
rocks at the edge of the river. At the sound of their footsteps
rustling the grass, a few wary seals lifted their heads and barked.
One began to shake.

"We're too close," Jay said and drew Sabrina
back a few feet.

Once the seals were appeased by the distance
they reclined, keeping their bright eyes on the humans.

"Can we watch them for awhile? Do you mind?"
Sabrina asked.

"Sure. Let's sit down here."

She sat cross-legged in the grass, keeping as
still as possible while watching the seals. Soon, their snoozing
relaxed her and she leaned back on her elbows. She looked at the
dark sky, searching for constellations she could recognize. It was
a futile gesture, so she gazed at Jay.

"Now you're staring," he teased.

"The grass is wet and I'm cold," she
confessed.

"Let's go," he said, standing and offering a
hand. He kept her fingers wrapped in his and hiked back to the
fence. "Watch your step," he said, leading her up a wooden
staircase.

"Where are we going?"

"My place," he said.

"This is where you murder me?"

He laughed softly. "Trust me."

"That's what they all say," Sabrina
retorted.

Jay opened a door and turned on a light
switch. The sparsely decorated loft apartment was trimmed in teak
and brass like the inside of a sailboat. The curtains were made of
old canvas sails and prints of majestic tall ships adorned the
walls. An oversized couch covered in dark blue ultra suede
dominated the room, partitioned by a gleaming, mahogany bar. Behind
it was a small, tidy kitchenette with polished nickel appliances.
Jay picked up a remote and turned on a receiver, tuning it to a
radio station playing rock music.

"You really like sailboats, don't you?"
Sabrina asked, turning in a full circle as she admired the
space.