Dan All Over Again: Dan All Over Again / The Mountie Steals A Wife

“Fifty-two percent of it. Dental floss, check. Bandages since we’re going to be around hooks, check. Spray bottle of water for when it gets too hot, check. Handi Wipes in case I have to touch a fish, check. I made a list of everything I thought I’d need. See? No more living by the seat of my pants.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, at least we’re saved if, horror of horrors, we have food between our teeth.”

“You remember what happened on our honeymoon, don’t you?”

His expression became sultry. “Quite often, actually.”

“Puh-leeze! I’m not talking about the great sex, the never-ending kisses, the baby oil incident or the skinny-dipping in the moonlight, I’m talking about the…the….” Her face flushed red-hot. “What am I talking about? Oh! I’m talking about forgetting the mosquito repellent, bringing only half of the equipment for the tent—”

“We remembered the wine—”

“But not the corkscrew.”

He tilted his head. “And the radio for romantic music.”

“But no batteries. And our clothes drifted away on the tide.”

He stepped closer and tugged at the sleeve of her shirt. “So we had to spend the rest of the weekend naked.”

She caught herself sucking on the butter rum. “And the tent fell down.”

“So we had to sleep under the stars.”

“With the mosquitoes.”

“So I had to cover you with my body all night.”

She swallowed hard. “And then it started raining.”

“And we made love in the rain.”

Her mouth went slack as he stepped even closer, her body heating at the memory of the rain washing over their slick bodies. Of making love with Dan, and worse, of loving Dan. “Dan, where were we going with this?”

His gaze caressed her mouth. “I can think of a few places.”

She knew he was going to kiss her. She also knew she wouldn’t stop him even though kissing Dan was definitely not on her list. Her heart went pitty-pat as she braced herself for the kind of wonderful kiss she remembered. And then something hairy bobbed up between them.

“Augh!” He backed up with a grimace, running his hand over his mouth. “He licked my mouth!”

Well, at least Sammy enjoyed the kiss. And that was far safer than Cassie enjoying it, which she knew she wouldn’t have. “You know how he hates to be left out.”

“I’m starting to remember.”

She snatched up the angler’s magazine and chewed the rest of her candy.

“What’s that magazine you have there?” he asked, taking it from her.

He kicked off his shoes and sat on the edge of the boat, flipping open the magazine. “Oops.” The magazine fell into the water with a dull splash.

“Hey!” She leaned over the side and reached for it. Almost. Her fingers were a hair’s breadth too short. The magazine floated farther away. Just a little more, a tiny, little more…uh-oh. She couldn’t feel the floor of the boat anymore. She started to tip forward. She scrambled backward, her feet kicking in the air.

“I’ve got you.” His arms went around her waist. Unfortunately, he overcompensated a bit. And lost his balance. She supposed she could have helped, but she was distracted by the way his body pressed against hers. Because of that, and the way her body reacted in a flash of heat, she probably, very likely, twisted the wrong way. For a moment, he teetered on the edge, his legs and arms scrabbling for purchase.

She was fighting her own battle for balance, in more ways than one. If he grabbed her, he could easily send her over. Instead he pushed her backward…and tumbled right over the side of the boat. He landed in the water with a splash not very unlike the pelican she’d observed earlier.

“Oops,” she said when he came to the surface, water streaming over his hair and face.

“Oops? Is that all you can say? Oops?”

“While you’re in there, can you grab my magazine?”

Laughter from a nearby boat brought their attention to a young man holding his stomach. “Whatcha doing, Dan, trying to teach your sweetie how to fish by pretending to be one?”

“Hah, hah, hah,” Dan muttered, turning to face her. “Okay, sweetie, I saved your magazine.” He held up the sopping thing. “I hope my humiliation was worth it.”

Laughter began creeping into her voice. “My hero.” The more she fought the laughter, the harder it pressed against her sensibility until she was in a full-out gale. Oh, my, it felt good to laugh, so good, she wondered how long it had been since she had laughed like this. Even Sammy started yipping, running over to where she leaned against the side of the boat. She opened her notepad and added, Laughing at least once a day to her life goals list.

Dan swam toward the back of the boat and climbed up the ladder. “I thought you said you wouldn’t be distracting.”

She raised her eyebrows as he landed on the deck with a thud. “I’m not the one who fell in! I’ve behaved perfectly—you’re the klutz.” She tried hard to hold back any more laughter, turning and picking up the fishing pole he’d readied. “So, you going to let me cast this thing, or what?”

“I…you…argh!” He held out the magazine as though he were going to swat her with it, but tossed it to the bench instead.

“You’re so cute when you’re angry,” she said, remembering Pam’s earlier words.

He stalked up to her and pressed his wet, cool body against hers. If it was so cool, why was heat creeping through the layers of skin and muscle and zinging right into her bloodstream?

“I ought to throw you over my shoulder, take you down to the cabin and show you how cute I am,” he said in a low, husky voice that raised her temperature even more.

She looked up at him, all blustery with water dripping from his mouth. One drop landed on her own mouth, and she licked it off. Salty.

He lowered his head, and another drop landed on her lips. “I ought to kiss that look right off your face.”

The thought of that knocked her off-balance. Instead of the sober look she’d intended, a giggle erupted.

“Think this is funny, do you?”

She took a deep breath. “I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun.” Well, she could, but she wouldn’t, no way, uh-uh. “So, you going to show me how to fish or what, mister fishing god captain manly man?” She tried to pull the fishing rod between them, before she did something impulsive, but it snagged on something.

“I’m trying to decide whether to throw you overboard for shark bait or—”

“Er, Dan?”

“Don’t interrupt me. I’m trying to think up a juicier alternative.”

“But, Dan…”

“I know, I’ll tie you up with dental floss—”