Riding the Storm

He led her out of the salon toward the helm, where the radio equipment was housed. When they reached the companionway, which was slick with seawater, he extended an arm to steady her.

As Josie placed her palm on his strong forearm, she had the strangest sense this wasn’t the first time they’d touched. And even though her attraction to Keith was unwise, to say the least, she couldn’t help but wish it wouldn’t be the last time she’d feel him against her.

KEITH HAD FORMED a multimillion-dollar corporation on the strength of his people skills. But he’d never been more grateful for his one-on-one communication abilities than right here, right now.

Interior designer Josie Passano had the face of an angel, plus a wicked glint in her brown eyes, as if she were thinking about something altogether interesting. And Keith wanted to know her much, much better. But given their awkward introduction and the iffy proposition of spending the night on the boat together, he planned to play it safe until she felt more comfortable around him. Her reaction to him while she was sleeping gave him hope she wasn’t immune. But if he came on too strong now—when they were isolated in the middle of the Atlantic—she’d have every reason to be nervous. It’d be different if they’d met on dry land and he just wanted another date. Convincing her to sail down the coast with him for a little while presented a unique challenge, yet he was up for the task.

He had a few ideas for how to keep her around a little longer, but they all hinged on him not looking as if he was trying too hard. Lucky for him, he was taking his first vacation in years. There couldn’t be a better time to pencil in an affair—the first for him since he broke up with family friend Brooke Blaylock a year ago. Brooke’s insistence on being the life of the party at all times, causing a stir wherever she went, had been fun for a while. But his patience with the party crowd had worn thin—he was trying to build a business. Besides, he wanted clients to recognize his face from the business section, not the society pages.

Obviously, he was over Brooke by now. And more than ready to move on.

After they got in touch with the Coast Guard, he convinced Josie to take the berth in the front of the boat, while he slept in a bunk in the main salon. He hadn’t been lying about being exhausted, so she didn’t have to worry about him whispering suggestive ideas in her ear while she slept this time. Not that he wouldn’t be dreaming about doing those things to her.

“There should be spare toothbrushes in the bathroom cabinet,” he told her as he scrounged up clean towels and fresh sheets for the bed in the boat’s only true cabin. “My mom didn’t blink at the sight of blood or the regular trips to the E.R. that came with having five kids and a foster son, but she would have a conniption if we didn’t floss.”

Keith didn’t know where that odd bit of Murphy family lore had come from, but he was so tired he seemed to be running on autopilot.

“I’ll be fine,” Josie assured him, clutching the folded blue T-shirt he’d found for her to sleep in. “Thank you for helping me get in touch with the Coast Guard. My friends will sleep better knowing I wasn’t tossed overboard last night.”

The radio operator had been kind enough to text Josie’s assistant, even though it was above and beyond his duty. The guy had assured them it was a quiet night on his watch and he didn’t mind.

“Not a problem. You sure you’re feeling okay? No seasickness?” He’d been keeping an eye on her ever since she woke up, knowing the symptoms could come on quickly. But her color seemed good.

Everything about her, for that matter, seemed great. He liked her sexy dark eyes and the mischievous twist to her lips. He definitely liked the confident way she walked and the graceful way she moved. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“I feel steady.” She nodded as if to reassure him, and he realized it was his cue to leave. “I think the uneasy feeling earlier was just a by-product of exhaustion.”

His feet remained glued to the floor in the doorway. Damn, but he was usually more polished than this. He had a rep as the Murphy family charmer—the one who could talk anyone into anything. That skill had gotten him far in business, and it usually came through with women, as well. Why did smooth words elude him with Josie?

“I know this has been an unorthodox way to meet,” he started, going off script and surprising himself with words he hadn’t carefully prepared in his head first. “But it’s nice to know you, Josie Passano.”

He lingered, his eyes roving over her even when he’d instructed them not to. Where the hell were his people skills?

She grinned, dazzling him more than a little with the warmth of that smile.

“Nice to meet you, too, Keith.” Her head tipped to one side as she started to close the door, peeking out at him until the last moment. “Sorry to stow away on you like this.”

Watching her mouth move, he imagined what her lips would taste like. Vowed he’d find out for himself as soon as possible.

“No worries. As stowaways go, you were a pleasant surprise.” He heard his own voice hit a smoky note as he remembered talking to her earlier, while she’d been sleeping. Would his words come back to her tonight when she closed her eyes? “Sweet dreams, Josie.”

“You, too. ’Night.” Silently, she shut the door, leaving him staring at the barrier between him and the most interesting woman he’d come across in a long time.

In business, he never let any obstacle stand in his way. But what he felt for his unexpected guest was very, very personal. He would respect her boundaries tonight.

Tomorrow?

He had every intention of closing the deal.

3

MAYBE SHE’D READ a few too many romance novels over the years, but Josie couldn’t help lingering in the shower the next day, fantasizing provocative scenarios involving stowaways and sexy sea captains.

Didn’t the ship captain always insist on stashing his nubile female passenger in his quarters to protect her from his men? Of course, then he had to sleep in the cabin with her to keep an eye on her. Inevitably, he couldn’t keep his hands off her—an arrangement that led to page after page of scandalously delicious sex without the judgmental eyes of regular society looking on.

Standing there, with hot water streaming over her skin, Josie was grateful to the twenty-first century for all modern conveniences. But she wouldn’t mind a little time travel for the sake of some sensual play with her host. She’d dreamed about him last night, her overheated imagination conjuring vivid encounters between them. So much so, in fact, she was somewhat nervous about seeing him face-to-face today.

All that stuff she’d dreamed had seemed so real. In theory, she should simply accept her fantasies as a wake-up call to indulge her needs as a female more often, and perhaps work a bit less. That would be the grown-up, well-adjusted-woman’s reaction. But who was so well adjusted that she could ignore memories of a hot guy undressing her—inch by slow inch—with his teeth? She suspected she’d blush ten shades of pink when she saw him.

Switching off the water, she reached for a towel and dried herself, wondering how to ignore her unwise interest in Keith. The man surely ran in the same circles as her parents, or at the very least would recognize her family name. Would he know about her scandalous past if she’d introduced herself as Josie Davenport instead of Josie Passano? She’d taken her mother’s maiden name after the congressman scandal, glad to formalize her departure from the trust-fund lifestyle that she’d been raised in. She’d stayed out of the society pages for three years while she’d built the new business, letting Marlena attend any work-related events that might attract a tabloid element. The last thing Josie needed was to have her past dragged back out for the world to see before she made her interior design business a success with the regional TV show deal.

And, guaranteed, being seen around New York or Boston with someone like Keith would land her back in the spotlight she needed to avoid.

Yet for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel like making the smart choice professionally. As she put on the navy T-shirt Keith had given her the night before, along with her own jeans, she acknowledged that she wanted to live out all the things she’d dreamed about with him. What her subconscious didn’t seem to comprehend was that she would find a man to have a fling with, and let off a little steam. Really, she would. But Keith should not be that guy.

She towel dried her hair and dredged up some lip gloss and moisturizer from her purse. When she looked halfway presentable, and wasn’t actively fantasizing about Keith’s mouth on her…

Whoops.

Trying again to clear her mind, she shoved her other clothes in an empty grocery sack she’d found folded in a bathroom drawer. Taking the sack and her purse with her, she wound her way through the quiet salon and galley toward the companionway, where daylight spilled down into the lower level.

Voices above drew her attention.

“Keith?” she called, stepping up the first stair.

Who could he be speaking to in the middle of the sea? Had the Coast Guard come to check on them after their radio call last night?

“Morning.” Keith appeared at the top of the stairs, freshly shaved. Dressed in faded gray cargo shorts and a white polo shirt layered over a white T-shirt, he looked clean and…delicious.

She felt her cheeks warm and knew a blush had colored her skin from the roots of her hair to her neckline. Damn it.

At least she’d gotten it out of the way, right?

“Good morning.” Stepping up onto the main deck, she discovered they weren’t anchored out in the middle of nowhere anymore. “I see you did some sailing while I was sleeping again.” The boat—the Vesta, he’d called it—was already docked on the little island of Nantucket. She’d been there enough times to recognize the south wharf with the rows of gray, cedar-sided cottages lining nearby docks.

Gentle waves rocked their sailboat in time with all the other watercraft in nearby slips. The view, while pretty, made her realize she wouldn’t have been any better at discerning one vessel from another in the light of day. Now, if they redid their sails in purple paisley or muted floral chintz, she’d be all set.

And, yikes, didn’t that sound like something her mom would say, martini glass in hand as she strolled around the deck?

“I woke up early and figured you would just as soon be docked when you opened your eyes. I pulled into the marina about half an hour ago.” He took the bag of clothes and settled it on a seat cushion near the helm.

As a warm breeze lifted her damp hair off her shoulders, she noticed he’d already relocated her design books to the same canvas bolster.

So eager to be rid of her? Disappointment outweighed her relief that a separation would ensure no one resurrected her old scandal by photographing them together.

“Then I won’t keep you.” She dug in her purse for her business cards. “I’m sure you’re anxious to get under way on your trip, and I’m sorry to have slowed you down.” Finding the sterling silver case, she handed him a card.

Frowning, he took the cream-colored linen stock bearing the logo that Marlena had designed as one of her first projects as an intern.