Capture. Flora Dain
we head back out into the bay he’s so silent it’s scary. Something’s very wrong. Looks like I’ll have to wait to find out what it is.
At last he checks his watch and angles it to the sun. ‘OK. Just about here.’
I see we’re drifting roughly where I was before. ‘What are you checking? Are we late for something?’
He glances up, his look dark. ‘Co-ordinates. Longitude and latitude.’
Watching him I feel a tiny thrill as the breeze ruffles his hair and sunlight glints in his dark eyes. And we’re out here all alone, on the wide ocean, and there’s nobody around for miles … ‘We hunting treasure or something?’
‘Cut the motor.’
He’s not laughing now. I feel a sudden unease as he stands up in the middle of the boat and holds out his hand. As I seize it he hauls me to my feet, pulls me up close and winds his arms round me, pressing me against him.
I laugh up at him, relishing his warmth and his power. ‘You’re good in boats. Anyone would think you’d spent all your life on water –’ I break off as he fastens on my mouth, stopping my breath. Startled, I respond instantly. Now? He wants action now?
Water ripples along the sides of the boat. Far overhead gulls scream, like they’re laughing. I’m trapped hard against a tower of sinew and muscle as he flexes to balance, easy as a sailor. He starts to jut against me in a deliberate act of possession, nudging against my yielding softness and finding me only too eager … yes, yes, just there …
He winds one hand into my hair and presses the other tightly into the small of my back, spreading his hand wide, his fingers kneading deep into my rear. He knows precisely what he’s doing. He forces me against him, his grip firm at the base of my spine. He’s doing delicious, wicked, forbidden things to me as the wind whips my hair around us both. His flexing hips, the hard lines of his thighs pressing either side of mine, even the sunlight glowing through my eyelids – everything is sending my arousal into hyperdrive …
He loosens his kiss a little, but only to linger on my lips, his tongue softer now, searching along mine to caress and taste, sending sparks of excitement through me to highlight the hot glow building lower down where our hips are grinding together. When he finally loosens his grip on my tail I almost lose my balance.
‘Hey.’ He clutches me tight again, his grasp on my hips my only balancing point as I grope for the rail. At that moment a sudden breeze lashes a wave against the side. Water splashes over us as the boat rocks violently.
‘You OK? Looks like somebody’s been seriously landlocked. You need some practice.’ He laughs as I bend low and he butts against me in fun.
All at once he lands a hard slap on my rump, and then another. I shout, partly in surprise, partly with laughter. But there’s something darker going on here, some new edge to his manner. It’s play, but something else too. He slaps me again. I’m already bent double but this time I jolt forward so my face swoops down close to the glass panel.
Instantly I freeze. And then I scream.
But not for fun.
I’m staring at something so unlikely I can only gape, too shocked to speak.
Darnley’s laughing softly somewhere over my head. ‘Too hard? Just you wait. You can get up now.’
But I’m not listening. I’m still locked in position, bent double and rigid with shock. I’m staring at a face.
And it’s not my reflection. It’s wearing goggles and it’s grinning.
Somebody’s down there watching.
* * *
‘Face? What kind of face? There’s nobody around here for miles. If somebody was playing around underwater we’d have seen them.’ Darnley’s not buying it. He scowls at the water and then restarts the engine, his expression grim.
I’ve broken the spell. I feel a prickle of guilt. ‘Somebody was peering in. I saw them. He had goggles. He could be anywhere …’ I look round in a panic. ‘He was grinning.’
The shock must show in my face but Darnley’s unmoved. ‘The beach is public land. We get tourists round here even in winter. But there’s nobody out here now. You saw some seaweed. Or maybe a seal.’
When we get to the shore he pulls the boat up the slipway and watches tight-lipped while I replace the cover. Indoors I can hear him on the phone, his voice thick with fury while I rinse sand off my toes in the en-suite. Slowly I tune in to what he’s saying.
‘That’s impossible. Nobody gets through. Check again. It’s supposed to be foolproof, dammit. We’ll be there after lunch. I expect a result by then.’
I frown as I join him. ‘We’re going out this afternoon?’
He cuts the call, his manner breezy. ‘We’re going over to the training complex. You’ll meet some of the people you’ll be working with. Now come with me.’
He’s still not looking at me.
He seizes my hand and drags me through the house and down a couple of flights of stairs to a tough-looking metal door. I’m feeling more and more uneasy.
‘This is the control room. There’s something here I want you to see.’
The room is festooned with cable and lined with screens. Men in T-shirts and jeans, I assume technicians, shoot to their feet looking scared. At Darnley’s scowl they quickly leave.
He turns to me, his eyes cold. ‘Watch.’ He flicks a remote at a screen.
All at once I’m looking out over the bay. Centre-screen a woman is splashing about in the water, glistening and naked. She looks insanely happy and carefree. She dives a couple of times, then floats on her back, upthrust breasts glistening in the sunlight. As I watch she clambers up into a small boat and poses, fully on view as she prepares to dive again. I hold my breath as a dreadful chill steals over me.
It’s me.
‘Keep watching.’
He speeds up the film and now he’s in the boat too and he’s towering over me, looking down at me … and all at once we’re locked in a clinch so intense I feel a throb of arousal just watching.
Slowly I tear my eyes away and glare at him. ‘You took pictures? Why?’
His eyes blaze. ‘This is security footage, dammit. We were doing a random sweep of the bay. The camera’s on-watch even when you think nobody’s around.’
I glare at him, temper rising as icy shock gives way to fury. ‘And whenever you want some hot action? It’s on then?’
My voice is husky. But the footage is still tracking. My voice tails off as I see the boat rocking and me bending over, facing away. He’s grinning down at me, holding me firmly by the hips as I scrabble to balance and all at once he lands an almighty slap on my backside …
My mouth’s gone dry. ‘What are you doing? Those men could have seen this.’
His eyes blaze. ‘Fuck it, Ella, what do you think I’m doing? Of course they’ve seen it. The whole damn complex saw it.’
I round on him. ‘So you serve me up as free soft-core with their coffee? Next time you want fun in a boat, damn well call an escort. You could have said you had cameras watching.’
Sickened, I turn away but an iron hand clamps on my arm and propels me round to face him. His face is like granite, his eyes ablaze.
‘Do I always have to spell it out? Of course I had cameras watching, I always have cameras watching. That’s what security is. That’s what I do. And that was to teach you – and them – a lesson.’
‘A lesson?’ I wrench my arm away. ‘Let go of me.’ I take a few steps back just to make sure. ‘You