In Dark Waters Read Free

relationship.
    They'd made love in the back room of Stu's Dive Shop. For him, it had been incredible until she'd told him that she was a virgin and that she'd loved him.
    He'd been stunned.
    He'd been honest and told her he didn't love her.
    Like a fool, he'd added that he'd never have made love to her if he'd known. She'd looked horrified, and the sloppy apologies that had tumbled out of him one after another had made a painful situation even worse.
    Kelsey had fled that back room in tears. He'd tried to follow, but she'd hopped in her car and taken off. He'd gone immediately to her aunt's house to see her. But she'd packed up her few belongings and had left. Her aunt didn't know where she'd gone and didn't seem to care. He never saw her again.
    Until now.
    Mitch exhaled slowly into the regulator. He was wiser now. This time, he would keep matters strictly business between them.
    He pushed the regulator into his mouth, slid below the water's edge, and started to kick his fins. The cool waters felt good against his body. The tension bunching his muscles relaxed a fraction.
    The water was cold, and flecks of silt kicked up from the bottom by their movement floated in the water around them. Still, the water had cleared significantly since Stu had put in the new filtration system. He could see almost a hundred feet ahead. Hard to believe six months ago, the visibility in the quarry had been less than two inches.
    Mitch removed his flashlight from his waistband and switched it on. He swam ten feet above Kelsey, giving him a perfect view of her. She still had a tight compact body and full, rounded breasts that filled out her skintight wet suit exactly right.
    Her hair was blonder, the color of platinum, but if he didn't miss his guess, it was natural, the product of hours in the sun. Her blue eyes had spit fire the instant she'd looked at him, but he imagined if she smiled they'd still have the power to make his knees weak. The bracelets that jangled from her wrist looked like quality, as did the gold chain that hung around her neck.
    Over the last couple of years, Stu had kept him upon Kelsey's whereabouts. Mitch had heard enough to know she was doing well. And judging by Stu's collection of postcards from Kelsey, she didn't stay in any one place long.
    Yesterday, when they'd left the funeral home after Ruth Warren's service, Stu had defended Kelsey to the folks who'd wondered why she'd not returned for the occasion. Later at the diner over coffee, Stu had talked more about Kelsey. Donna's abandonment, he'd said, had left its mark on her.
    Mitch knew Kelsey's upbringing had not been ideal but he'd never known how bad things had been. That summer when they'd worked together, she'd never said a word about her family life.
    He had never met Kelsey's mother, but in the years since he'd moved back home, he'd heard enough tales. Anyone in town older than thirty-five had a Donna Warren tale. The woman had lived hard and fast and abandoned her only child ten years ago. Mitch had been away at school, but from what he'd heard, it had been big news at the time.
    He watched Kelsey aim her camera at a couple of fish. It flashed. As she turned and pointed her camera to the right, his flashlight cast a glow on her pink face mask. Blond hair floated behind her.
    Small schools offish hovered close to her head. One nibbled her ear. Turning, she held out her gloved hand and waited as the fish swam closer to her fingertips.
    His mind drifted back to a time when their bodies had fit so well together. He wondered if the sex would still be as explosive. Lust pumped through his veins. At the rate he was going, he would burn through his air tanks in a half hour.
    Sleep was what he needed, not Kelsey.
    He'd spent the last two weeks on active reserve duty in Norfolk. Most of the time was spent under the water, inspecting the hulls of the ships for explosives. He'd returned home on Friday, hoping for a couple of quiet days before he had to get back to work