Page 42 of Reset

“I’m okay.” She stepped out from under his touch, putting a distance between them that he really didn’t like. “There’s a lot to think about, and it’s all coming at me so fast. I’m used to having time to gather information and think things through before I make decisions. This is a little overwhelming. But, I’m fine. What about trying to get to the relay station on the other side of the cave-in? Now that the rats are occupied, we could try again.”

“We’d still need to spend time trying to make a passageway in the wall of rocks—without bringing it down on our heads.”

Wide eyes blinked at him as her mind raced. Ryan gave her the time she needed to come to the conclusion he’d already reached.

“Then I guess we need to investigate the pool,” she said at last.

“If it looks even the slightest bit risky, I’ll come straight out and we’ll find another way, okay?”

She nodded but was less than convinced.

Unable to do anything else to reassure her, Ryan sat on the edge of the pool and lowered his legs into the water. “Hm, it’s not that cold.”

“Limestone reacts with the hydrogen in water which causes a release of heat that will have kept the temperature from dropping lower than the cave air. It’s probably also the reason the water is cloudy.” She took a breath. “It won’t hurt your eyes; in case you were worried.”

Man, she was cute. “Thanks for letting me know.” Keeping his phone out of the water, he eased the rest of his body into it. To his relief, his feet hit the bottom by the time the water was mid-chest. “Not so deep. Guess we’re about to find out if this phone is as waterproof as they tell us it is.”

Sarah came over to the side of the pool, clutching her phone in her hand. She tucked the stray curl that’d escaped from her bun behind her ear and took a deep breath. “What can I do to help?”

So. Damn. Brave.

And so damn irresistible too.

He flashed a cheeky smile. “How about a kiss for good luck?”

Her gaze dropped to his lips as she sucked in a breath. “I don’t think kissing you is a good idea, Ryan.”

“Do it anyway,” he tempted.

“Bloody catnip,” she muttered as she knelt at the side of the pond. “You aren’t good for me.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” He closed the distance between them and waggled his brows. “Stop stalling. You’re kissing me, remember?” He held onto the edge of the pond, pressing his hands into the stone to stop from taking over.

“I’m not the one with memory problems,” she said haughtily. “I just need a minute to think.”

“That’s the problem. Too much thinking, not enough kissing.”

She let out a strangled growl of frustration, leaned forward, cupped his face in both her hands, and pressed her lips to his. As kisses went, it was pretty tame. Yet, he felt it right to his toes. Full satin lips teased him with gentle touches. While her hands trembled slightly against the rough texture of his jaw.

Her tentative touch felt deeply familiar. As though his lips remembered hers, while his mind had lost the memory. It felt—right. As though they were both where they were meant to be.

And then she sat back, taking her touch with her, and the strange sense memory floated away.

Her cheeks were flushed, and there was a shyness about her that hadn’t been there before. “There,” she said. “You have your luck.”

“I’m thinking that for this trip, I might need a double helping,” he teased.

“Then come back in one piece and we’ll renegotiate,” she said with a smile that was pure temptation.

“I can do that. Right, I’m going in.” Ryan turned back to the water. “Keep an eye on the time; I’ll be back before ten minutes are up.”

“You better be.”

He flashed her a grin before lowering into the water.

“Don’t you die, Ryan Granger,” she ordered. “And don’t get another concussion either. Remember, you’re just peeking at the other side then coming straight back, so don’t dally.” Worry laced each word.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ryan said. “No dallying, concussions, or death.”