He nodded.

“He could have amnesia,” Tory said. “If he fell from a boat he might have been run over by it. Or maybe he was beaten and then thrown overboard. Could be pirates.”

“He’s not bruised,” Christof pointed out. “And there hasn’t been a lot of pirate activity here for several hundred years.”

“Yes, but I said could. Weird and unusual things happen all the time. Did you know that there were seventy-five pirate attacks on civilian boats last year alone? Six more were against the U.S. Coast Guard. One group even tried to take over a cruise ship.”

Ignoring Tory’s statistics, Geary dropped the blanket to Arik’s shoulders. “What was the last thing you remember?”

“I... I don’t know.”

A strange, warm feeling came over her as she watched him. The whole moment was so surreal. She couldn’t believe she was looking at...Arikos.

That had been a dream and yet the man before her was an exact copy. A copy named Arik.

Could they possibly...

Don’t be stupid.

It was just some strange coincidence. Maybe some sort of premonition.

Her face flamed red at the thought. Well, not that kind of premonition. She wasn’t about to jump naked into a pool of chocolate with this guy.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “Teddy, take Arik below and find some clothes for him.”

Arik started to protest leaving her, then stopped himself. She was skittish of him. He could sense it. If he pressed her too much, she might bolt and push him away.

That was the last thing he wanted.

No, he must tread carefully in order to gain her trust. He was here, in her realm. And he’d have plenty of time to seduce her shortly. For now it was best to humor her.

He stood up slowly, his eyes never wavering from her gaze. As a wave crashed into the boat, he staggered slightly and almost lost his balance.

Megeara reached out, her hands steadying him.

Arik closed his eyes as heat from her touch seared his every nerve. There was nothing to compare to the sensation of human contact—to the feeling of those delicate hands touching his flesh—and he couldn’t wait to feel them stroking the part of him that was hard for her.

He bent his head low so that he could inhale her sweet, feminine scent of open air and woman misted with a light touch of perfume. It was even more intoxicating than it had been in her dreams, and he wanted to bask in it.

Even more he wanted to smell it on his sheets and flesh. To drink her in for hours on end until he was fully sated and content.

Geary tensed at the feel of Arik’s hot breath against her damp skin. What was it about this stranger that set her entire body on fire?

She forced herself to step away from him even though what she really wanted to do was walk closer to that magnificently muscled body.

His eyes showed his longing as he met her gaze again and he noted her actions. “Don’t be afraid of me, Megeara.” He all but purred in her ear. “I would never hurt you.”

It wasn’t until he’d left that she realized he’d called her by a name no one used.