Depths of Salvation (Love on the Edge) by Molly E. Lee Page A

it was just sex. A release. I’d told her that the second she’d come on to me my second day on the job. I didn’t do relationships, and as long as she was aware and still wanted to find satisfaction in an escape with a stranger, then I didn’t feel bad about it. Keeping tabs on me, though? That bordered on girlfriend material, and I couldn’t have the poor girl thinking that.
    She pushed off my closed door and trailed a finger down my chest. “It’s been awhile,” she said, coming closer.
    I recoiled internally.
    What the fuck?
    I gently nudged her backward. “Not tonight.”
    Her shoulders dropped, and she stuck out her bottom lip in an overdramatic pout. “What’s the matter? You tired?”
    What was wrong with me? We’d had a good time . . . several good times. It had been a of couple of months so I should be more than ready to go again. She knew my terms and didn’t care that I didn’t want to talk or cuddle afterward. She just wanted a good time. No strings.
    Why aren’t you jumping to close this?
    Amber pushed up on her tiptoes and bit my earlobe. “You know I don’t mind doing all the work if a dive wore you out,” she whispered.
    I backed away from her again, my dick not even twitching. I was irritated, not with her advance but with my own reactions.
    Sadie’s eyes flashed in my mind, followed by the image of her absolutely perfect body, and her even more stunning smile.
    Oh no.
    Amber huffed and took a step back. “Sleep it off, Connell. Maybe we can play tomorrow.” She turned on her heels and started down the hallway.
    “Hey,” I said before I could think.
    She quickly turned around, a wide grin cracking the bright pink lipstick slathered on her lips. “Yeah?”
    “Not tomorrow, either.”
    She tilted her head, returning to where I’d opened my bedroom door. “What?”
    “We can’t . . . I can’t. . . .” Damn. I honestly didn’t know what to say to the girl. She’d been pleasant, easy, and didn’t push. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I couldn’t deny a new truth rushing through my blood—I couldn’t sleep with her anymore.
    “Why not?”
    Good fucking question.
    Sadie, licking her lips after devouring her meal and sharing with me her thoughts on the ocean, how it was home for her too, flashed in my head.
    Shit.
    I raked my fingers through my hair. “I’m sorry. It was fun, but it’s done. I told you from the beginning I can’t do relationships.” Why did this have to feel like a breakup? This is why I tried my best to stay away from repeats, but an eighteen-month job on a small-ass vessel didn’t really offer much in the way of variety.
    She dragged the tip of her tongue across her teeth, grinning. “I know that. Neither do I. And if you think what we had was a relationship, then I almost feel sorry for you.”
    I nodded. “Cool. Then you aren’t mad?”
    She pursed her lips and sighed. “I’m a little pissed you just took away the one positive thing I had going for this gig, but no, you won’t find a decapitated fish in your sheets or anything.”
    I shook my head. This was the most we’d spoken in three months. Normally we just . . . well, fucked.
    “All right,” I said and turned into my room.
    I waited until Amber was out of sight before locking the door. I tossed my shirt and shorts in the growing pile of sea-damp clothes in the corner and crash landed on my bed, my feet hanging off the end.
    The familiar sound of the waves just outside the walls of my room eased the tension in my chest, like a pair of skilled fingers untying a handful of knots.
    Sadie’s fingers.
    I didn’t know a woman like her could exist. One who not only kept pace with me but surpassed me. One who shared the insane passion I had for the water. One who said what she wanted, when she wanted to.
    It had only been two days. Two days . And she was already under my skin. No deeper. She made me want to slice wide open the still festering wounds I carried around like armor and let her lap