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"I halfway suspect Sal ht have slipped aith the rest of the bodyguards when they left"
"Do you think Carlotta would let the man come home with the others after he failed to do her job?" Shelley asked, not believing Sal’sSal up and most likely wanted Shelley dead
"No" Duncan rubbed his chin in thought "I have to stay with you, so I’uy Sal can deal with him I suspect once Carlotta learns that her play for you didn’t go as planned, she’ll be sending ot you to Scotland"
She didn’t respond to his co roo everyone out to snorkel, if you’re gaet my swim trunks"
She smiled "No Speedo?"
"Later When I’leswith you in public wearing that stretchy swimsuit"
Duncan had assured Shelley that no one would bother the the day But as they made their way to the boat that would take thens of danger while pretending they weren’t worried in the least Shelley noticed Duncan surveying the area for any sign of trouble as they left the villa, on the road to the boat dock, and around the area when they parked
He becailant when they had climbed aboard the boat and were headed out to the sandbar to sith the stingrays
"How long is the excursion, Shelley?" he asked, settling down to enjoy the trip with her She earing a T-shirt over her bathing suit and had already slathered a good as and arms
As a wolf, her fur would protect her frohtly tanned fro of clouds beginning to clutter the sky, she still was vigilant about using a good sunblock She glanced up at the darkening sky, frowning, and sniffed the air A storht
"The trip takes three and a half hours," she said "It’s about away out in the middle of the ocean, but it’s supposed to have a sandbar that makes the area really shallow"
He shook his head and whispered to her, "I’ve done a lot of things, but so with a bunch of stingrays"
"Tolves," she said back
He s, want-to-take-you-back-to-bed suise You’re really a rinned back at hi for mermaids"
"Only this one" He squeezed her hand, then kissed it
When they reached the sugar-white sandbar in the North Sound, they slipped into the aqua water wearing fins and snorkels Shelley was surprised at how shallow the area was Only about three feet deep She re how the hammerheads fed on the rays in the shalloater That n of a shark
"For years, local fisherht the catch to shore The rays learned it was a good place to find easy food," a guide said He pointed to one of the rays "Stubby See he has no venoot away from one but lost his tail in the process In fact, one harays’ tails None of the venoht and opened up, the fisher stingrays descended on the for the food they knew the snorkelers had Swooping in, the rays co the swi for a better chance
Several of the people were feeding the rays bait, but being the predator that Duncan was, he wouldn’t do it Shelley wasout to run her hand over one of the large Southern rays’ wings The skin felt like velvet-coveredher of an underwater version of a Star Trek Klingon Bird of Prey warship Soet to twelve feet across their wing spread She enjoyed watching theracefulslowto see that asacrobats as they dove and veered She also noticed they had a pecking order--like wolves
When she turned to see what Duncan was doing, she saw to her surprise that he had taken a bit of bait froers frory ray The stingray glided over his hand, and the food vanished, the gentle creature twisting away to look for his next morsel She smiled at Duncan as he watched the ray with an expression of wonderrined that she’d spied hi the ray
He swam over to join her and pull her into his embrace as a lass-like water, they could see the ray wrap itself around the ray skated away, leaving a round bite