Excerpt: Fighting the Tide

She could sense his pleasure; she knew that he had been hoping for just such a reaction. It amazed Serena that she could so easily read him in that moment when he was normally so inscrutable. There was something incredibly satisfying in gaining access to some of his feelings, however brief the duration of her admittance. She smiled, inhaling lazily and caught a whiff of his cologne, a mixture of hazel wood and mint leaf. An involuntary shudder ran down her spine and his reaction was instant. His embrace tightened with a primitive urgency, denying her any escape, although her instincts weren’t pushing her in that general direction at all. Unsure, but perhaps not unsurprisingly pleased by the familiar insurgence of static electricity, Serena pressed a tentative cheek against his. Her name escaped his lips in a low, guttural tone and she drew her head back sharply, desperately curious to see his expression. His tight grasp didn’t allow for much room to manoeuvre and so she found her face a mere breath away from his. His gaze was intense, yet unmoving, although she caught a flicker in his eyes and somehow she just knew that he was nervous. Darien Cavanaugh…nervous. A wicked thought occurred to her then and Serena realized the moment could only get better.