Summer Mahogany Read Online Free Page A

girl one last time?"
    His roguish glance slid over the golden length of bare legs, then darted up to her face to leave her in little doubt that he was referring to her as his girl. She knew he was only joking, too.
    "Come on, Rhyder," she laughed, but tightly. "You're the kind that has a girl in every port."
    The insanity of jealousy churned her stomach as she suddenly imagined all the girls he probably had held in his arms. She was only sixteen. What chance did she have of attracting a man like him?
    "Jealous?" His eyes crinkled at the corners, but his mouth didn't curve into a smile as he teased her.
    "No." Gina straightened away from the mast and tossed her head in proud defiance of the truth. "How could I be? I'm not even your girl. One kiss doesn't make you belong to someone, at least not in the crowd I run around with."
    "I keep forgetting how experienced you are." The mockery was low in his voice. "If you want to make yourself useful, why don't you go below and fix some coffee? There's some instant on the shelf by the stove. Do you think you could manage that?"
    "I think so," Gina declared, briefly hating him for the way he taunted her. "I've had to become very domesticated since my grandmother died."
    The crystal brown of instant coffee covered the bottom of the mugs sitting on the galley counter in front of her. The water was heating in a pan on the stove, bubbles clinging to the bottom and sides. She shifted impatiently, then turned with a start as Rhyder entered the small galley.
    "It's almost ready," she said quickly, turning back to the stove.
    "No hurry." He slid onto a bench seat behind her. "What happened to your parents, Gina?"
    "They were lost at sea when I was only two," she replied unemotionally. She had never really known them, so it didn't bother her to talk about them.
    "Was your father a lobsterman like your grandfather?"
    "No, he was an attorney, specializing in maritime law, but gramps said he loved the sea. My mother did, too, I guess. They went out whenever they could. One time they got caught in a storm and never came back," she explained.
    "So your grandparents raised you," Rhyder concluded.
    "They've been wonderful to me." Her voice carried the warmth of deep affection. "Of course, we lost grandma two years ago. The doctors said her heart just stopped. Gramps and I have been on our own ever since. He's a dear."
    The water was nearly boiling. Gina lifted the pan from the flames and deftly filled the cups. She set down the pan at the back of the range, turned off the burner, then handed a mug to Rhyder. She started to offer him the sugar and canned milk she had set out, but he waved them away.
    "I take it straight," he told her, and motioned her toward the bench seat opposite him. "What have you been doing these last three days?"
    "Nothing special," Gina shrugged. Except waiting for you to come back , she added silently.
    "No heavy dates?" He was mocking her again.
    "None." She sipped at her coffee, knowing it was too hot, and nearly burned her tongue.
    His gaze ran over her face, blue and glinting. "A young girl as attractive as you are must have a boyfriend or two somewhere around."
    Sensitive about her sixteen years, Gina tried not to let it show that it irritated her when he mentioned her youthfulness. And he didn't care whether she had any boyfriends or not. Rhyder was teasing again.
    "There are one or two," she agreed with forced calm. There probably were, but Rhyder was the only male who interested her. "But no one special." There was a flash of green fire in the look she gave him, but she veiled it quickly with her black, curling lashes. "How about you?"
    "You must have forgotten," he mocked her. "I'm supposed to have a girl in every port. You said so yourself. So how could I have a special one with so many to choose from?"
    "That might have been a slight exaggeration," Gina conceded. "But I'll bet you've known a lot of girls. I'm sure there are a lot of girls who are crazy about you." And