Kaori sighed with pleasure as the hot water carried away the blood and sweat from the afternoon’s fishing activities. Showers were a blessing from the heavens, she thought as her muscles relaxed and became comfortably numb. Fishing was more physically demanding than one would think. That yellowfin, in particular, had been one heck of a fight. It was on the small side for the species, but massive nonetheless. Maybe around 150 pounds, heavier than she was, but Ma?l had still managed to wrangle the beast and bring it on board with surprising ease. God, was the man strong! And he was so fun to tease as well, she thought with a smile.

  He was clearly trying to be on his best behavior with her, but if she poked him a little, his inner nerd gushed out unchecked. It made things difficult though. She could get him to open up in a way she had never experienced before with any other man, but what could she tell him of her life that wouldn’t be a lie?

  She considered telling him the truth. He was smart and while he had come to all the wrong conclusions so far, she was sure she could present enough evidence of her true identity that he would have no choice but to accept the reality. Might be a bit difficult to do so without Internet, out at sea, but there was a way. She could convince him by talking him through the whole situation and giving him her word of honor. He would have objections, but truth was on her side.

  Heck, she could just watch one of her movies with him. There would be a few in the ship’s home theater!

  Ma?l’s reaction when he found out the truth would be fun, no doubt, she thought, smiling in anticipation. She could picture his face as she appeared on the screen, his jaw dropping as he recognized her. She would cuddle against him as he...

  Pretending to be a spy was all well and good, but the man deserved to know the truth if they… well, he deserved the truth regardless.

  He would… Wait. How would he react when he found out? She had been taking for granted that he’d be pleased, but so far, his reactions demonstrated he was uncomfortable with even the small amount of wealth she had shown. His eyes had gone wide at the sight of a few million yen and he thought this tiny sail ship was a symbol of wealth. She on the other hand… she could have bought the ship and the company that made it on a whim—actually, she might, this catamaran was good fun, but it could use some improvements.

  Would his attitude change if he knew she was that rich?

  Unfortunately, that was quite likely, the social gap between them was a chasm and he was barely getting used to the idea he wasn’t completely broke. How did the man survive if he thought $20k a week was a lot? Then again, he seemed to be doing well enough, traveling to Japan for pleasure… He was probably better off than most people—was she so far out of touch with the reality of common people?

  Either way, telling him the truth now could go spectacularly bad, and while she didn’t want to lie, he’d pretty much given her an abundance of… “artistic license” to invent herself a character when he refused point blank to accept her real identity, so he only had himself to blame.

  He needs me to be a spy? Why not? I can be a spy, she thought, flashing herself a tantalizing grin in the cabin’s mirror as she glanced over her black cocktail dress, a sexy little thing with a thigh-high slit revealing her toned legs. He did ask her to get ready for dinner, didn’t he?

  When she got to the salon, he was putting the finishing touches to the meal. He had made sashimi using bits of today’s catch—his original plan had been sushi but he didn’t buy the right kind of rice, and his attempts so far had been a disaster, so instead, he fried the rice with garlic and prepared large plates of fatty tuna. She looked at the preparations with a nod of approval. Ma?l lacked the polish of a true chef, but he had unexpected artistic sensibilities and it showed. Given their circumstances, what he was able to bring to the table was quite remarkable, literally.

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  Ma?l stopped dead in his tracks as he faced Kaori and her killer dress. He was wearing cargo pants and a gray shirt… and that was the best he owned. She’d have to knock some fashion sense into him, but that would be for later. For now, she just gave him a wide, inviting smile.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

  “No, it’s all right. Here, have a seat.” he said, bringing the first dishes.

  Dinner was a quick affair, albeit a delightful one. There was no beating the taste of a fish you have just pulled out of the ocean with your own hands. They ate in silence, except for a few polite compliments from Kaori, and they headed to the deck above to watch the sunset together.

  The setting sun painted the sky in fantastic oranges and purples. They had adjusted their heading to avoid the clouds they had seen at a distance earlier and it had paid off as they admired the wondrous show of colors. The air seemed electric, and the ship was now rolling pleasantly over the small waves. Temperature had gone down considerably since the afternoon, and they shared a blanket as they sat on the sofa. Ma?l had settled in a corner to get a good view of the spectacle and to his delight, she sat right next to him. The waves helping, she had been pushed against him.

  They giggled together the first time it happened, but then it happened again and again, and now, she was resting her head on his shoulder, his arm holding her close. He could feel her athletic body pressed against his side and he remained as still as he could, worried the slightest movement of his could end this moment of bliss. Besides, the ship was rocking plenty for the both of them, choppy waves hitting the hull with slapping sounds.

  They looked at each other. Ma?l’s face had a wide grin, but Kaori’s showed signs of panic. She rushed to the helm, Ma?l right behind her. The autopilot was now buzzing an alert pattern in response to the increased pressure on the rudder. They turned around, away from the dying sunset and watched in horror as a gigantic storm wall approached from the east.

  “Take down the sails now!” Kaori screamed as she fought with the helm’s wheel to angle the ship across the incoming waves.

  Ma?l dashed to the front of the deck and released the jib which began to flap in the wind, and hurried to the electric winch controlling the main sail. The bloody thing was unresponsive and the sail filled with a ferocious wind, suddenly flinging the sail starboard, hitting Ma?l in the chest. The impact flung him backward as the ship tilted violently. It struck like a powerful kick, but he managed to grab hold, hanging to the side. His feet found the railing and braced against it. There was no resisting the wind, so he dodged, spinning his body under the sail as the ship shifted to the other side, and catching the lines, he began crawling to the halyards of the main sail.

  Kaori was screaming something, but he couldn’t hear it. She was still clutching the wheel, holding on for dear life. The ship crested the first wave and plunged into the dark sea below. The last of the sunlight was dying and the wall of rain was hitting their flesh like millions of needles.

  “Ma?l!” Kaori screamed as she watched in horror the man’s body being flung about by the flapping sail, still holding on. He was slowly making his way, crawling toward the release latches. The ship was thrown around by the waves, tilting dangerously to one side then swinging wildly to the other, the sail flapping madly, filling up and going slack as the wind hit with terrifying violence, the resounding cracks of the thunder overwhelming their senses.

  Ma?l finally managed to get to the ropes, and grabbed a quick release latch.

  “Nooo! Not that one” Kaori screamed.

  The sound was swallowed in the storm. He had to do something. He pulled the release. The sail snapped one last time and tore free from the boom, flinging Ma?l into the waves.