“You shouldn’t ask questions you’re not prepared to have answered.” The warning in his tone couldn’t be denied.
She firmed her lips and leveled her chin. Bravado wasn’t her strength. She dug deep to find the strength for the next words spilling from her mouth.
“You didn’t answer me.” Her fingers clenched, seeking strength she sorely lacked. How would he respond? And could she handle the answer? “What do you want?
“I want you, Brie. What else do you need to know?”
“I think I’ll get that water now.” Her voice trembled. A damn coward, she ran, or tried to. His words pulled her up short.
“I don’t know what’s happening between us, but I’m not letting it go. I hope that’s not going to be a problem.”
With a tight nod, she headed back downstairs. After the heat of that exchange, and the promises he hinted at, she needed cold shower.
Chapter 8
Brent
It took two days to sail down to the Keys and Brent didn’t find a single moment to be alone with Brie. Whenever he thought Donald was busy, or sleeping below, his friend magically appeared. It could be two hours after Donald’s shift ended, but if Brent wandered up to the bridge to flutter light kisses on the back of Brie’s neck, Donald would bang around below decks, then come up to stare out over the water or shoot the shit.
His excitement mirrored Brent’s, and as they neared their destination it only intensified. Which meant Brent found no time to be alone with Brie.
If he went to her quarters, after she handed over command, Donald found some excuse to rush below deck. He needed something from the galley. He forgot something in his quarters. There was always something. Intentional or not, Donald had become an epic cock-blocker.
Brent spent those two days contemplating the wide range of emotions swirling in his head. What prompted this infatuation with Brie? He decided his feelings went far beyond an intense passion. He wanted more; a non-stop string of days, weeks… years with Brie by his side was all he could think about. That was new, especially since they barely knew each other. But it felt right.
“We’re almost there.” Brie called down from the bridge.
A smile bounced on his face. The very act of breathing became easier when she was near. When separated, he felt as if a part of him was missing. This led him to stealing as many discreet touches as he could.
Hidden from Donald’s perceptive eyes, he trailed his fingers against the back of her hand, or swept a lock of hair off her shoulder. Coming up and down the stairs, he shifted sideways, forcing her to squeeze through the narrow space so he could feel her hard nipples as they brushed across his chest. Those were moments he savored every bit of her, from her soft eyes, to her toned body, and the floral scent of her hair. Brief stolen opportunities to connect without touching.
He did everything but take her down below and ravage her in a wild twisting of the sheets. Being so close and not being able to slake his hunger was the sweetest torture, intensifying his lust and stirring up thoughts of a forever he never thought possible. From the roll of her eyes and to the huffs spilling from her lips when Donald invariably interrupted them before they could begin, she clearly wanted more as well. He needed to get her alone. Better yet, how could he get Donald off the boat?
Brent acknowledged her status update and traded his smile for the tight lines of concentration on her face.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just a bit tired, and the sun is giving me a headache. I’m good.”
He blew her a kiss, loving the way her cheeks turned pink. He couldn’t wait to see that flush spread down her throat and across her breasts—if he ever had an opportunity to get her alone. The only time he avoided letting his eyes wander was when Donald was around, but in moments like this, he used his eyes to tell her what he wished his hands and mouth were doing.
He didn’t know if Donald intentionally cock-blocked him, but Donald had an uncanny knack for doing just that. Donald also gawked at Brie’s tits, her ass, and her incredibly long legs. Brent had to restrain himself from smacking Donald upside the head. As long as his friend didn’t touch, and he had yet to cross that line, Brent kept his mouth shut.
He and Brie kept a respectful distance while the heat between them built.
Not that there was a lot of time to get together. Brie spent most of her day on the bridge while he consulted his charts and years worth of research in last minute prep. When Donald was up and about, Brent usually spent time with his friend going over their plans once they got to the dive site.
With a sigh, he admitted defeat. Anything that might happen between him and Brie would need to wait until after this trip.
That didn’t mean the air didn’t crackle, or that he didn’t let her know exactly what was on his mind. And they did kiss, stolen pecks when Donald wasn’t around. Those light kisses were nothing like what he needed. As for the other stuff? His blue balls had blue balls.
Brie came down to join him. “You almost done with that?” She shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun.
He sat on the main deck, checking dive equipment, and doing general maintenance on his gear.
“Almost. I’m hoping to get a dive or two in today.”
“Sounds amazing, and it’s the perfect day for a dive.” She looked up. “There’s not a cloud in the sky and the water is surprisingly calm.”
“It’s beautiful.” Only he didn’t look out onto the nearly featureless water, or even up at the crystalline blue overhead. He focused on her angelic face, eyes he could get lost in for days, and those perky lips which tasted like sin.
She sat just out of arm’s reach, close but not too close. “You shouldn’t stare at me like that.” She crossed her legs. “It’s too obvious.”
“You don’t like it when I look at you?”
Her chin tucked to her chest and she drew a circle on the deck. He’d love to feel her hands on him. The deck was lucky to get all her attention.
“It’s not that. I don’t want to cause any trouble between you and Donald.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe we should just tell him.”
“Tell him what exactly?” Her chin jerked up and her eyes glittered, either with fear or just the overhead sun, it was unclear.
He wasn’t an idiot. The idea of being involved with her boss made Brie uncomfortable. He would respect her boundaries, at least until she changed her mind.
That was another thing he didn’t understand, because something like that wouldn’t have mattered before. Not that he was a horndog and forced himself on women, but he’d learned how to get what he wanted. He didn’t want that with Brie. He didn’t want to force her to do anything.
She glanced over his shoulder, looking out the back of the boat as it slowly cruised to their destination. Normally, she didn’t engage the automatic controls, preferring a hands-on approach, but he sensed a nervousness that hadn’t been there before.
“What exactly is the plan?” She bit at her nails. “I don’t know what to expect. You said a week or two, maybe longer. I’m curious what the process is. Like do you jump in where X marks the spot and go Eureka! Or is there more to it than that?”
“First things first, we’ll scan the area where X might be. I have a rough idea where this ship went down, but it’s still going to take a bit of searching. We’ll use the side-scan sonar to map out the seabed. If we see something promising, we’ll anchor and take a look. It would be crazy lucky if we found something on the first dive, but fingers crossed.”
“And what if you see nothing?” She pointed to the pair of underwater dive propulsion vehicles. “Is that what those are for?”
“We’ll use the DPVs to look around. If nothing pans out, we’ll extend the scan. After that, it’s a matter of moving sand around and basically digging.”
After two days of contemplating everything Brie, he took a moment to do nothing more than admire her perfection. Springy brown curls danced with the exuberance of h
er smile. Her eyes glittered and spun with an intelligence and wit he found sexier by the day. He wanted to reach out and take her hand in his. He wanted to thread his fingers with hers, holding her fast to his side. His desires heated with each passing hour, burning hotter and brighter, until it was near agony to be around her and not claim her as his own.
He’d never felt this out of control before, and he’d never been so close to the object of his desire without completing the deal. In some ways, the anticipation intrigued him. Brie was a drug he couldn’t have, which made her all the more intoxicating.
He cleared his throat and focused on her questions. “Have you ever used a scooter while diving before?”
She had mentioned her dive experience, but not many divers were familiar with underwater DPVs.
“I’ve seen the ones tourists use. We have them on some of the yachts and they seem to be a big hit. But they’re much smaller than these. Those look like torpedoes. I’d love to try one out, if that’s okay.”
“I’d love to show you.” Nearly three feet in length, the DPVs were powerful tools for serious divers.
Excitement raced through him at the thought of sharing his love of all things scuba with Brie. It helped that she had dive experience, because she would be able to spell him and Donald, allowing them to take longer surface intervals between dives. With the number of dives they had planned over the next couple of weeks, it gave them an extra margin of safety.
“Those will allow us to cover a lot of ground underwater. As for moving sand, if you turn them around and point the propeller at the sand, you can dig an impressive hole. We’ll use these to begin, but for major excavation, we’ll bring in the big guns.” He pointed to an industrial rig specially designed for underwater excavation.
“I feel like we should’ve gone over some of this on the way down. If I’m to help, I should be more familiar with the gear.” She nibbled at her finger again.
“Are you nervous?”
“Not nervous. I just prefer being overly prepared and familiar with what I need to do. I’d like to go over the compressors again, if that’s okay, and if I’m providing dive support, I probably should know how to use the lift bags.”
He understood her concern. Safety first and all that shit. It was a good mantra to have and he appreciated her eye for preparation. A dangerous sport, diving came with any number of hazards, and they weren’t going on easy tourist-type dives. He and Donald planned for major excavation, and when they found something, they would need to deploy lift bags to bring everything to the surface.
“Well, I’m doing some last-minute prep. We can go over some of it now, then we can go over the compressor.”
She would help by refilling their spare scuba tanks while he and Donald were underwater. They planned on four dives a day, five if they could fit them in. It was going to be hard, heavy work.
“How close are we?” he asked.
“I’d say about twenty minutes from the coordinates you gave me.”
He glanced at the pile of dive gear. “Ah, that’s not much time to do it now. Actually, do you mind getting Donald up?”
It would take both of them to set the anchors. But first, they needed to deploy the towed array with the side-scan sonar. The plan was to start at his best guesstimate and then map out an area about a square mile. If he didn’t find evidence of the wreck, they would extend that.
“Gotcha, boss.”
His eyes narrowed. “Was I not clear about that?”
Every time she called him boss it only reinforced all the reasons why he couldn’t and shouldn’t touch her. Not touching her was no longer an option. After kissing her, he found he couldn’t get enough.
“You were pretty clear.” Her lids fluttered and her cheeks flushed.
He may have mentioned something about swatting her ass, a light tap to remind her who was boss. It had also been his attempt to test the waters about how adventurous she might be.
“You trying to make me angry?”
She snickered. “And what if I am? I’d like to see you all riled up.”
“Be careful. You’re playing with fire.”
They’d teased and tortured each other for the past two days, an easy exchange which felt surprisingly normal. Every time she called him Boss he called her out on it. He secretly liked it. It would be fun to boss her around in bed, if she was into that.
“Good thing we’re surrounded by tons of water.” She leaned forward and barely pressed her lips against his. A feather-light touch, he was groaning and hard as a rock within seconds. When she tried to pull away, he grabbed her by the waist and yanked her into his lap. She gave a tiny screech, then glanced at the door leading below decks.
He placed his finger over her lips. “You don’t want to wake him with a scream.”
“I didn’t scream.” Her lids fluttered. It was all an act and a horrible tease. She knew he couldn’t take her the way he wished.
“Someday, I’m going to make you scream for real.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted her fingers in his hair. “Someday, but not today.” Wiggling her butt, she pushed out of his grip. “If I’m going to wake him, I need to do it now. We’re almost there.”
He shook his head. “Someday.”
Chapter 9
Brie
The Pendragon was nothing like captaining a mega yacht. It was infinitely more fun. Some of that had to do with Brent. Every time he was near, a lightness filled Brie’s step, but there was more. Captaining the Pendragon reminded her of when she had first fallen in love with the sea.
When she was a teen, Gus allowed her to join him on a few of his trips, adoring the interest she showed in his boat. After several summers she spent as one of his deckhands, he convinced her to consider a job at sea as a career. There were steps to take, obstacles to overcome, and prejudice to endure, but she eventually obtained her license and couldn’t see spending her life doing anything else.
The reason the Pendragon thrilled her wasn’t as much the boat itself, although it reminded her of Gus’s boat. She learned on boats similar to Brent’s research rig. Her excitement came instead from all the gear and equipment on board. The Pendragon was a vessel kitted out for one and only one reason. They were treasure hunters.
While she wouldn’t be profiting from Brent’s venture, she would be present during the discovery of a lifetime. Not many people could say something like that. A thrill she couldn’t ignore thrummed through her veins as she passed by equipment she’d read about, but had never had the opportunity to use.
She headed below and knocked on the door to Donald’s cabin.
“Hey sleepy head, we’re almost there. Brent says it’s time to wake up.”
“I’ll be up in a bit.” Donald took the night shift, piloting the Pendragon to its destination and only had a few hours sleep. His sleepy mumbles were barely discernible as words.
She thumped on the door again, making sure he was up, then headed back to help Brent with the towed array. Complex technology hid within a surprisingly simple concept. They would tow the sensing equipment out the back of the boat while she slowed to a few knots. The plan was to search a small grid of only one square mile, but it would take a couple of hours to track back and forth. The side-scan sonar would map out the contours of the sea floor. If they found something, Brent and Donald would gear up and hit the water.
At the back of the boat, Brent had the towed array ready to deploy.
“Need help?” She walked over and looked at the equipment.
Brent glanced up and the tight lines of his lips eased into a smile. He did that practically every time he looked at her. She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her shorts and rocked back on her heels. A couple days ago, she would’ve turned around to hide the blush heating her cheeks, but there was little reason to do that now. In the same way she brought a smile to his face, he brought a flush to her cheeks, and she wasn’t ashamed of her reaction anymore.
He said someda
y.
Someday soon, they wouldn’t have to hide their attraction for each other. Someday soon, they would be able to do more than steal kisses and chaste touches. Someday soon, he would make good on his promise to make her scream. Or at least she hoped he would. Never a screamer, she didn’t think he could make her scream, but that flutter in her belly said otherwise.
The door below banged open and Donald stomped out. “It’s too goddamn early to be up.”
She couldn’t help but grin. Donald’s hair stood out in fifty different directions. The shirt he’d pulled on had holes and hung loosely on his stocky frame. His khaki pants were dirty and stained with grease, making him look like a vagabond, tattered and torn, perhaps the perfect picture of a pirate out to claim sunken treasure.
Turning back to Brent, she was once again struck by the difference between the two men. Dark and wavy, Brent’s hair danced in the breeze, but it didn’t look like the mess of Donald’s disarray. Brent’s khaki shorts were clean and pressed, not stained, as was the collared shirt which strained over an impressive physique. Brent looked like a scholar, an intent archeologist bent over his equipment, serious and composed as he readied himself to make history.
The two men couldn’t be more different. Once again, it surprised her at the tight bond they shared.
Brent looked up. “Hey, glad you could join us. Thought maybe you’d sleep through this.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, but you could’ve let me sleep a couple more hours.” Donald scratched at his crotch, then glanced at her and gave an unapologetic grab as he adjusted himself.
She looked away. Things like that normally didn’t faze her, but Donald made a game of it and she was getting tired of the blatant sexual gestures. At least Brent didn’t lower himself to that level.
“I’m going to head to the bridge.” She turned her attention to Brent. “Do I need to stop or just slow down?”
Brent: Military Heroes (The One I Want Series Book 2) Page 6