Dolphin's Playground

by Jaci Burton

  “Idiot,” he mumbled. “Flowers and wine. This isn’t a date. She’s going to think you’re a fucking moron.”

  What possessed him to go to the market and buy wine and flowers was beyond his ability to understand. But impulse drove him, and he typically followed his instincts.

  He was fairly certain that this time, his instincts had led him astray. Nevertheless, he was here. He knocked.

  “Door’s open!” she yelled. “Come on in!”

  He stepped in, the smell of something incredible permeating the room to her small apartment. It looked similar to his in design, but definitely better decorated. Small plants littered every table and windowsill, and the couch in front of the fireplace was draped in afghans and colorful blankets, an open book sitting on the center cushion.

  It was warm and comfortable. Nothing like his apartment.

  He followed the delicious spicy scent into the small kitchen. Jaz’s hair was piled high on her head, loose ringlets of red curls draping down. Her neck was exposed and Trey was pummeled by a burning desire to kiss the soft skin exposed at her nape.

  She wore shorts and a sweatshirt, her long legs tantalizing him and making him wonder how they’d feel wrapped tight around him. His jeans tightened uncomfortably.

  “I put the lab results on the table over there,” she said without turning around, pointing toward a chrome and glass round table nestled in the breakfast nook. “Go ahead and get started. I’m almost finished here.”

  He set the wine and flowers on the empty counter, feeling stupid for bringing them. Clearly, this was a business dinner. He wondered if she’d notice if he grabbed them and left, then returned with his business head screwed on straight.

  “You’re awfully quiet tonight.” She turned and smiled.

  When she spied the bottle and flowers, her smile died. She met his gaze, curiosity etched on her features. “You brought those for me?”

  He nodded, feeling every bit the idiot.

  Jaz fingered the petals of the daisies intermixed with purple freesia. She picked up the bundle and held them to her nose, closed her eyes and inhaled.

  Time stopped as he watched her, fascinated with the look of pleasure on her face.

  “They’re beautiful and smell heavenly. Thank you, Trey.”

  Her whispered voice was like a soft caress over his skin. “You’re welcome.”

  “Would you open the wine? I haven’t had wine in ages.” She pulled a corkscrew out of the drawer and handed it to him, then reached in her cabinet for two glasses.

  Trey studied the way her shorts lifted and tightened against her buttocks. He was experiencing some tightening of his own.

  Focus. Work. Dolphins. Lab Results.

  By the time he’d opened and poured the wine, Jaz had dinner on the table.

  A vegetable lasagna that melted in his mouth had him wolfing down the food.

  “This is fabulous,” he said between mouthfuls.

  Her eyes sparkled. “Thanks. I like to cook.”

  Being single, he didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about or preparing food. The ocean was filled with things to eat. He hadn’t realized before what he was missing.

  After consuming two platefuls of food and a few glasses of wine, he finally pushed back from the table and looked over at Jaz.

  She watched him, toying with her half-eaten plate of food.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I’ve just never seen someone eat so much. Were you starving?”

  He laughed. “Probably. Sometimes I forget I’m supposed to eat.”

  She nodded. “I know the feeling.”

  They cleaned up the dishes, then spread the lab reports out on the table. Jaz finished her wine and absently held her glass out for Trey to refill while she kept her focus on the results.

  “It has to be some kind of bacteria,” she murmured.

  He handed the glass back to her. Their fingers touched and she met his gaze, her eyes curious and confused. Probably the same as his. What was it about this woman that sizzled his insides and made him want her?

  She was a land female, of average looks and decent intelligence. Nothing like the raving beauty of the sea sprites, nothing like the charismatic mermaids, nothing like any of the women in Oceana.

  And yet, suddenly every Oceanic female species paled in comparison to this alluring redhead with eyes like the green hills near his home in the sea.

  Sex. It had to be sex. He hadn’t had any in awhile, clearly he was physically attracted to Jaz, and he hadn’t had a decent release in too long. She’d fired up his libido, and it wasn’t going to dampen until he’d doused the fire.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

  He had no idea, since he hadn’t heard her question. “What do I think about what?”

  Jaz looked up from her paperwork. “Bacteria. I said I think the problem is bacterial.”

  Focus, Trey, focus. “Could be. But if it is, it’s no bacteria I’ve ever encountered.”

  She nodded. “That has to be what it is. It can’t be viral or a communicable infection, because not all the dolphins have it. The Bottlenose who washed up the day after the rest of them shows no signs of infection. As far as the symptoms, fever, elevated white blood cell count, all points to bacterial. But the tests we’ve run so far indicate no known bacterial elements present in any of the dolphins’ blood. And all their blood counts are nearly similar.”

  He poured another glass of wine for them both, hoping the alcohol would dull his senses and make him immune to her. So far, no success. He barely listened to what she said, his thoughts wrapped around undressing her with his teeth.

  Fortunately, she barely noticed, so intent on her charts and graphs and analysis and rattling off data. Analysis he’d poured over hours ago, coming to the same conclusions she was telling him about now.

  “What about gastroscopy?” he suggested.

  She looked up. “You think it may have a gastrointestinal cause?”

  He shrugged. “It’s a possibility. Although there are no sponges adhering to the intestinal wall, causing infection.”

  “Palpation. Typically, infection by sponge adherence is palpable in swollen abdominal cavity. You can run ultrasound if you’d like, but I doubt that’s the cause.”

  “Well, they haven’t exhibited any vomiting or gastrointestinal distress. I think you’re off base here.”

  Of course, she had no idea how much of an expert he really was. “It’s a waste of money to run ultrasound. Try lavage instead,” he suggested.

  She arched a brow. “This is my lab, Dr. Sanders. I think I know what’s best for my dolphins.”

  “Your dolphins, are they? Do they know that you’ve claimed ownership of them?”

  “You know what I meant. I’ll order the ultrasounds in the morning.”

  “Are you always so obstinate, or are you really convinced you’re always right?”

  “What makes you think your theory is correct?”

  “I don’t have a theory,” he said, swallowing the last of the wine. He stood and stretched. “I just know what it isn’t.”

  “I’m not willing to gamble on the dolphins’ lives just to save a few bucks. Frankly, I’m surprised you would be.”

  She had no idea what lengths he was going to in order to save the dolphins. He wished he could tell her, but he couldn’t. So, she thought him uncaring. Didn’t bother him one bit.

  “Go for it. Waste the aquarium’s money. You’ll find no evidence of sponges.”

  She approached him, stopping inches away, suspicion evident in her narrowed eyes. “Did Claude hire you to keep watch over my spending?”

  “Huh?”

  “You heard me. I know how much that penny-pinching sonofabitch wants to save a buck or two. You sound just like him. Willing to sacrifice the life of the dolphins to save money. Money he and his family have plenty of.”

  “I have nothing to do with Claude Morton or his money. My concern lies with the dolphins, and they’re the on
ly thing I’m interested in.” He meant that in more ways than one, the least of which was his ever-growing attraction to her.

  And she must have caught on to that, because she glanced at the flowers sitting in a vase on the kitchen table. “Really? And here I thought you were wining and dining me to get me into bed.”

  “Whatever gave you that idea?”

  “The wine, the flowers, the lab yesterday. You were all over me.”

  “The wine and the flowers were nothing more than a thank you for cooking me dinner. As far as what happened in the lab yesterday, you know as well as I do that’s simply biology. We’re both healthy, sexual beings and got carried away, but it’s not personal. I’m sorry if you thought I was interested in you personally, Dr. Quinlan. You’re way off base here.”

  She flushed, and he felt like an asshole. She was closer to the mark than even he wanted to admit to himself.

  “I see. Thanks for coming and going over the paperwork with me. If you don’t mind, I have work I’d like to do tonight, so I’m going to excuse myself and head to the lab.”

  Thank God. He’d finally be able to get away from her and focus on making the dolphins well. “Fine. Thank you for dinner.”

  He made his exit as quickly as he could, shutting and locking the door to his apartment.

  He heard her door open and close again no more than five minutes later.

  Trey paced for a while, knowing he should go down there and help her, but also aware that wouldn’t be the smartest move right now.

  They couldn’t see eye to eye on anything, he knew things he couldn’t tell her about, and as a result they’d delay analysis of the real problem with the dolphins.

  He’d have done better to just take the dolphins out of the aquarium and let the land humans wonder what the fuck had happened. At least he’d have them in the ocean where he could test them in his own way, find out what was wrong and hopefully cure them.

  Not that they’d had any luck doing that before they beached themselves. He scrubbed his hand over his face.

  Goddamn Ronan and his brilliant ideas.

  He needed a swim, to cool off and clear his head.

  Mainly, he needed to stay as far away from Jaz as possible.

  He stormed out of the apartment and headed to the beach, shedding his clothes on the sand and diving into the water.

  He swam fast and deep, down past where humans could safely travel.

  Toward Oceana, its lights and transparent structures calming him.

  Home. Where he needed to be. Where he was supposed to be. The place that always made him feel good.

  Except right now his thoughts focused on the surface, on land. On the dolphins, and on Jaz. He pictured her in the lab, working alone this late at night. Her hair would escape her ponytail and frame her face. Her beautiful, creamy face.

  She’d stretch, her breasts pressing up against the little shirts she wore, her nipples hardening as they rubbed against the material.

  Trey closed his eyes and willed her out of his thoughts, but they persisted. He should just go fuck a sea sprite, let loose of some of his pent up anxiety and sexual frustration.

  Except for the first time, the thought of release from one of the sprites did nothing for him. Where they’d always appealed to him before, now they couldn’t hold a candle to the flame sparked within him by a certain land female.

  Ah, hell.

  He left his sanctuary and soared toward the surface.

  Chapter Seven

  “Don’t know what I’m doing, my ass,” Jaz mumbled, still angry as hell at Trey’s condescending tone.

  She’d never been questioned about her work before, by any colleague. The only one who’d ever challenged her was Claude, and his interest was mainly financial. At a cost of over two thousand dollars a day, taking on an additional dozen or so dolphins was a burden for the aquarium. She knew that, but it still didn’t deter from her determination to care for them until they could be released.

  And damn Triton Sanders for making her feel incompetent. She knew what she was doing. She was one of the best in her field, and she’d be damned if she’d allow him to make her second guess herself.

  He certainly knew how to piss her off. Now if she could just work her frustration into some productivity, maybe she’d be able to figure out this whole mystery in short order.

  But her thoughts kept drifting back to Trey. How he’d looked standing in her kitchen tonight, his jeans snug against his thighs and cupping his near perfect ass. The way his dark hair accentuated the crystal blue of his eyes. The wine and the flowers.

  Had anyone ever brought her wine and flowers before? Not that she could recall. She’d been so touched, she was speechless. Of course, she’d taken it personally and she shouldn’t have. He’d just been brought up to bring thank you gifts to dinner. It had nothing to do with her.

  But then again, the way he looked at her sometimes, like he wanted to strip her naked and devour her on the spot, sent thoughts of doing dark and wicked things with him soaring through her mind.

  Triton Sanders was a confusing mix of potent, sexual male and irritating as hell man. He intrigued and at the same time infuriated her.

  And she’d never desired a man more than she did him.

  She leaned away from the microscope, seeing nothing in the smears she’d taken earlier that would give her any clue as to the bacteria causing the dolphins’ illness.

  Frustration on so many levels hammered at her, the least of which was her conversation with Trey tonight.

  She thought back over the handful of relationships she’d had in the past. Mainly other biologists like her. One in college, the rest as she’d moved through her education and work life. Boring. None gave her a spark. Sex had been biological, and at that not even great biology.

  No man had ever made her come. And she wasn’t difficult. With her vibrator she came like a wild woman, so why did a man’s touch fail to take her over the edge?

  Easy answer. Wrong men. Men who didn’t care whether she was pleasured or not, or who were so completely inept they couldn’t bring her to orgasm with their hands or their mouths.

  She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the sudden chill of loneliness that crept around her. Was she doomed to spend the rest of her life alone?

  Since Trey walked into her life, she’d felt more heat, more life, than she’d felt…ever. But they were completely wrong for each other. He was old money and rich lifestyle. She was the child of California hippies, poor on money but rich on love.

  Her parents were happy. Why wasn’t she? Because they’d found a love she could never hope to duplicate?

  She’d certainly never find anything like that with someone like Trey. There was a cold wariness to him that chilled her.

  Yet at the same time, a fire burned within him that she connected to on many levels. Just thinking about his internal heat shot sparks of arousal deep in her belly.

  She massaged the tense ache in her neck, resigned to working alone through the night.

  That is, until she heard the creak of the lab door opening.

  Quickly turning around, she saw the one person she didn’t want to see again tonight.

  “Trey.”

  His hair was wet. Had he showered?

  His clothes clung to his wet body.

  “Where’ve you been? In the aquarium?”

  “I went for a swim in the ocean.”

  Her jaw nearly dropped. “Now? It’s freezing out there.”

  He ignored her comment and approached her slowly. His jaw was clenched tight, his lips a straight line.

  “Is there something wrong?” she asked.

  “Hell yes there’s something wrong.”

  Not again. She couldn’t handle another altercation with him tonight.

  “What is it?”

  With each of his determined, agonizingly slow steps across the room, she grew more and more nervous. He seemed really agitated. Her heart pummeled her ribs and her palms b
egan to sweat.

  Despite the fact he was scaring the living hell out of her, she couldn’t be more aroused. Something elemental passed between them, some unspoken language that told her exactly what it was that irritated him.

  The same thing causing her to lose her focus and think only of him.

  By the time he reached her, she was more than ready. He grabbed her, pulling her roughly into his arms, his mouth crashing down on hers without a single word spoken between them.

  She met his assault eagerly, her passions ignited before the first touch of his lips on hers. He thrust his tongue inside, devouring her with his none-too-tender mouth.

  His hands were everywhere, roaming along her back, grabbing her buttocks and pulling her against his erection. She whimpered and ground against his cock, desperately wanting him inside her.

  Jaz inhaled his scent, fresh and tangy. She tore her mouth away from his to kiss his neck, licking at the salty ocean drops that still lingered on his skin. He groaned and dug his hands into her hips, then reached up, pulling her tank top off.

  Her breasts filled his hands, his thumbs finding and flicking her already hardened nipples. He bent his head and tasted first one, then the other, licking her over and over again until she feared she would faint.

  “Trey,” she gasped, “please.”

  He lifted his head and met her gaze, his eyes dark with passion. “Yes. Beg me for it, Jasmine.”

  Oh, God. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, had never begged a man to fuck her. But Trey wasn’t any man. He was the one she wanted right now, right here, like she’d never wanted anyone before.

  Who was this woman in the arms of a stranger? Certainly not Dr. Jasmine Quinlan. Jaz never acted this way. Her life was all about control. A boring, mundane, everyday controlled existence. She’d never make love with someone she barely knew, especially in her lab, where they could be discovered any minute.

  She searched Trey’s face, his expression tight, barely leashed control evident in his clenched jaw and nearly trembling hands.

  Right. Her life had been so satisfying up to this point. Never before had she felt volcanic eruptions deep inside her. Trey would make her erupt—that much she already knew.