by Lee,Molly E.
They were massive, with the smallest of the group being at least three times my weight and length. Their dark gray striped skin glimmered when they swam through the sun’s beams. Connell was right, they were beautiful, but Nemo was also right, they were to be feared.
Then why aren’t you afraid?
I glanced to the right, where Connell had swam closer to me, content in his silence, his eyes fixated on the sharks, too.
No way.
Maybe he did make me feel safe, but I’d always been an oddball—wanting to get closer to things that normal people fled from. Sharks, whales, sunken ships at depths humans weren’t meant to reach—none of it bothered me—not when I knew how beneficial my work was to the world above.
Or could be.
I glanced upward and sighed when I saw that Nemo had surfaced and made it out of sight. The samples I’d taken today would be crucial in saving the site if my hunch about their medicinal benefits was correct.
I returned my focus to the sharks, noticing the swarms of smaller fish that kept their distance from them, their course pushing closer to ours. Their rhythm was hypnotizing, and I got lost watching their movements, jealous of how quickly they could navigate the waters.
Connell’s hand gripped my arm and pulled me backward. “Going somewhere?”
I blinked a couple of times, the distance that had been between us only now making me realize I’d let myself drift closer to them. I grinned, eyeing his hand still wrapped around my arm. “Worried?”
He dropped my arm quick, as if he feared a bear trap would snap down on his fingers.
“Come on, let’s take a minute at the halfway point and grab the extra tanks there.” I motioned upward, where a long steel cable had strategically placed tanks clipped to it. “I’ll show you the rest of the ship then.” He followed me as I swam toward it.
“Don’t need to check in with the kid? Let him know you’re going interior again?”
I stopped next to the set of tanks clipped to the cable, unlatching one and already feeling the break in pressure from the higher position in the ocean, like someone loosened a vice that had gripped my bones. “Is that what you would do?”
He shook his head. “I’m not you.”
“Well, since I have you as a partner, I think I’m okay. I’m probably insane, but I trust you.” I swallowed hard. Maybe I should radio Nemo. How did I know Connell would know what to do if shit hit the fan once we made it back inside the Falconer? Like a silt-fall or worse, a debris fall?
“You can,” he said, coming up to my side. “But you shouldn’t.”
I tilted my head. From the cold look in his eyes, he meant that, but, just like with the sharks, it didn’t scare me. “Are you not as good as you claim?” I handed him an extra tank, strapping my near empty one on the line.
“I’m better.” He took the tank and swapped it out with ease.
I raised my eyebrows.
“What?” He smirked. “I’m a humble man.”
Now that made me laugh. “The only thing you’ve spoken more than five words about is how good you are at your job.”
“So? That’s a fact. Doesn’t mean I’m a cocky asshole about it.”
“I didn’t mean that,” I said, and after taking a moment to mentally prep my muscles, dove downward again.
“I know,” he said, following me.
Did he? God, he seemed like he could read me, but I damn sure couldn’t figure him out. I wanted to, though. More than that, I needed to. I had to know if he was legit—beyond the assurance of Henrick and Slade that he could make a professional opinion about my site. I wanted him to see the value it held. If he couldn’t, I needed to figure it out fast, so I had time to think of another way out of Slade’s destructive path.
I looked at Connell for a few more moments before re-entering the ship. There was something there. That same something that had hit me the first time I saw him in Slade’s office. He had a wall around him, that much was obvious, but his eyes, they were genuine, hurt, and held a hint of danger. I swallowed hard, my heart racing just from looking at him. One hard truth hit me in that instant: he could make me or break me.
Maybe I needed to prepare for both.
I took my mask off and let it hang down by my side, shaking my hair out. “I thought you said you could outswim me?” I taunted Connell, who was only now climbing on board.
He slipped his mask off, the smirk that made my stomach flip firm on his lips. “I let you win.”
“Sure. Whatever you have to tell yourself.” I slipped my suit off and grabbed the oversize towel Liz kept stocked in the compartment near where we stored our gear. I quickly dried off, and tossed it to the side, noticing Connell’s eyes darting over my skin, unsure of where to look. I chuckled. I was proud of my body, but he looked like I might as well have been standing there naked. I had a swimsuit on, a modest bikini at that. “You okay?”
He shrugged, his eyes snapping to his weight belt as he took off his gear.
“What’s his deal?” Nemo asked, plopping down on the cushioned seat behind me. “He looks flushed. Did you break him?”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“This coming from a kid who bolted halfway through the dive.” Connell shook his head, slipping out of his suit. I didn’t hear another word out of his mouth.
He was cut. Like, carved out of wood, six-pack abs and the perfect V muscle that pointed to his . . . well, the ocean may have been cold, but apparently, Connell was unaffected from the look of the bulge happening underneath his speedo-tight black shorts.
“Sadie?” Nemo’s use of my first name snapped me right out of my lust-filled fantasies where Connell used those perfect muscles to make my eyes roll back in my head.
Damn.
“Yeah?”
“I asked if you were eating on board tonight?”
“Oh.” I sucked in a shaky breath, forcing my eyes away from Connell’s too-delicious body and totally ignoring the bigger smirk on his face. Guess I deserved that. “What’s Liz making?”
“Seafood gumbo.”
I shook my head. Liz was a decent cook, but I wanted to sink my teeth into something big. “Thanks, but I’ll take the jet ski inland.”
Nemo hopped up and shot me a wink. “More for me.”
I chuckled. “You need it, too; the way you inhale your food before you even taste it.”
He gave me a thumbs-up before disappearing around the corner, no doubt heading straight to the kitchen.
“You want to come?” I asked, and a flush raked my skin. I grabbed a spare pair of shorts and tank top I kept near my gear. “To dinner? You want to eat?” Do you even know how to speak? Good God, I should just ask him to fuck me so I could get it off my mind and we could be regular business associates.
“Same place as last night?” he asked, pulling a black cotton T over his head.
“Yeah.”
“Sure.”
“We only have the one jet ski,” I said, slipping on my flip-flops. “Not as flush with the toys as Slade is, sorry.”
“I don’t know if anyone has as many toys as he does.” He shook his head. “I don’t mind doubling up.”
“Even if I’m driving?” I grinned.
“Of course,” he said without hesitation. Not even a show of manly dispute.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. Interesting. Another piece of the puzzle—Connell was secure enough in his manhood that he didn’t have to be in control of everything when it came to working with a woman. Add that to the like column.
“Great,” I said and led the way to where we stored the jet ski.
He slid on behind me but kept his hands on his thighs instead of around my waist. Not that I was disappointed or noticed.
I gunned it, taking the machine up to speed as quickly as she would allow. I continued to push it, hitting wave breaks and keeping it steady as we gained momentum. I loved the speed, the feel of the sea air sharp against my face. I should be exhausted from the dive, but
my senses fired at an all-time high as I broke over a wave and gained a little air before crashing back down on the water.
Connell’s laugh filled my ear over the roaring of the engine as he wrapped his arms around my middle. He didn’t have a choice if he didn’t want to be left behind to swim to the island. His hands were warm and rough against my skin where my tank top had hiked up from the movement through the waves. Electric tingles sparked underneath his touch, and though I knew he was only holding me out of need to stay on the ski, it felt incredible.
I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d been touched like this by a man until it happened, and I sighed with the relief from the contact. I’d craved it more than I even realized.
It was over too quickly. Once I slowed down to dock the jet ski, Connell returned to his first position, which was relaxed and with hands to himself. I shouldn’t have been disappointed by any of it, since we barely knew each other, but I couldn’t deny the connection I had to him. It made no sense—much like my lack of fear of sharks and other threatening aspects that came with my job—but it was something I couldn’t ignore.
We snagged the same table we ate at last night, the sun setting over the ocean on the horizon, turning the sky a mixture of fire-orange and ink-purple.
“Did Slade give you full leave to survey my site or do you still have to report to him daily?” I asked after we’d finished half our drinks in silence—not uncomfortable, but still not satisfying my nagging curiosity for something real from him, something more than surface material.
“I’m on call. Emergencies, or jobs too big for the welders he has on site.”
“Are you getting paid less since you’re splitting your time?” A wave of guilt hit me with the thought.
He shifted in his seat and glanced down at his beer. “No.”
I sighed in relief. “Well, that is a good surprise from him.”
Connell nodded, and I waited.
Then waited some more.
As much as the closed-off personality was intriguing, it was also infuriating. I wasn’t used to having to work so hard for some easy chitchat, not that I conversed with a ton of people outside my team, but still.
The waitress set down my burger and sweet potato fries, and his same order of fish tacos he’d had last night. I stopped her before she could leave. “Could you bring us four shots of top-shelf rum, please?”
The girl smiled. “Absolutely.”
“Thank you,” I said and then scooped up my burger, chomping down on it with the ravenous fury that was my stomach. When I did long dives like today, I could almost never slake the insane hunger that hit me afterward. I peered over the massive thing, grease dripping down my fingers.
Connell raised his eyebrows. “You want to get drunk?”
I swallowed the oversized bite in my mouth and wiped my face with a napkin. “Maybe. Maybe I just want to get you drunk.”
He snorted. “Why?”
“Experiment.”
“I don’t like being toyed with. I’m not one of your plants to run tests on.”
“Or perhaps you just haven’t been played with in the right way?” Good Lord, I’d only had half a rum and OJ so far. What was it about him that made my mouth sound so dirty?
“Shots!” the waitress said, setting the shot glasses on the table with a giddy smile. “My kind of people. Check on you in a beat,” she said and went to attend to her other tables.
I picked up a shot glass and raised an eyebrow at Connell. The sun had fully set, leaving the wooden patio lit up by the fire-torches that lined the sand just outside its perimeter. An indigo sky hung above the ocean, which looked like wine in the moonlight.
After a few moments, he finally scooped up a glass of his own.
“Progress.” I clinked my glass against his before tossing it back. The sweet-heat of the rum hit the back of my throat and felt good all the way down. I hissed from the final burn and turned the glass upside down, slammed it on the table, and immediately picked up the next one.
Connell followed suit, his eyes lit with an orange glow. He clinked my glass this time, and we took the shot in sync. He raised his eyebrows at me. “You know it would take more than two shots to get me drunk, right?”
My head buzzed with a pleasant fuzzy sensation already. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but I was for anything that would fast-track my getting to know Connell. He was too important to my site to keep up the wicked silent game for two months.
I nodded and took another bite of my burger. When our waitress passed our table, I told her to bring four more.
Connell shook his head between bites, and I gulped a good amount of water to help pace myself. The girl was back in a flash with more rum.
“Thanks!” I said a little too enthusiastically. Maybe my brilliant plan wasn’t so sharp? Oh well, I was nothing if not committed. I reached for another shot, but Connell snatched it out of my reach and tossed it back before I could blink.
“Easy, darlin’,” he said. “This is one area I know you can’t keep pace with me.”
I sat up straighter.
“That’s not a challenge. Just a fact. Now eat,” he demanded, taking another shot.
I smiled and nibbled on a fry. After he’d taken the third of the four, he sat a little deeper in his chair.
“What was your worst close call?” I asked, deciding to start with something easy. A question about his job should earn me some conversation.
He licked a few drops of rum off his lips, and my eyes were slow to leave them.
“Got stuck underneath a ship once. Umbilical twisted around a rotor until it was so tight I couldn’t move. Basically tied me to the bottom of the ship, which was still running. And I had been cutting metal—and with that kind of heat you’re splitting water molecules, creating hydrogen pockets—and they were all around me.” His eyes trailed to the side, lost in the memory. Funny, I figured he’d show terror or pride at having survived, but he maintained his aloof calm while telling the story. “I was sure one would hit the flame and blow the whole ship up . . .” He adjusted in his seat and shrugged. “But it didn’t.”
He sounded disappointed. Was I that drunk? Who would be sad over not dying?
“That must have been terrifying. I’ve never worked with open flames before. Damn. How long did it take to work the tangle?”
“An hour.”
I shook my head. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
I raised my eyebrows, begging him for more.
He shrugged. “I stayed still. Managed to get the torch off after a few minutes. Thought about . . .” He pinched the bridge of his nose for a few moments before he grabbed the last remaining shot on the table and inhaled it in one gulp. He held the empty up to the waitress, who glanced at him from another table.
A weight settled over my shoulders, but my fuzzy brain was slow on the draw. “Impressive that you came out of that without a scratch.”
“Part of the job.”
“Right. I get that. I was in a silt-fall on my last site. Blacked out everything around me. I couldn’t see a damn thing, and I was inside the cave, of course, and lost all sense of direction. When I realized the sediment wouldn’t settle before my tank was out and that no one was getting my radio for help, I slowly worked my way outward. I honestly don’t know how I found my way out of the cave and to the surface. It was like something was—“
“Guiding you?” Connell cut me off.
“Yeah. Exactly. Like a magnet.”
He nodded. “Been there. I think it’s the ocean.”
I tilted my head. “I’m not following.”
He raked his hand through his hair as he leaned forward on the table, a slight sheen over his hazel eyes. “The ocean. When you spend enough time in it, become one with it . . . it doesn’t let you go easily.”
My heart kicked up a few notches. I didn’t know anyone else who felt that way about the sea like I did. Not even my team. It was work for them. It was for me, too, but
it was also . . .
“Home,” I said out loud.
“Right.”
I laughed.
“What?” he asked, his last taco in hand.
“I usually get the she’s crazy looks when I talk like that.”
“Oh, you probably are,” he said but laughed before he took a huge bite. “But I am, too, so there is that.”
Warmth filled my chest that had nothing to do with the liquor I’d had. We were getting somewhere. After our waitress had dropped off another round of shots, my hopes were at an all-time high to keep him talking.
We each drank another one, and I made sure to finish off my burger before I even thought about drinking more.
“So, who did you leave behind in Oklahoma?” I asked after the waitress had cleared our plates.
He flinched, and I instantly regretted the question. Damn. A woman no doubt.
He took another shot and set it down. “Where is home for you?” he asked instead of answering.
Noted.
“Phoenix. But I haven’t lived there since I was seventeen. I visit as often as I can, but you know how much you have to travel for the jobs we have.”
He smirked. “Wasn’t it you last night giving me shit about not living near a coast?”
I raised my hands in defense. “I wasn’t giving you shit! I was surprised; that’s all.”
“Could say the same about you.” He stretched his arms over his head, the motion lifting his shirt just enough to remind me of the ridiculous set of abs he was rocking. I looked away as quickly as I could, not needing the temptation to throw myself at him while I was already seriously buzzing.
“Seems like we’re two for two, then.” I managed to find my voice. “I wonder what else we have in common? Besides your family being in the marine biology field as well.”
“You sound so hopeful.” He rested his elbows on the table after taking another shot.
I elected to do his signature shrug. “Two months would be a long time if you were a pain in the ass.”