Her Sworn Enemy (Men of the Zodiac)

by Theresa Meyers

  She shattered in his arms, and he followed her. They lay together on the bunk, their bodies slick with sweat and glued together, his heavy form atop her, both of them breathing hard in the humid heat of the chamber. It took a moment for the rounded room to come back into focus, and for that moment, Bella relaxed in how blissful it all felt.

  “I think we can both count that as a win,” she said.

  She felt him smile against her skin. “Good. Next time you get to determine who challenges first.”

  “Next time? I’m boneless here.”

  He chuckled. “And we’ve got another four hours left. We can get at least another two rounds in.” He lifted up on his arm and looked at her, his blue eyes deep and languid like hidden deep water in the bayou. “How about the best two out of three wins?”

  He kissed her lightly, nibbling at her lips, and when his fingers stroked leisurely down the length of her bare back, the touch did more than just arouse her, it went deeper, making her feel desired, precious—loved. Tuck didn’t treat her like some fragile thing to be placed upon a shelf; he treated her like a flesh and blood woman with real wants and needs. And right now she wanted him, all of him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Five hours later, after barely coming up for air, they were both starving.

  No one had disturbed them in the recompression chamber. It had been a mini-vacation of sorts, just the two of them, though not at all the kind of vacation Bella would have preferred. She’d imagined some place tropical, with sugar-white sand and aquamarine water, rather than the institutional nature of their current accommodations. But it had been good. In between making love, she’d finally gotten a chance to just lie beside Tuck and talk with him. She thought she had a much better insight into him now and what it would be like to live with a man like this. Don’t bet on it, girl. Just because he saved you, doesn’t mean he’s staying.

  Bella shoved aside the nagging doubts. “What do you want to do when we’re done with the salvage?”

  “Go to New York.” Face deadpan, eyes sharp and hard, he seemed to withdraw. Not physically, he still held her, but emotionally Bella could feel that he’d already gone.

  Her chest ached. “Okay, not what I would have picked.”

  “And what would you pick for me?” he asked, tracing his finger down the indent of her spine, sending spirals of heat washing through her. He kissed along the route his finger had taken, and she shifted, rolling over in his arms. His mouth came down warm and possessive on hers.

  “Maybe you setting up a dive shop or fishing boat for tourists out in Key West or Jamaica or having a sailing-tour operation.”

  He smiled. “Hmm, that does sound way better than New York.”

  “What’s in New York?”

  “Unfinished business.” He pulled back, sitting up on the narrow bunk they shared. The sudden absence of his touch and the sour edge of his tone made Bella think twice about pressing him for more information. She suspected it had to do with the McCormacks—a topic best left alone for both of them.

  “But after that, then what?”

  “I was hoping you’d tell me,” he teased.

  “Well, we could start off by doing more of this.” She ran her hand across his chest, letting it drift down across his abs to the crisp line of hair just under his naval and stroked him with her fingertips.

  “Good call.” His lips curled into a predatory smile. “Does that mean you’ll go diving again with me sometime?”

  “I’m not diving again.”

  A sad look entered his eyes. “Look, I know this time was bad, and I blame myself.”

  “Why?”

  “I should have double-checked your equipment myself. Made sure you’d be safe.”

  Bella shook her head. “Accidents happen.”

  His gaze was sharp. “Not on my watch.” Even after he’d ensured they’d made it back safely, that he’d literally sacrificed his own air to breathe to keep her alive, he still blamed himself.

  Bella realized Tuck was like a fish out of water stuck on dry land. He needed to be near water, thrived on it, and if she refused to go into the water ever again, it would create a barrier between them she couldn’t bridge. So she stuffed her fears down and tried a compromise perhaps they could both live with.

  “How about I meet you halfway and we snorkel instead?”

  A brilliant smile lit up his face, and he kissed her on the forehead. “Yes. Absolutely.”

  Bella questioned just how much of herself she was willing to give up to be with him. He’d risked his very life to be with her. Was she willing, or even able, to do the same?

  The intercom unit on the wall crackled. “Ready to get out of the tin can?” Toneau asked.

  Tuck leaned over and pushed the com button. “I thought it would take longer.”

  Toneau laughed. “Thought or hoped?”

  “Both.”

  “Well, the doctor we’ve been in communications with did the calculations. He wants us to run a blood test on you both to see if enough of the nitrogen has migrated out of your blood stream, and if it’s good, you’re free.”

  Bella quickly threw off the blanket covering them and pulled on her clothes. Tuck did the same as the big wheel on the front of the chamber rumbled as they spun it to open the hatch door.

  Toneau popped his head inside the chamber. “How’s the happy couple faring?”

  “Ready to be released into the wild,” Tuck answered as he gestured for Bella to go first.

  How were they faring? Tuck didn’t really know. Things had changed between them, big time. He’d done what he’d had to in order to get them back to the surface safely, but having Bella at risk had made him crazy. Worse, it made him think about his world without her in it.

  As much as he wanted to be with her, he could feel the tendrils of attachment curling and constricting around him. He’d fallen for her, there was no doubt about that, but he didn’t dare call it love. Love meant pain, and Bella was anything but pain. She was more like air, as necessary to him as his next breath, and yet, if he got too used to relying on her, he’d never finish what he’d started. He’d never be his own man—able to look his half brother in the eye and let him know, you didn’t destroy me, and now it’s time for payback.

  He needed that closure to feel free of his past. It was the one thing he still hadn’t talked to Bella about, the deepest, darkest part of him that wanted revenge. It was an ugly thing. Tuck didn’t like that part of himself, but he acknowledged he owed a debt to it. That dark desire had driven him to greatness, pushed him to succeed when everyone else said things were impossible.

  All he needed was one more big score to have the money to strip Phillip “Dickhead” McCormack of everything he valued and send him for a little strength-of-character training of his own. It was one thing to be born with money and to have always had it. It was another to be brought up like a prince of Wall Street, then have yourself stripped down to the bones and rebuild. Phillip had no idea the shit storm that was coming his way.

  Now that they were out of the chamber, Tuck felt pressure to get as much up from the wreck as they could. They’d already brought up a lot, more than some salvages, as the contents of the wreck hadn’t been picked over. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted the big score—that diamond “crystal” ball the size of his fist—if it actually existed.

  Despite everything they’d brought to the surface that was the golden ring, the goal that pushed him harder. Bella wanted it, and he’d damn well get it for her. He wanted her to see him as a guy worthy of waiting for. He wanted to build a life with her—after he’d taken care of cleaning out the crap his family had left him. Once he did that, he’d be ready for anything.

  Problem was he didn’t know for certain how long it would take. They’d have to process, preserve, and sell off enough of the treasure for him to see a substantial profit. He needed several million more beyond what he’d already amassed to be able to buy out the McCormack Group flat-out. That could take time. De
ep down he believed he wasn’t capable of a serious relationship until he could excise the demons from his past, and he wasn’t sure Bella would understand the wait.

  For another two weeks the whole crew worked hard. They were quickly running out of multiplex containers and needed more. Bella was thrilled with the haul they’d brought up so far, but the niggling doubt that the crystal ball hadn’t been found still bothered her, like a bug bite that needed to be scratched. Nothing was going to be good enough until she scratched that itch and found it, because while she didn’t believe in the Dupré family curse, she wasn’t willing to cast it off altogether as fable. And whatever she had going with Tuck, she didn’t want to jinx it.

  Evening was falling, and the sky was streaked with brilliant slashes of red and vibrant orange as they stood together on the deck of the Discovery watching the sunset. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight,” Tuck said as he held her close, his arm around her, his hand resting comfortably on her hip.

  “The perfect end to a perfect day.”

  “No, the beginning of a perfect night,” he said, then brushed a kiss on her neck. “Come for a night swim with me.”

  She couldn’t see how snorkeling or diving at night would be any fun. The water was dark, and there wouldn’t be much to see, but it was warm and balmy, and a soft breeze ruffled over the water. “I’ll go get changed into my suit.”

  “Need any help with that?”

  She winked at him. “I think I can manage.”

  Ten minutes later they were in the water. He’d convinced her to put on snorkeling gear and bring along a flashlight, even though she felt silly for doing so.

  “I don’t understand why we can’t just go swimming,” she said as she treaded water and the ocean current rocked her back and forth. As her hands moved and the fins on her feet stirred the water, it filled with the brilliant blue sparkles. “Oh! That’s beautiful! Look at the bioluminescence.”

  He smiled, his teeth white in the dark. “There’s more to see in the dark than you think, Doc.” He pulled his mask up from around his neck and into place. “Ready?”

  She nodded, and they put their snorkels in place and swam out away from the lights of the ship. Bella glanced back and saw the trail of blue light behind them. Tuck snapped on his flashlight and put his head in the water. She followed his lead. Ahead of them in the dark water a sea turtle, his wide-finned legs cutting through the water, seemed to float like a hovercraft in the endless ocean. Minutes later a school of fish, startled by their light, pooled together in a giant writhing ball that moved and flashed in their light beams like a giant living disco ball.

  Just as her legs were growing tired and weak, they dipped under the water and swam back in the direction of the ship. Ahead of them was enormous translucent jellyfish, which looked like a ghost the size of the loveseat at the house, pulsating in the water. Long, thread-like tendrils moved like fringe on a flapper dress as it danced through the sea and disappeared into the dark.

  They both popped out of the water, and she motioned back to the ship. She reached the ladder first and climbed up, slipping off her mask and fins and slicking back her wet hair out of her face. She watched, waiting for Tuck. He left a trail of bioluminescence as his fins churned the water, leaving a glittering blue trail of quickly fading light behind him as he rose like a god of the sea.

  He climbed up the ladder, shaking the water from his hair, his teeth white in the moonlight as he smiled at her. The temperature of the air was slightly cooler than the water, chilling the exposed skin of her legs faster than the rest of her. Bella pulled against her wetsuit, but the tight-fitting neoprene didn’t want to budge.

  “Here, let me help you with that.”

  Droplets of seawater sparkled on her skin in moonlight. Even the tips of her long lashes, nearly black in the night, were tipped in glistening transparent beads of light, making her look as if she were dusted with diamonds.

  “You remind me of a mermaid.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Just watching you move in the water. You’re beautiful, alluring, enticing, I’d even say a little bit bewitching.”

  She laughed, the sound throaty, soft and sweet—a lover’s laugh. “And what will you do now that you’ve caught me, sailor?”

  “I believe it’s traditional for you to grant me a wish,” he said as he shucked off his neoprene suit and let it join hers on the deck.

  “Don’t tell me; let me guess.” She rose up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, pressing herself against him. Hell, now she was a mind reader, too? He wasn’t about to complain.

  He swept her up into his arms and carried her to the stairs that led down to the cabin level. How they made it down the stairs when neither of them were looking where they were going because they were too busy kissing was anyone’s guess. Frankly, he didn’t care. He just wanted to get Bella back into bed.

  He’d never met a woman that he shared such sexual chemistry with before. The way she moved, the small noises she made as she came undone in his arms all drove him over the edge every time. And even when they were curled together in sleep sometimes, she’d nudge the amazing curve of her ass up against him in her sleep, and he’d get hard all over again, and she’d be wet and ready to go.

  They made it to his cabin and got inside. “Bed?” he said as they still devoured one another with kisses.

  “Shower.”

  “Shower?”

  “Seawater makes me feel sticky.”

  “Sticky doesn’t sound so bad,” he said, but then a shower didn’t sound so bad, either.

  He turned on the water in the shower, letting it run until it was warm and the room filled with steam, then pulled her in under the hot spray. Her skin pebbled and her nipples turned hard at the temperature change. But he’d fix that. “Need a little help?”

  The hot water was heavenly, but having a naked Tucker in the shower made the temperature irrelevant. Everything he did, the way his hands slid against her skin and his mouth closed around the rigid peaks of her breasts spun her up. He suckled, shooting threads of pleasure down her body to the very core of her.

  “Now that you’re warm, how about a little soap?” He grabbed the bottle of body wash and poured a measure of it into his hands, rubbing them together to form suds. “Turn,” he instructed. Bella knew better than to question. He seemed to know what she’d enjoy without her saying a word.

  He brought his slippery hands around her waist, tracing her ribs and cupping her breasts, as he rubbed the lather all over her. Next he trailed down, across the flair of her hips and over her bottom, kneading and rubbing her slick flesh against the hard muscles of his thighs and abs. His erection slipped between her thighs and slid against her lips, making her quiver with need. She knew precisely how good he’d feel. She lifted on her toes, changing the angle enough to have him slide deep inside her. Bella gasped.

  He moved, holding her hips in his hands, his clever mouth kissing her neck as he set a rhythm that made her dizzy as her breath came in short, quick gasps. Sparks shot through her vision, like the glowing blue bits of bioluminescence in the sea. She felt her world blow apart, then come back together, and still he held her in his arms.

  He turned her, tucking her in close against him. The spray had lost its heat and was growing colder. “I think you need a towel.” He opened the shower door and grabbed a towel, gently rubbing her down and kneeling as he did so, kissing down the length of her body, her collarbone, her breast, her stomach, thighs, and behind her right knee.

  They left the bathroom and tumbled into bed. Bella was sure her bones had melted. She relaxed into him as they curled together.

  “Bella?”

  “Hmm.”

  “I have something I need to tell you.”

  She rose up on her elbow and looked at him. “My hair is a disaster?”

  He glanced at it, a smile tugging at his lips. “No, your hair is beautiful. You,” he paused to kiss her, “are beautiful.”r />
  “You either have low standards or are very nearsighted,” she said.

  “Neither.”

  “What did you need to tell me?”

  He shifted position, and she could sense the uneasiness in him. Immediately she thought it was something about his family, or worse still that it had been fun, but that it was time for them to move on.

  “Do you remember how you were adamant about knowing who was funding the operation?”

  She nodded. “I needed to know what kind of people I’d be sharing the find with. There have been a fair share of partners who run off with the money in these kinds of endeavors.”

  “I have a confession. I’m your partner.”

  She giggled. “I should hope so, otherwise I’m in bed with the wrong man.”

  He took her hand in his, massaging his thumb in small circles against her palm. “No, I’m serious. I funded the salvage.”

  Bella frowned. It didn’t make any sense. She knew he’d said he didn’t need the money, that the acknowledgment was more important, but all of this, the Discovery, the helicopter, the crew, all belonged to him?

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I just did.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “At first, I didn’t want you looking at me like I was an endless bank account.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Most women do.”

  “If you haven’t figured it out already, I’m not like most women.”