Love Bites: A Sugar City Novella (Entangled Bliss) (6 page)

Chapter Five

“Damn it, Cruz,” Jeff muttered under his breath. “Cool the hell off.”

He needed a stiff drink before he dared return to Sharona. What a line:
I’m no MD, but…
Rubbish! He’d fantasized about kissing her ever since she’d climbed the ladder.

Logic screamed that he should keep away from her for the rest of the day—he’d tried, but when he’d heard the swearing, saw how paper-pale she’d turned the second Matilda sailed under the ship, the instinct to protect her took over.

He opened the galley fridge and pulled out a water.

Though he hadn’t planned on kissing her as a health precaution, she truly did look on the brink of passing out. Hadn’t he read somewhere that it’s good to distract the thoughts of a person who is about to go into shock?

Maybe it was a screwed up move, and he wouldn’t have let the kiss continue if Sharona hadn’t responded the way she had. She’d seemed surprised at first, much as Jeff had been surprised when she’d grabbed him at the pub.

He leaned a shoulder against the wall, smiling at the memory. Bloody hell, that had been sexy. The mere recall made his internal temperature climb higher than the Great Victoria Desert in summer. Last night had been about the rush of no-strings sex, but seeing her today turned logic on its head. Now, he imagined reaching out to hold her hand, to listen to her talk about her friends, to take her on dates. To bring her home.

But none of that could be. Even if they could figure out a way for a research scientist and a not-for-profit auditor to be together, her home wasn’t his home and Jeff could never do the long-distance thing…despite how much he wanted to bolt to her and finish that kiss.

He’d meant his kiss to be therapeutic, the kinder equivalency of a slap. But, he liked kissing Sharona Blaire, a lot—he never wanted to stop. He loved the touch of her soft skin and the way she’d held on so tightly like she truly needed him. He hadn’t felt needed in ages. Most of the women he’d been with made it clear they didn’t need anybody. Including his ex-wife. Which had been only one of their problems.

Maybe it was his macho instinct, but if Jeff ever did fall in love again, he wanted a woman who needed him as much as she loved him. Could he ever find that?

He quickly drained his own bottle of water and grabbed another for Sharona. When he rounded the corner toward the companionway, she was standing right where he’d left her. Almost like she was waiting for them to pick up where they left off.

Jeff couldn’t force his brain to think of anything he’d rather do than roughly pin that gorgeous body against the wall then take his sweet time.

If only…

“Here,” he said, handing her the water.

“Thank you.” She placed the iced-down bottle to her cheek. Cooling herself off. Jeff swallowed, staring at her dark eyes, her perfect, flushing skin.

“You’re supposed to drink it,” he said. “I’m a non-MD, remember?”

Sharona exhaled a breathy laugh, then twisted off the cap and took a deep drink, her full, lips puckering. He’d never been so jealous of a water bottle.

“Thanks,” she said after a few deep breaths. “Again, for your…um, help.”

He couldn’t help smiling, rubbing the back of his neck. “No worries.”

She took one more drink and gazed up at him much the same way she had right before she’d kissed him last night.

“About that, though,” he blurted. “It was an emergency action.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It would be a bad idea if it happened again.”

When she sighed, he knew she understood. It did make him slightly happy that she looked disappointed.

“I know,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “We’re both here to do a job, and not…anything else.”

At least they were on the same page, though Jeff also knew he was fooling himself. Sharona Blaire had crept into his heart. As a scientist, he knew his curiosity couldn’t rest until he figured out why.

“Jeff?” she said, her teeth catching on her bottom lip as she spoke his name.

Fascinating
.

“Yeah?”

“I think they need you out there.” She tilted her head, pointing out.

“Cruz! Come on, mate, time to roll.”

Jeff blinked at the sound of Pax’s voice and gave himself a mental head thwap, needing to shock himself back to reality. Hmm, maybe he should suggest another kiss…

Focus, Cruz!

He was aboard the
Mad Hatter
, doing possibly the most important research of his career, and all he wanted to do was snog this woman in the corner like a teenager.

“Yeah, on my way!” he called back. He stepped away and glanced at her one last time. “You’re okay?”

She nodded. “All better. I’ll catch up in a minute.”

He lifted his eyebrows, fighting the urge to reach out and cradle her chin. “You should probably take it easy for a while.”

“I’m halfway done with the inventory,” she said, grabbing her bag. She took one last sip of water, then smiled. “Besides that, I don’t want to miss seeing the
famous
Jeff Cruz in action.”

Dang stupid weak stomach, and dang stupid job!
Sharona thought as she watched Jeff walk away. The way his jeans clung to his perfect butt, the one she’d been inches away from exploring.

Why was life so unfair that the one guy she felt uncontrollable chemistry with—even when they weren’t even touching—was the only guy she had to keep her hands off?

She took a moment to straighten her clothes, making sure Jeff’s skilled hands hadn’t undone anything that should have been done. Then she fingered her hair into a ponytail, allowing the sea breeze to touch her still-flushing neck. Only after sufficiently cooling off did she step into the bright sunshine.

Most of the crew was gathered at the bow. Jeff was there, gesturing at the screen of a laptop. “She broke surface three times,” he said. “That should give us additional data from the satellite.”

Sharona moved into the huddle and drew out her tablet. Just from listening to the conversation between Jeff and the rest of the crew, she was able to ascertain a lot about a few of the items on her list. She was checking off much faster than anticipated. Hopefully Jeff would be able to help her knock off the list before he got really busy.

“Feeling better?” Leo said.

“Much,” she replied, glancing toward Jeff. “He gave me a…a drink. Yes, much better.”

“So…” He leaned against the railing. “What do you make of this?”

“Of what?”

He nodded in the general direction of the crew. “The research they’re working on. All this talk about new technology. It’s still untested.”

“I didn’t hear about any new technology.”

Leo stared at her. “That’s kind of the whole point of this trip. To test the trackers.”

Sharona’s job wasn’t to report back to Garry about Jeff’s research, but what Leo said made her suspicious. “Is that why
you’re
here?” she asked. “Why exactly did UM send you?”

Leo shrugged. “I happened to be in Sydney and someone from the science department contacted me.”

“That’s pretty coincidental.”

“Not really,” Leo said after a few moments. “Thing is—and this is between you and me—I was hired by SED…same as you.”

She stared at him. “Garry Cook sent you here?”

Leo nodded.

“So you’re not a reporter for UM?”

“I am, but…”

“But you’re undercover, reporting
for
him.” She considered that for a moment, then scoffed. “Classic Garry dick move,” she muttered. “You say there’s new technology aboard. I’m sure Garry’s
dying
to find out what it is.” She looked at Leo. “Have you learned anything? What are you going to report?”

“I don’t know yet.”

She was about to grab the impressionable kid by the collar and advise him to stay far, far away from her ex if he hoped for an ethical reputation in journalism. But she shouldn’t get into anything with Leo. She had no idea about his loyalties or what he was going to write. If he reported on
her
and it was negative, Garry would pitch a fit. He might even fire her for spite.

The more she thought about the whole setup, it felt like
she
was there to audit Jeff, and Leo was there to audit
her
. How could it get any worse?

“Off the record,” Leo said. “Is this Cruz guy as nuts as he seems?”

“No,” she snapped. “And that’s
on
the record.”

Leo chuckled. “What kind of drink did he slip you back there?” He laughed and walked off, jotting in his notebook.

Man, she was a sap. Now that she knew about his connection to Garry, she shouldn’t be talking to Leo at all…on or off the record. She should finish her unbiased audit, email the report to Garry before she got canned, then return to real life, forgetting all about Jeff Cruz…and the way he made her open up like a flower.

She caught Jeff’s eye, and he gave her a flash of that Han Solo grin. Yeah, forgetting about him would be easier said than done.

A few minutes later, he broke from the group and strolled over. “Okay?”

“Stop asking that,” she said through her teeth. “I’m fine, thanks for your help.”

“I would say ‘ask me again anytime,’ but that’s probably not a good idea.”

“Probably not.” She couldn’t help laughing. “Um, so Leo mentioned you’re using new technology today. I’d like to hear about that when you have a…a few minutes.”

They held eye contact for a long moment, and Sharona wondered if—like her—Jeff was thinking about the last time they’d shared a few minutes alone.

“How does Leo know about that?” he finally asked. And why did it look like he was grinding his teeth?

“I’m not sure. But if I were you, I wouldn’t share anything important with him.”

“Who should I share with?” he asked, tilting his head. “You?”

“Hey, it was just some friendly advice.”

“Well, thanks for that. Listen, things are about to get crazy.” He slid on a pair of sunglasses. “So I’ll be tied up. To be on the safe side, if someone tells you to step back, listen to them—for everyone’s safety.”

“I won’t be in the way,” she said, a bit annoyed. It wasn’t like she was a natural klutz—seasickness wasn’t her fault, and everyone has spilled a drink at least once in their lives—okay, twice, but whatever.

The moment Jeff left, she pulled out her phone about to do a Google search. Maybe if she looked up his name, there would be a clue about the new gadget he was using. There was a new text. From Garry. Instead of texting back, she stepped into the empty helm and gave him a call.

“Sharona,” her boss—her ex-fiancé—barked after one ring. “What have you found?”

Not for the first time in her experience of working with him, she got the impression he expected her to dig up something sinister…bust the big, bad scientists for doing deeds unethical.

“Everything checks out,” she said. “It’s all routine.”

“Jobs like this are never routine—that’s rule number one.” She always hated when he spoke to her like she was an idiot. She didn’t appreciate it when they’d been engaged, and she didn’t now. If she hadn’t really believed in her job—helping small research teams manage their funds more economically—she would not have continued to work with him.

“I guess…they’re using some kind of innovative tracking system,” she offered. “It’s not on the audit list.”

There was a pause, then, “Sharona. Listen very carefully: find out everything you can.”

“That’s not my job. I didn’t come here to spy on…” She cut herself off, took a breath, then glanced toward Leo.

Spy…

“Garry, did you send a reporter from UM?”

She heard the shuffle of papers on his end. “Reporter? No.”

She didn’t believe him, of course. Leo had already confessed.

“Look, just do your job and report back. UM is paying us a lot of money to do this job.”

She rolled her eyes, ready to hang up on him when one of the deckhands called out, “There’s the first!”

“Look, Garry, I gotta go—”

“Find out about that tracker, Sharona, or don’t bother coming back.”

“Yes, sir,” she muttered under her breath. She ended the call, then moved to the side of the ship where the same deckhand was pointing out to sea. How these guys had such good eyesight, she’d never know.

“Got it on radar,” Pax confirmed.

Jeff wheeled around to them “Break surface?”

The deckhand looked through a pair of binoculars, scanning the water. “Once, but I lost him.”

“Damn,” Jeff muttered, then turned to Pax. “Anything?”

“Still got him. He’s gone deep but within the perimeter.” Pax looked at his boss. “Chum?”

Jeff rubbed his chin. “No blood in the water unless it’s necessary. Keep an eye on it.”

Sharona glanced at Pax’s screen, which displayed a radar system, different from the one she’d seen earlier. “Which program is this?” she asked.

Pax just grunted, keeping his eyes on the screen.

“What is the name for auditing purposes?”

He muttered under his breath, then rattled off the name. Sharona found it, typed in a note, then checked it off. Jeez, was that so hard?

She glanced at his screen again. There were a handful of blinking dots she assumed were the sharks. A little ball of dread rolled in her stomach. Not nausea like before—that had been mortifying. And not fear that a great white was going to eat the boat. Her dread was the thought of finally seeing one of the tracking devices Jeff had described. She wasn’t in the mood to witness a bunch of blood if Jeff and his team planned on tagging more specimens.

“He’s coming up,” Pax exclaimed in an excited voice. “Fast.”

“Get the trigger ready,” Jeff instructed. “Everyone, keep your eyes peeled. Neon pink, remember? Should stand out once it’s released. There!”

This time, Sharona easily spotted the dorsal fin.

“
Now
!” Jeff shouted.

A second later, like the cork popping out of a bottle of champagne, a bright pink object the size of a magic marker shot skyward. By the time it landed, the dorsal fin was out of sight.

“All eyes,” Jeff said, then he called to the guy posted way up in the eagles nest. “Bogie, you got it?”