Love Bites: A Sugar City Novella (Entangled Bliss)

by Ophelia London

  A few minutes later—after the news got even worse—they ended the call. Jeff was so frustrated, he felt like throwing his cell into Port Jackson.

  “What’s the deal?” Pax asked, hooking their two laptop cases straps over his shoulder. “We’re seriously being audited today?”

  “Looks like it,” Jeff confirmed, flatly. “The accountant at an independent firm from the States should be here any minute. Sounds like the uni is covering its ass.”

  “Manny said we’re waiting on two passengers.”

  “Yeah.” Jeff shook his head. “The other’s a journo.”

  Pax’s face fell, probably like Jeff’s had when he’d heard the news from Sellers. “A reporter? Today?”

  “Yep. Not only are we plagued by damn Pricewaterhouse or whatnot, but for all I know, the media will be documenting our every move.” He grabbed the back of his already sore neck. “So not what we need today.”

  “That’s what you get for being the poster boy of the shark world,” Pax said, probably trying to lighten the mood. “Do they know about Old Faithful?”

  Jeff shook his head. “Let’s hope not. If our theory’s incorrect and Old Faithful isn’t even there, no one but us will know this wasn’t a routine research cruise.”

  “Or we could end up making a major discovery, boss.”

  Jeff couldn’t help grinning. “Maybe.” Hearing the clomp of footsteps, he glanced up the dock into the early morning sunlight to see a kid who looked about twenty heading for the boat.

  “This the Mad Hatter?” he asked in an American accent.

  Manny stepped forward to greet him. “Sure is, son. And you are?”

  “Leo. UM sent me for a write-up. University paper, nothing major.”

  “We’ve been waiting for you,” Manny said. “Come aboard, then. Ain’t got all day.”

  The kid made it up the ladder, then stood on the deck and smiled wide, looking young and eager and well rested. Jeff tried not to hate him on principle—he’d save that for their other “guest.”

  “Hey…hi,” Leo said, probably feeling unwelcomed when no one except Manny did anything but glare at him. “So, great whites, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Jeff said. “Dangerous bastards. Rip your arms off.” He couldn’t help smirking when the kid’s eyes grew wide; he’d seen that reaction before. Maybe if he could scare him enough to keep him off the boat, one of his problems would be solved. “Sure you’re up for this? Trolling for whites isn’t for the faint.”

  “Are you kidding,” Leo said. “I freakin’ love sharks.”

  Manny tossed his head back and roared with laughter. Not helping.

  “Just what this boat needs,” Pax muttered sarcastically to Jeff. “Jacques Cousteau.”

  Jeff chuckled bitterly. Ridiculous. “I don’t have time to stress about it. As long as he and his auditor chum stay out of my way.”

  “Permission to come aboard?”

  Jeff heard the female voice and saw Manny advance double time to the dockside ladder. “And you would be?” Manny asked.

  “Sharona Blaire from SED Independent Auditors of Miami-Dade County. You’re the captain of this yacht?”

  “Ship,” Jeff couldn’t help correcting under his breath as he turned, ready to begrudgingly greet the other thorn in his side.

  “Whoa, steady there,” Manny said, as he helped the last addition to the party aboard.

  Jeff saw the top of her head first as she climbed up the ladder. Long brown hair next, then the dark eyes that had seemed almost liquidy black by the dim light of the hotel pub. Then he saw those lips he’d kissed…not nearly enough.

  His entire body went stiff with shock.

  “Oh!” She gasped under her breath when their eyes met across the deck. “Um, hello”—her gaze moved quickly away—“everybody. N-nice day for a sail.”

  “We use an engine,” Pax said, using the same condescending tone Jeff had only seconds ago, shooting an elbow into Jeff’s ribs. “Landlubber,” he tagged on with a sardonic laugh. “This might be fun after all.”

  “Shut ya gob,” Jeff muttered, still unable to move.

  “Ms. Blaire.” Manny took her arm like the gracious captain he was. “Welcome aboard the Mad Hatter.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyes darted back to Jeff’s for an instant before Manny went on to introduce her to the other members of the crew.

  “Last but not least, this is Dr. Jeff Cruz.” He put a hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “Our resident marine biologist.”

  “G’day,” Jeff said, looking at her, while trying not to look at her, which was something of a challenge.

  “You’re the leader of this team?” She crossed her arms. “Funny, I don’t remember you mentioning anything about that when—”

  “Wait.” The kid, Leo, stepped forward, a pen in his hand at the ready. “You two already know each other? Ha-ha…the shark biologist knows the auditor sent to shut you down? It’s like Romeo and Juliet.” He paused to chuckle and pull out a notebook. “That’s epic.”

  Jeff looked at her, incredulous. “Shut us down?”

  “No one’s shutting anything down,” she said, jutting out her chin an inch while gripping the handle of her small wheelie suitcase. “This is a simple audit required by the university. I’m here to do a spot check of how your sponsor’s funds are being spent. Purely routine.”

  “In my experience, there’s no such thing as a routine audit,” Jeff said. Then he turned to Leo. “And we most certainly do not know each other,” he snapped, staring at him first, then flicking his eyes to Sharona, hoping she understood what he was doing and why. “I’m sure she meant she’s heard about my research.” Jeff glanced at her again, a bit more imploringly this time. “Am I right, Miss…” He tilted his head. “What did you say your name was?”

  “Blaire,” Sharona said, lifted her chin, a little annoyed by last night’s kissing partner’s purposeful dismissal. “Sharona Blaire.”

  The guy with the backward baseball cap pointed his pencil at her. “Sharona, like the song? Muh-muh-muh-myyy Sharona…” he sang, bobbing his head to the beat.

  “Yep, just like the song.” She glanced at Jeff for a moment. He was still giving her that intense stare. Jeez, ease up. “And no.” She waved a hand in the air, trying to appear breezy. “We don’t know each other.”

  It was humiliating enough to remeet the guy she’d almost slept with after knowing him a whopping two hours. When she’d chickened out, she hadn’t had the guts to go back down to the bar and tell him why. Instead, she’d hidden in her hotel room and emptied the minibar.

  Which is why I’m late at the dock and feeling like reheated crap. What was I thinking?

  No matter how irresistible he’d been last night, the man was practically coated in caution tape now. Facing the aftermath of a busted relationship with a coworker was crappy enough—once. No need to get the rep that she was prone to dating on the job. She was on professional thin ice with Garry, anyway, and if it got back that she’d been fraternizing with the person she was supposed to audit, her job—not to mention her reputation—would be toast.

  Since their breakup, Garry had become vindictive enough to see to that. Or maybe he’d always treated her that way, like she wasn’t important. After they’d been together for months, she’d learned his sister lived less than a mile away…yet he’d never introduced them. She never knew if he’d been thoughtless or simply a hurtful ass. And that had been the first drop in a very deep ocean of douchey behaviors to come.

  “So.” Sharona folded her arms, not wanting to dwell on her sucky past. “You’re the famous Dr. Jeff Cruz.”

  He dipped his chin and exhaled a chuckle, doing a pretty good imitation of laid-back. But she knew better, especially after she’d been a front-row witness to him pinning her against the elevator doors last night. Anything but laid-back. The image was so vivid, her breath caught.

  “You’re calling yourself famous now?” Manny said, clamping a hand on Jeff’s shoulder.

  “H
er words,” Jeff said, laying on the humble again, “not mine.”

  Manny pulled back a toothy grin. “They don’t call you Great White Cruz for nothing.”

  Sharona lifted her eyebrows.

  “It’s just a stupid nickname,” Jeff muttered.

  “Which you love,” Manny jabbed back.

  “Shut the—”

  Manny’s laugh cut him off. “Just messing with ya, mate.”

  “Impressive to be known as a great anything,” Sharona offered. Though honestly, she hadn’t heard the name Jeff Cruz before reading on her flight about his research being funded by the University of Miami. But she did know men, so why not give his ego a stroke? Despite the short notice and no sleep, she was excited about her assignment, happy to make sure things were fiscally on the up and up with this crew of shark men. That was her only reason for being there.

  “I’m Leo.” The baseball-cap guy—who looked like a college student—stuck out his hand to shake hers.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “So, you’re with UM, too?”

  “No. UM hired me to perform the audit.”

  “Yeah?” He scribbled in a notebook that seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Would you mind giving me some info about your company?”

  “I work for SED and—” Oh, crap. Was he a reporter? First, skating on thin ice at work and then almost hooking up with the leader of the shark guys… Sharona suddenly felt way in over her head.

  “Where can I stow my gear?” she blurted, turning to the captain. Manny, was his name—Ngally Manimaliunga—if she recalled Garry’s notes correctly.

  “There, below.” He pointed toward a companionway that probably led to the galley and sleeping quarters.

  “Thanks. And I’ll need a place to set up my computer here.”

  Manny gestured to a table and two chairs near the front of the helm, bolted to the deck. “That’s all we’ve got by way of a work station. Inside the helm won’t have much extra space.”

  “This’ll be fine,” she said. “Thank you.” She headed toward the companionway, about to lug her stuff down the ladder, when the space where her bag sat was suddenly empty.

  “I’ve got it,” said a low voice at her side. The sound sent a fresh image of last night to the front of her mind. Her mind reminded her body—complete with the phantom feel of Jeff’s hot hands low on her hips…which was terribly inconvenient. When she didn’t follow, Jeff turned his head and shot her an impatient look that said, Why are you standing there? Come with me.

  Her heart gave a few hard, jumpy beats but she forced herself to calm down. Not the time to go stupid swoony again, she thought. The second they were inside the empty helm, she reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

  “I’m sorry,” she said in a hushed voice, not wanting anyone aboard the Mad Hatter to hear. She did feel she owed Jeff an explanation, though.

  He glanced at her hand resting on his arm, a cold yet blank expression on his face. Not at all like how his blue eyes burned through her last night, begging her wordlessly to go with him, how the touch of his rough lips made her feel like she could burst into flames.

  “For what?” he said, indifference coloring his tone.

  She blinked, thrown by his coldness. “For last night. For…”

  He shrugged and glanced past her shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Oh? Ohhh, so that’s the way he wants to play it. Though I guess he has a right to be pissed.

  Sharona quickly removed her hand, and Jeff headed toward the companionway. He got about three paces, then stopped. She braced herself, ready for another hurtful comment hurled her way.

  “Sorry,” he said after a deep sigh, his back to her.

  She blinked, thrown again.

  Jeff slowly turned around. “That was—” He cut himself off. Then his blue eyes lifted to hers, just as piercing as last night, making her remember other things from their interchange, then subsequently making her knees wobble. Or maybe it was the sensation of the boat rocking that always made her dizzy.

  “Look, what happened, or didn’t happen,” his voice dropped a notch, “it would be very unfortunate if that information were known. It wouldn’t do either of us any good.”

  “I know,” she said. I’m not an idiot. “I have just as much to lose if this gets out.” Probably way more, she could have added. “But I can’t pretend it didn’t happen, either.”

  He looked at her, his gaze steady, his jaw tight. “Well, that’s exactly what we’re doing.” He pointed toward a narrow doorway. “Lockers down below. Take whichever is empty.” Then he walked through the door leading out to the deck.

  Bastard.

  Chapter Three

  As Jeff marched away, he felt like a great white arse. But it was necessary. The second he’d been alone with her, the number of questions that flooded his brain was paralyzing. Number one on the list: Why did you disappear last night? And number two: Was it really some twisted game?

  He wasn’t about to ask either. No way. It would’ve been better if he’d kept up the charade of pretending like he didn’t know what she was talking about, hadn’t recognize her the second their eyes met…and how his body reacted almost immediately at the sight of her.

  He’d tried, but that brilliant plan had lasted a whole ten seconds. Yes, she’d ditched him last night without explanation, but he didn’t have to be crass. All those boyhood etiquette lessons taught him better. And she’d looked so hurt when he’d said he didn’t remember her; like he could forget the way she’d dove into their kiss. It had barely been twelve hours, and he could still feel her soft curves in his hands.

  It took everything in him to point her in the direction of the bunks below, then get the hell out of there. Their undeniable chemistry was welcomed last night, but things were very different in the light of day.

  “What’s up, boss?” Pax asked when Jeff walked out onto the deck. Manny and the other deckhands were readying the ship to undock.

  “Nothing,” Jeff muttered, sliding his hands in his pockets.

  Pax snorted. “Already under your skin.”

  “Who?”

  After Pax nodded in the direction of the cabin, Jeff shook his head and blew out a long breath. You have no idea, he felt like saying. “What are you talking about, mate?” he said, kicking a pile of rope over to a corner of the deck.

  Pax laughed. “I know it’s gonna suck having her aboard today. You’re frustrated. I can tell.”

  “Of course I’m frustrated, but not about…” He thrust a hand through his hair. “Never mind.” They both turned when the sound of clinking and creaking came from below. Sharona Blaire must be sitting on one of the squeaky bunks. The thought of her and a bed made his chest sting hot, most inopportunely. “Let’s get the computers set up.”

  “We won’t be at the spot for an hour.”

  Jeff didn’t care. He needed something to keep his brains and hands busy. “Never too early to prepare,” he said, grabbing one of the laptops. “Let’s go.” They headed into the helm, plugging in under the main control console of the ship. Manny was behind the wheel, steering the Mad Hatter away from Sydney and up the coastline.

  “Not bad, if you ask me,” Manny commented as if they’d been in the middle of a conversation. “Nope, not bad at all.”

  Jeff glanced at him, figuring what he meant. He’d known Manny a long time; if anyone would see through the charade, it was his oldest friend. “Yep,” he muttered, noncommittally, jaw clenched, staring through the glass toward the clear, morning sky.

  Manny chuckled. “Whatever, mate. Did you see her legs? What I could do with those stems.”

  Jeff tried to ignore how his blood started to boil. Why was he feeling territorial over a woman he hadn’t even known the name of until a few minutes ago? Sharona. What the hell kind of dead-sexy name was that?

  “I didn’t notice her legs,” he lied. After her eyes, lips, and curves, her long legs were the next place Jeff’s
eyes had settled when she’d stepped aboard the ship. Why the bloody hell was she wearing formfitting khaki shorts like she was going on safari?

  “For all I care, she’s just a passenger,” he added, almost laughing at his unconvincing tone.

  Pax took the seat next to him and opened their second laptop. “Boss is nothing but focused on today’s agenda, Cap,” he said, like the loyal assistant he was. “When he’s motivated like this…” He whistled. “The woman could walk around buck naked and he wouldn’t notice.”

  Jeff struck the wrong key, nearly deleting the chart on his screen. Sharona in the nuddy. Damn it, he’d have a devil of a time getting that image out of his head.

  Maybe it had been a blessing in disguise that she’d never come back last night. If they’d gone through with what they’d both wanted, how the hell would he be able to concentrate today? The memory of her kiss and his hands on her body was bad enough.

  “What’s all this?” Sharona asked as she emerged into the room.

  Again, Jeff’s fingers tripped over themselves on the keyboard, as he caught a whiff of her perfume or hand lotion. All flowery and sexy. He wondered how an elegant woman like that would smell in the roughest Outback or after a few days at sea. He’d always loved the hint of salt water on skin. He was sure Sharona would smell even sexier. But that was not where his thoughts should be.

  He’d mixed business with pleasure once, and that resulted in the biggest mistake of his life. Jeff had fully trusted very few people since then. Only a handful with work and exactly zero with his heart.

  “Technical stuff,” Pax said to Sharona, tilting the screen of his computer away from her. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Would you mind explaining it to me?” She pulled out a computer tablet and swiped a finger across it. “It’s why I’m here.”

  She came around to stand on the other side of Jeff, probably sensing that Pax was being overly protective. He should applaud the behavior and do the same thing. He hated people snooping around his job, throwing up unnecessary road blocks. Asking too many questions.