Her Sworn Enemy (Men of the Zodiac) (13 page)

Tuck sat next to her and shrugged. “We came up too fast.”

“Never had the bends before.”

“That’s good.” His words were muffled, too, his nose and mouth covered, but she could see his eyes. Those cool, clear blue eyes that made her feel relaxed. Even after just ten minutes on the oxygen, she felt better.

“So we’re stuck in here?”

“For the time being.” A gleam in his eye told her exactly the direction his thoughts had taken. “This is going to work out better than I expected,” he said.

“Better than you expected? We’re stuck in a decompression tank while we could be bringing up and cataloging things from the
Rapid
.”

“Well, yeah. The upside is, the crew will keep that part going. And usually you’re stuck in here by yourself, or with another guy. But,” he said, as he hung a towel over the view portal of the chamber, “being forced to be alone, in here, with you for hours, when we’ve got nothing but a bunk, now that’s hardly an inconvenience. More like a perfect opportunity.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

He pulled off his oxygen mask and hers, and curled up beside her on the bed, wrapping her in his arms. “You’re cold. If we huddle together, we’ll warm up faster.”

As she ran her fingers gingerly across the shadow of stubble on his chin, and along the smooth edge of his mouth, he exhaled and kissed her fingertips, and Bella realized how delicate the balance of life was.

Tuck had sacrificed his air supply to ensure they both made it to the surface. He’d saved her. Deep within her, the last innermost wall she’d kept around her heart crumbled. Those weren’t the actions of a man who’d leave you to fend for yourself with a broken heart. He’d done something for her no other man in her life had ever done—he’d risked his very life for her. If that wasn’t love, even without the words, she didn’t know what was. She knew one thing for certain—she could trust Tuck. He’d do anything for her, including risk himself. And that changed everything.

“I think we’d both warm up considerably faster if we got out of our wet swimsuits,” she said.

“Doctor’s orders?”

She could feel a slow, sassy smile lift up the edge of her mouth and nodded. He took her hands in his and pulled her up from the damp towel she’d been lying on.

“Then we shouldn’t waste any time. I’d hate for you to catch a cold on my watch because I didn’t follow the doctor’s instructions.” He yanked off his swim trunks in one fluid motion, and they landed on the floor with a wet slap. He looked down and kissed her, his mouth warm and hungry against hers as his hands trailed around her ribs, then slipped around her back. His clever fingers quickly untied the strings of her bikini top at her back and her neck, and it fell away. The heat of his hand against her breast replaced the cool air that brushed over her now bare skin. He cupped it, cradling it in the palm of his hand as the broad pad of this thumb teased the tip, turning it hard despite the warmth he offered her. Bella groaned as his tongue matched the stroking sensation of his fingers, while the silky, hot length of his penis pressed against her belly. Slick heat spread between her folds in response.

“You’ve done great so far, but I think you can do better,” she said. At her waist, the fingers of his other hand flexed, kneading her skin, then slipped loose the bikini ties at her hips, slipping the scrap of wet cloth away from her. Despite being naked against him, she wasn’t cold any longer. Her skin was flushed, and the sensation of his bare body against hers was more than enough to warm them both.

“Anything else?” he teased. Bella lifted up on her toes and arched against him, and he responded to her demand. Then his hand lowered, the heel of his palm pressing against her mons in slow circles as his fingers slid through the damp seam and dipped inside, teasing her. She opened herself to him, wrapping one leg over his hip, rubbing herself against the hard shaft, but keeping herself at enough of an angle that he didn’t enter her.

He shuddered. “No fair,” he said.

“Who said I play fair?” she whispered back. She pulled away from him for a moment, then touched herself with the palm of her hand and fingers until she was wet with her own juices. She grabbed hold of his hard length with her wet hands, and he flexed at her touch and let out a slow hiss of breath between his teeth. She stroked the silk over steel. Tuck closed his eyes, his head falling back.

“You know there’ll be payback.” His penis jumped again in her hand, throbbing in response to her, and she gave a throaty laugh.

“I’m counting on it.”

Tuck lowered himself, bringing his face even with her belly, then bent lower, his rough cheek brushing against the tender backside of her knees as his hands cupped her bottom and kneaded. His hot kisses trailed upward higher and higher along the inside of her thigh, making her stomach quiver and her head light. Bella leaned back against the bunk for stability. Her knees were growing far too wobbly to hold her up all by themselves.

He placed his hands behind her knees and pulled forward, forcing her to rest her weight on him. Tuck lifted her until her back lay flat on the bunk and her thighs were splayed across his shoulders. He lightly nipped the inside of her tender thigh.

“Hey!”

He gave her a wicked grin. “Payback.”

“You won’t win,” she said, her voice husky.

He lifted one dark brow, his blue eyes almost getting lost as the pupils dilated and grew bigger. “Watch me.”

He kissed and nibbled at the most tender parts of her, driving her mad, making her squirm as the need for release coiled tighter and tighter within her. She almost came undone the instant his warm slick tongue slid between her swollen folds and expertly flicked the little nub. He caressed her with his hands, undid her with his mouth until her head thrashed, her damp hair sticking to her cheek.

“Uncle,” she said, between pants.

“What?”

“Uncle. You win. You’ve proven your point. Now, before I fall apart, I want to feel you inside me.”

He rose, his body glistening with sweat, every muscle rigid as if he were about to explode and held it all together through sheer force of will. He pulled her up from the bunk and lifted her, pressing himself fully into her. Bella cried out in pleasure and wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck for support. He kissed her deeply, even as he moved within her, and the rhythm increased, propelling them to the edge of the abyss. Bella tangled her fingers in his hair, desperate to hold on as the tension within her spun out of control. Never had she felt a release this fully, body, mind, and soul entwined with a man.

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

F
ive 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?”

“R
eady 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. Deep 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.

F
or 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.”

D
roplets 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?”

T
he 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.