Page 102 of Her Reluctant Hero
“Of course not.” It was a treasure, after all. He gritted his teeth against the resentment of the damn thing, something he’d never even thought she would want or expect.
She tightened her grip on his wrist, just a bit, as she stretched her leg from the dock to the boat, and released him once both feet were on the deck. She was too much of a pro to sway into him with the resulting roll of the boat.
Damn it.
“We’re not going out alone, are we?”
He moved away to deal with the ropes, not caring for the skepticism in her tone. “The prof’s already on board.” He motioned to the pilothouse where the elderly doctor sat in the shade, under his trademark straw hat. “And Jacob and Toney are running the electronics. Linda will stay in camp.”
“Are you diving?” She walked over to check the tanks strapped securely to the pilothouse.
“Not this trip.”
“How long have you been out here?”
“A little less than a month.” He readied himself for accusations, for questions, but they didn’t come.
Leaning on the railing, she looked out over the ocean. “Have you found anything?”
He stopped to dig his beef jerky out of his pocket. He pulled a chunk out of the cellophane package and offered her some. She considered it warily but shook her head.
“Nothing we can get our hands on till we get the hull uncovered,” he told her.
“So how did they wreck? Can you tell?”
“Not yet.” He shook some more jerky out of the pack. “High winds could have knocked them against the cliff, there may have been a sandbar or coral under there at some point. They may have already been at anchor and on land when it went down. We’re sending the robot down today.”
She stepped close to help him stow the ropes under the benches. The ease with which they fell into the rhythm of the task alarmed him. All his senses went on alert. She must have realized it too, because once the chore was completed, she darted to the far side of theMiss M, considered him a minute, then ducked into the pilothouse with Robert.
Damn, the Mallory he’d loved wouldn’t have bolted so easily.
They set off, out of the cove, hugging the shoreline, wind whipping the scent of the sea over the deck. Six hundred yards beyond, beneath the cliffs, an equipment-laden barge was anchored over the site.
The barge had taken the bulk of their money but would be necessary once they started bringing up artifacts. Locating the site itself had taken another huge chunk. Now he was short on divers until he could drum up more funding. Ordinarily he was patient with his finds, but this—this was too big. He was anxious to get it logged, get it up and prove himself to Mallory, and beyond that, to the archaeological community.
They pulled up to the barge with a gentle bump. Jacob and Adrian unloaded the submersible camera as Robert and Toney stacked the equipment near the rail. Mallory joined them, looking uncomfortable with nothing to do. Adrian wondered if that was why she’d helped him earlier, to feel like she fit in. Did it still matter to her?
“Come on, Mal, have a look at my new toy.”
He unpacked his newest purchase, the package Toney had picked up at the same time he collected Mallory, a submersible remote-controlled camera.
Mallory traced a finger over a scratch on the casing. “Used?”
“Yeah, but in perfect condition. It’ll help us map the area faster, so we can lay the grid and start bringing up the artifacts.” He gently plopped the camera in the water.
“Now we watch.” He motioned for her to precede him under the roof of the barge, where the professor was already seated in front of the laptop. Jacob and Toney had set up two other laptops and were plugging them in. The area would have been cramped if not for the open walls. Adrian was going to have to close them in soon, before they got hit with a storm. As soon as he got more money.
Adrian edged in beside the prof and picked up the joystick controller to guide the submersible down through the clear water, past darting fish, swaying fan coral. It skimmed above waving seaweed as if it knew just where it was going.
Mallory leaned on his shoulder to see the monitor, her breath rushing against the side of his neck, coming faster in her excitement. With each movement of the camera, she edged closer, as if that would urge the camera deeper. The occasional wave rolling beneath the barge had her breast bumping against his arm. His control slipped another notch.
“There!” She jabbed a finger at the monitor. “Is that something? Go that way.”
Her breasts pressed against his shoulder and her hair fell against his ear. Her hand rested on his arm. Every nerve in his body was at attention. He damn near couldn’t operate the controller, and not only because she inhibited the movement of his arm.
He turned his head, covering his ear with his hand mockingly. “You want to do this?”
Her eyes brightened despite his sarcasm. “You mean it?”
