Chapter 5
‘Need a hand with that?’
Tiffany jumped at the voice, her pulse spiking into the stratosphere. And not just because it was him but because she hadn’t heard him approach or even known anyone else was around. She’d thought the peace and quiet up here was hers alone to enjoy.
‘Bloody hell, Theo,’ she hissed as she whipped around.
Finding him shirtless and barefoot did not help with the pulse situation.
If anything, as her eyes were drawn to the coppery bronzed proportions of his chest – dark hair framing his pecs to perfection drawing the eye down to the puckered pillows of his abs – her heart climbed into her throat, making it exceptionally difficult to breathe.
Which only kicked her heart rate up another notch or two.
He was rakishly sexy in the night, his wide stance – like he was the lord and master of all he surveyed – breathtakingly possessive.
Even the ruffle of his hair in the breeze seemed orchestrated by nature itself to disarm.
Give the man a flowy white shirt unbuttoned to the waist with frilly cuffs, a cutlass on his hip and skin-tight breeches tucked into bucket top boots and he’d be the full swashbuckling fantasy.
And Tiffany was today years old before she knew she had a thing for pirates.
‘Sorry,’ he murmured, although he didn’t look sorry as his blue gaze drifted from the swell of her cleavage to the line where the hem of her shirt met her thighs before making its way back to her face. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’
Huffing out a breath, Tiffany glared at him. ‘Well, you did.’ She probably wouldn’t have used that tone with any of her other bosses, but she hadn’t blown any of her other bosses either so there was that.
Ignoring her glare, he took a drag of his beer and Tiffany hated how the movement of his throat as he swallowed drew her eye. ‘Couldn’t sleep?’ he asked.
‘No.’ She’d been too restless. Nervous about making a good impression with their first guests tomorrow.
That was what she’d told herself anyway, but looking at Theo, she realised that feeling had suddenly disappeared, and that made zero sense.
Him going full Orlando Bloom on her should have cranked it up a hundredfold. ‘You?’
He shook his head, his eyes holding hers. ‘No.’
Dragging her gaze off him, she glanced at the towel she was carrying.
She’d used it to mop up the red wine spill and absently hoped she’d be able to get the stain out.
‘I hope it’s okay?’ Tiffany asked, ordering her arms and legs to work grateful when they complied moving her to the sun lounger she’d been sitting on.
‘To be up here?’ she clarified as she hung the towel over the back.
‘Of course,’ he said with a frown as he took in the open laptop lying on the lounge.
‘You can have the run of the boat when there are no guests on board. Feel free to use the jacuzzi if you want.’ He gestured to the rounded contours of the hot tub situated at the aft end of the deck to take full advantage of the water view.
‘Thanks.’ She may well take him up on that another night, but she certainly wasn’t going to do it in front of her audience of one. Especially not when her body was still humming at the sight of him. The more clothes she had on in his presence – even if he did not – the better.
The baggy T-shirt she wore to bed was perfectly decent, coming to mid-thigh, but with the way his eyes had toured her body, Tiffany wished she was wearing a high-necked, floor-length Regency ball gown.
With a chastity belt.
‘Please,’ he said, gesturing to her laptop, ‘continue. Don’t let me disturb you.’
Hmph. Too late for that, dude . But Tiffany sat because her legs felt weird and reached for her laptop because it was something to do while she waited for him to depart, which he was apparently in no hurry to do.
‘Can I get you’ – he glanced at the empty wine glass sitting on the table beside the deck chair – ‘some more wine?’
Tiffany frowned. Something was up with him tonight. It was her who should be doing the waiting, not him. ‘No, it’s fine.’ She shook her head. ‘It was mostly gone anyway.’
He nodded then prowled to the back rail and stared over it for a moment or two before turning around, planting his ass against the sturdy metal and taking another drag of his beer, regarding her over the rim as he swallowed.
At least at this distance, she couldn’t see the rhythmic movement of his whiskery throat.
But as the silence and his regard stretched, tension seeped into her muscles. ‘Okay, what’s wrong?’ she demanded, snapping the lid of her laptop closed. Might as well tackle this head on. ‘You’re acting strange.’
Theo looked like he was going to refute it but stopped himself. ‘I don’t know.’ He shrugged. ‘I feel… restless. Like I can’t settle to stuff, you know?’
Ooh yeah, Tiffany knew.
‘And I don’t know why because I’m usually so focused.’ Theo shook his head as if he was both puzzled and disgusted with himself. ‘Distract me,’ he said, pushing out of his lean and ambling in her direction.
Like he was some bored Greek god ordering a servant to entertain him.
Annoyed at his imperious command, Tiffany had a good mind to jump to her feet and salute him with a snappy ‘Aye aye, sir’. Distract him? FFS. Arrogant much? And besides, the last time they’d distracted each other, she’d ended up riding him like a cowgirl.
‘Should I play you the lute, my liege?’ she enquired with acid sweetness. ‘Or perhaps juggle?’ He laughed as he sat in the lounge beside her, but Tiffany was not amused. ‘You’re a grown-ass man, Theo,’ she said derisively. ‘Amuse yourself.’
She didn’t give a rat’s ass that he was the owner/captain or her boss. Just because she’d dropped her panties for him once didn’t mean she was put on this earth to entertain him. The man was clearly surrounded by too many yes women. As any cursory glance at a tabloid rag would attest.
‘Fine,’ he muttered as he pulled the side lever, reclining the back of the chair a little. ‘But fealty’s not what it used to be.’
He drew up his knees and, pissed off at him or not, Tiffany could no more have stopped herself from checking out his thighs than she could have driven this damn boat. Taut bronzed skin overlayed the thick muscular core of his quads, a dark dusting of hair only adding to the sheer masculinity.
Okay, she should definitely leave now. Because he was far too close. Even with a foot between their lounges, she could easily reach over and slide her hand onto one of those thighs.
‘So, what are you doing up on deck all alone after everyone’s asleep, drinking wine with only your laptop for company? Are you watching Sex and the City reruns?’
Tiffany almost rolled her eyes. She hadn’t seen a single episode ever of SATC . Not because she thought herself above it but because she’d missed it between her cowgirl years and world travel. ‘No. But thanks for the stereotyping.’
He laughed into the warm air and it floated around her deliciously smooth feathering goosebumps up and down her arms. ‘Okay, so you’re what?’ He rolled his head to the side. ‘Scrolling social media? Online shopping? Watching make-up tutorials?’
Tiffany met his gaze with an arched eyebrow, annoyed anew. His eyes were sparkling and he was clearly enjoying a little light teasing. ‘You know, Theo, you really need to get to know different women.’
He laughed, a hand falling to his stomach. ‘Ouch,’ he said around the lip of the bottle, his head returning to the midline as he tipped the beer up and drained the contents.
‘Maybe,’ she continued, even though she was pretty sure he’d been deliberately trying to goad her, ‘I’m watching a tutorial on how to make a jet propulsion engine for my NASA project. Or maybe… I’m writing my thesis.’
He returned his attention to her, their gazes locking. ‘Are you writing your thesis?’
No. But it sure as hell felt like it. ‘Something like that,’ she murmured, pulling her gaze from his to inspect the stars.
He laughed. ‘That is surely a yes or no answer?’
Tiffany mentally squirmed at his reply and contemplated leaving again. He might be her boss and her one-time lover, but she didn’t owe him any explanations. So why, conversely, did it feel good to be here with him, where the rustle and whispers of her restlessness hushed?
Where her doubts over whether she could actually do this thing fell silent.
‘I’m… writing a book if you must know.’
A beat passed before he slowly turned on his side to face her properly. ‘Really?’
Shrugging, Tiffany clarified. ‘I’m trying, anyway.’ She shook her head, not quite able to believe what she’d revealed to this man who was irritating and exasperating and who already knew too much about her. ‘You’re the first person I’ve ever told,’ she admitted on a huff of released air.
Normally it was something she’d tell Mikey, her younger brother, who, as an artist, would have fully understood the self-doubt of a creative. But this was something she’d suppressed for so long it actually felt easier to tell a stranger.
Well… stranger ish , anyway.
She knew Mikey would be annoyed by her omitting to tell him first because they’d always been close, and he had a flair for the melodramatic, which meant he’d sulk first before coming around. But that wasn’t what she needed the first time she spoke it out loud to someone else.
‘Well, in that case,’ Theo said, his voice rich with a slight husk that brought out more of his accent, ‘I’m honoured.’
Okay, yeah. Tiffany swallowed. That was what she needed.
‘What kind of book?’ he asked. ‘Fiction?’
Tiffany nodded, relieved and grateful that Theo hadn’t raised an eyebrow over her announcement, just plunged straight into her fanciful author pipedream. He hadn’t questioned if she knew what she was doing or even asked if she was worthy; he’d just accepted.
Now, all she needed was that faith in herself.
‘It’s a fantasy, I guess. Maybe romantasy? It’s about mermaids and an ancient curse but it’s set in contemporary times.’