In Deep Waters. Melissa McClone

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СКАЧАТЬ frowned. “The museum sent you to legitimize the operation and appease the investors.”

      He had it all wrong. “But I’m—”

      “Already a distraction.”

      Kayla didn’t know what she’d done to upset him so much, but the expedition had bigger problems than searching in the wrong location. The pirate didn’t want her here. Too bad. She had the right to be here, and she was staying. Somehow she would make this work. “Mr. Mendoza, there seems to be a misunderstanding.”

      “I understand things better than you think.” His eyes narrowed. “And I have one simple rule for you to understand. Stay out of our way. We have real work to do, Mrs. Waterson.”

      A slap across the face would have hurt less, but she wasn’t going to let him get to her. “It’s Waterton. Ms., not Mrs.”

      “Today’s our lucky day, boys,” a grizzly voice said from behind her. One of the “boys,” no doubt. “She’s…single.”

      “When has that ever stopped you, Wolf?” a man with a distinctive Southern drawl asked.

      The comments didn’t seem to register with Ben. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t care if your name is H2O. No one wants you here but the investors and the museum.”

      “I wouldn’t go that far, boss,” the grizzly voice added.

      Ben rolled his eyes. “But as long as you’re here, you are my responsibility, so don’t do anything stupid.”

      The “again” was implied. Kayla’s mouth nearly gaped. He didn’t have a clue as to why she was here or who she was. Damn Mr. Andrews, the museum’s PR person, for not telling Ben more about her participation in the search. She imagined what his reaction would be when he learned the truth.

      “Lucky me,” she murmured.

      Ben frowned. “Go change.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

      He rolled his eyes again. This time it was directed at her. She didn’t like that any better than she liked him.

      “Common sense not part of your ivory-tower curriculum?”

      Her cheeks burned, but she stared him straight in the eyes. “I blew that class off the same day I skipped the course you taught on rudeness.”

      He met her gaze but said nothing.

      The seconds turned into a minute.

      Damn Ben Mendoza. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. How was she going to work with him? Kayla could barely breathe, and she couldn’t blame it on claustrophobia. Her heart rate increased, and she felt warm. Hot, actually.

      Much to her relief, he broke the silence first. “Lock the door to your cabin. My crew is all too human and you’ve already given us a sneak preview of your…wares.”

      Kayla glanced at her clothes plastered to her like a second skin. Great, she was a poster girl for a wet T-shirt contest. She crossed her arms over her chest and noticed the men with leering grins and glints in their eyes. “All too human” was putting it nicely. For a highly trained technical crew of shipwreck location specialists, they were a motley bunch. Add a Jolly Roger flag to the mast, and she would be on a pirate ship.

      Ben stood in front of the door to Kayla Waterton’s cabin. Twice he’d raised his hand to knock. Twice he hadn’t.

      He’d given her plenty of time to dry off, change clothes and unpack. He’d used the time to chill himself. He wasn’t proud of his behavior on deck, but he’d been caught off guard.

      Kayla Waterton wasn’t what Ben had expected. That bothered him. Annoyed him. Frustrated him, too.

      And he’d taken it out on her.

      Real smart, Mendoza.

      Some pro he’d turned out to be. But he couldn’t help himself.

      It was bad enough the museum had to send anyone out here in the first place. A knife in the back. Xmarks Explorers had been good enough to partner with when no one else wanted to chase down the legendary lost pirate ship. But now, after he’d made all the preparations and done all the work, they wanted to toss a ringer into the act. And not any ringer, a total looker who belonged on a catwalk and made men lose sight of what was important—their goals.

      Ben Mendoza, meet your worst nightmare—Kayla Waterton.

      Bulky life jacket aside, she’d stood on the gangplank looking more like a sea nymph than a maritime historian. By definition, a historian should have her hair pulled back into a tight bun, her body disguised by shapeless, gray, nonfeminine clothing and her eyes hidden behind a pair of bottle-thick glasses. He could have lived with that sort of woman on his ship. His crew, too. She would have been a pain, but she wouldn’t have been a distraction.

      Unlike Kayla. She was a distraction the size of the Titanic-sinking iceberg, and twice as dangerous.

      Her long blond hair shimmered even with the overcast skies. Hair like hers was supposed to be worn loose—brushing the middle of her back or a man’s chest. Contorting her hair into a tight bun would constitute a criminal act.

      And those eyes…an intriguing blend of green and gray, a mixture of colors from the sea and sky. Staring into her eyes, he’d felt a moment of recognition, a sense of déja` vu. A familiar gnawing in his gut made him realize why. Kayla had a dreamy quality in her eyes. Similar to his father and his ex-wife.

      The appreciative sighs and catcalls from his crew had echoed the jolt of attraction shooting through Ben the nanosecond he saw her.

      But Ben had no room in his life for another good-looking, starry-eyed dreamer to mess up his hard work and his plans. He had a ship to find. He wasn’t about to fail—he couldn’t afford to. The crew and Madison were counting on him to deliver. He wasn’t going to blow this. Or let anyone else blow it for him.

      Kayla Waterton had to go.

      The investors and the Museum of Maritime History wanted her here. They were co-sponsors of the expedition and held the purse strings, so he wouldn’t go against their wishes. But now that she’d arrived, all Ben had to do was make her decide to leave.

      An idea formed. A bit devious, but she was the one who didn’t belong here. She was the one who was going to get in their way.

      Life on a salvage ship might be adventurous, romantic to some. But the reality was a far cry from images of opening a chest full of gold and jewels. A middle-of-the-night survey assignment, and Kayla would be begging to go back to the comfortable confines of her ivory-tower world.

      Ben smiled. He’d make her feel like one of the crew, put her to work and watch disillusionment take over. The sooner she left his ship, the sooner he and the crew could concentrate on finding the Izzy.

      He knocked. The lock bolt clicked after a few seconds and the door opened. At least she followed instructions.

      Kayla stared at him. Silence stretched between them like the calm before the storm.

      “Do СКАЧАТЬ