Unfortunately, something about the word “payback” on her lips niggled his numbed brain cells, reminding him that he expected more from his relationships than just an even exchange of pleasure.
Cursed principles.
He edged away from her, prying himself up off the couch. Was it his imagination, or was there a hint of disappointment in her eyes that went beyond sexual frustration? “I’d give my eyeteeth to take you up on that offer, Mia, but I made a promise to myself a long time ago not to indulge in this kind of thing lightly.”
She bit her lip, broadcasting an uncertainty he hadn’t expected from her. “I guess I misinterpreted your kiss. I thought you wanted this, too.”
The flash of self-doubt in her eyes lashed at his stupid conscience, making him feel like a total heel.
“I do want this, Mia. I want it so much it’s damned well about to kill me.” Still, he backed up a step as he said it, knowing if he let himself get too close to her again, any promises from his past would be incinerated to ashes. “I just didn’t plan for this and I don’t have any way to protect you….” He’d be lying if he let her think that was the only reason why. She didn’t even know his true identity. “But mostly I just don’t let myself get involved with any woman I’m not fully committed to.”
Assuming a live-in relationship constituted a full commitment, anyway. He wasn’t his father, damn it. At least he offered something beyond sex to the women he slept with.
Her mouth curved into a perfectly round O though no sound came forth. Her cheeks tinged pink for a few seconds, confirming his fear that he’d embarrassed her.
“You’ve got to know it’s not you,” he rushed to assure her, guilt nipping at his heels. “Hell, look at me. I’m a walking advertisement for how much I’d like to take you up on that offer.”
Her green eyes slid downward to linger just below his waist.
His temperature spiked a few more degrees, making him wonder why he found it necessary to reassure a woman who was leading him around by the…nose.
A slow smile curled her lips, her feminine pride apparently soothed by his obvious arousal. “Then I suppose the polite thing for me to do would be to leave you alone so I don’t tempt you any further.”
His wayward libido already protested the move. “That would be helpful, yes.”
“Okay.” Her green cat eyes met his again, alight with mischief. “I’ll let you go about your business and I’ll go about mine as if you weren’t even here.”
He nodded, half-hating that plan, but knowing his promise not to get involved with any woman on a casual basis wouldn’t survive the rest of the trip without her cooperation.
“Okay, then.” He backed himself right into the staircase, his heel colliding with the first step. “I’d better start up the boat and get us underway again. It’s too dark to see much of anything on the island now, but we can at least circle the key before we head back to Gasparilla.”
She nodded a bit too agreeably. How could she be taking this so well when his body cursed volumes at him?
“Okay. If you don’t mind, I’ll go up on deck too, but I promise to sit on the other side of the boat.”
He was about to tell her that wasn’t necessary, but judging from the way his pulse kicked into overdrive at her approach, she was probably better off out of reach.
“Of course.” He turned to take the stairs two at a time. “It’s a great night to see the stars,” he called to her as he hit the deck. Maybe a little sky gazing would keep them both distracted.
“Don’t worry about me,” she replied, heading for the bow while he slid into the helm seat. “I don’t even know you’re here.”
Seth frowned, his ego taking another hit that she could write him off with such ease. He should be patting himself on the back that he’d averted a crisis, but instead, he could only think about how much he’d cost himself by rejecting Mia’s tantalizing offer.
With an oath, he turned the key in the boat’s ignition, dragging his gaze from her curvy silhouette outlined in moonlight.
Lost in the contemplation of those curves, it took Seth a minute to realize that noting had happened when he’d turned the key. No throaty growl of twin engines greeted his ears. The only sound he could hear was the incessant undulation of waves against the boat.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
He clicked off the ignition and tried again.
Nothing.
Recognition slid over him. This had happened to him once before, his first year with the boat. After keeping a vessel in storage, sometimes condensation could flood the fuel cell and corrupt both engines. No doubt, that accounted for the silence, the darkness on the water.
A silence broken only by the smooth lap of the waves. A darkness interrupted only by the outline of sexy Mia Quentin slowly peeling off her skirt.
NO SELF-RESPECTING Floridian would ever dream of jumping into the middle of the Gulf in February. Spring Breakers and snowbirds didn’t mind, but she wouldn’t normally venture so much as a toe in the surf until at least April.
Thing is, she was smarting just a little from Seth’s continued rejection. She’d put so much effort into today’s pirate seduction that she couldn’t imagine returning to endless days of hawking seashell necklaces in Twin Palms without at least making it to second base with her quarry.
What more could she do to capture the man’s attention, other than rip off her clothes? As a final resort she was willing to fake the urge for an evening swim. In truth, she didn’t want to get anywhere near that water. Not only because of the cold, but because she knew better than to swim in strange waters at night.
But he didn’t have to know that.
She had the feeling she’d succeeded in catching his eye when a strangled expletive shot across the deck.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Seth stormed right across the bow right behind his words.
Mia’s skirt already lay pooled at her feet. Her silk blouse just barely covered the red lace bikini bottoms that looked more like panties than swimwear.
“I thought I’d go for a dip to clear my head once we get to the shallow waters around Egmont Key.” She hoped he wouldn’t notice the goose bumps populating both her bare legs.
“A dip?” He reached for her sarong and held it in between them like a shield. “Jesus, woman, are you crazy? There could be sharks in there for all you know.”
She hoped the dark would hide the blood blanching right out of her face. She hadn’t even thought of the sharks. But did he have to stare at her like she’d just lost her mind along with half her outfit?
Reaching for the hem of her shirt, she flashed him what she hoped was a nonchalant smile. “Then maybe I’ll settle for letting the back spray of the water cool me off once we get underway again.”
With a quick prayer for a little more nerve to carry her through, Mia whipped the silk blouse over her head and flung it into the night breeze.
Seth didn’t look turned on so much as he looked like he’d just swallowed a frog or something equally uncomfortable. She wondered if she’d overestimated her appeal in this high-octane, red lace swimsuit and cursed herself for dropping three figures on a getup she’d most likely never wear again.
She could have had an all-out spree at the art supply store for what she’d spent.
By now, Mia only wished she could crawl back into her clothes and forget her stupid wish for adventure. Seth’s expression remained as horrified as if she’d told him he had to walk the plank. His lips moved, but so far, no sound issued forth from