MARCUS STIFLED A laugh at the expression on Beka’s easy-to-read face. She might be a slightly delusional hippie nutcase, but at least she was an open book—exactly what she appeared to be. Everything she thought was written across her lovely countenance for all to see. Especially when she was pissed at him, which was most of the time.
He couldn’t really blame her; he’d been so angry at her in the beginning, when she’d pulled that idiotic stunt with the net and then taken advantage of his father’s weakened state and empty bank account to get the old man to allow her back on the boat. She still made Marcus crazy most of the time, but he had to admit—to himself, if not to her—part of that was because he couldn’t seem to shake the unreasonable attraction he felt whenever she was near. At least if he kept her at a distance, he’d never have to worry about anything foolish happening between them.
Besides, she was just so much fun to tease. He loved watching her narrow her gorgeous blue eyes at him, as if her glare could magically turn him into a toad with its icy sapphire defiance. He shouldn’t have made fun of her lack of progress, though; he’d peeked into one of her bags a couple of days ago, and it had been filled with scraps of seaweed and a dead anemone. Not exactly the treasure she’d been seeking. She’d probably just brought up something so she wouldn’t look bad in front of him and the crew. Unless she really was crazy. With that girl, it was hard to tell.
Still, she was being damned nice to Tito, which made up for a lot of crazy in Marcus’s book. Both she and Fergus were patiently answering the boy’s endless questions about their gear, how a dive worked, why it took two of them, and, of course, pirates.
“Can I try diving?” Tito asked Beka. His eager face glowed with admiration as he gazed at the statuesque blonde in her formfitting wet suit. Marcus didn’t blame him for that, but he held his breath as he waited for Beka to make a promise he wouldn’t be able to let her keep. There was no way a sick, inexperienced boy was going to dive off this boat.
But he needn’t have worried. “Sorry, dude,” she said, shaking her head. “Divers train for a long time before they ever do the kind of thing Fergus and I are doing.” One slim finger tapped petal pink lips. “Can you swim pretty well?”
Tito nodded. “Sure.”
“Then maybe someday you and I can go snorkeling instead. We can do that in relatively shallow water, where it won’t be so cold and we’ll only stay in for a little while, so you don’t get overtired.” She gave him a mock-stern look, a weak second cousin to the fierce glower she usually aimed at Marcus. “As long as your mother says it is okay, that is.”
Tito grinned, his teeth gleaming white in his dark face. “Marcus, too, right?”
Marcus and Beka exchanged glances, and she fought to cover a grimace. “I guess so,” she said reluctantly. Marcus coughed to cover his snort of laughter. Clearly, she hadn’t thought that one through. Typical. Good intentions, but not much planning. Beautiful, sexy, and kind . . . but still a flake.
Too bad, because he found the first three traits amazingly appealing. But nothing on this planet would make him put up with the last one.
Once Beka was in the water, he and Tito did some fishing off the opposite side of the boat. Unfortunately, as with so many other occasions of late, the fish just weren’t there. It was as if something unseen had driven them all away. Marcus took it as a personal slight, especially on a day when he had promised a seriously ill boy a treat.
Tito didn’t seem to mind, but Marcus nearly bit Beka’s head off when she finished up and came over to ask them cheerfully, “So, how was the fishing?”
“Lousy,” he growled, then tried to paste a less disgruntled look on his face when Tito blinked up at him in surprise. “How was the treasure hunting?”
Beka shrugged one tanned shoulder, revealed now that she’d unzipped her wet suit down to her slim waist. The simple white one-piece suit underneath was as alluring on her as a more provocative bikini might be on any other woman, and he had to force himself to drag his eyes back up to her face. Where he was fairly sure he saw a twinkle in the azure depths as she caught him staring.
“Nothing very interesting, I’m afraid. Too bad about the fishing though.” She got a thoughtful look. “Why don’t you keep at it for a few minutes?” she suggested. “I think Fergus wanted to take a quick dive before we go, anyway.”
“Please, Marcus, just a little while longer,” Tito begged. Marcus didn’t have the heart to say no, although he didn’t see what difference another half an hour would make. Still, the boy had more animation than Marcus had ever seen before, and the ashy undertone to his skin was less obvious than usual. Clearly, being out on the water agreed with him.