Priceless Treasure(2)

“Hmm. Good thing Ashton does private cruises, isn’t it?” George said with a laugh.

The three men bent their heads together.





Chapter One


A breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean glimmered before her as Savannah Mills stood at the top of the private docks and gazed at another spectacular sunset.

The scents, sounds, and sights of the West Coast had always filled her with joy. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced in the whole United States — heck, the entire world, for that matter. Okay, dammit, she’d never traveled beyond these Western Coast states, but who was counting? Completely beside the point. She’d looked at the photos on the Internet, and that had to count for something.

When she began moving forward, she stumbled on the dock, nearly face-planting before she managed to get her balance back. Being a first-class klutz wasn’t what she prided herself on, but nobody’s perfect.

When she reached the gates barring the way down to the docks on the beautiful Orcas Island outside of Seattle — one of the San Juan Islands — Savanna pressed in the code she’d been given. The gates opened without a hitch.

Maybe Savannah loved the ocean because it was endless. If you were on it, you could run away from the rest of the world, never to be found again — unless you wanted to be. That freedom was priceless to her.

She’d been in school for what felt like forever, so this summer was her break. She was going to resist cracking a single book … nah. She knew herself better than that, and she wouldn’t last two weeks on such a ridiculous mission. But still, she was going to make it at least one single week. Plus, she was about to begin a dream job for the summer before she was locked away again in the classroom, the lab, and the library.

Yes, she loved school, obviously, or she wouldn’t have a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in oceanography, and she wouldn’t be pursuing a doctorate once three short months passed by. But in the summer all she wanted to feel was fresh wind on her cheeks and seawater lapping over her feet. Did that make her a bad person?

Nope. It made her free. Free of classes, free of homework, free of late-night studying. Free!

She made her way down until she was standing before the boats. Some were smaller than others, but they all were well taken care of, and they all had Sea Storm Enterprise written in bold blue letters across them.

Ha! Catchy, though a bit scary, but since Storm was the owner’s last name, it was pretty dang cute. And the owner obviously had cojones to use a name like that.#p#分页标题#e#

This was a business that catered to those who wanted anything from the best private boating to the experience of a smaller but more luxurious cruise line. And she was now going to be a part of that world for the next three months. She reached out to caress one of the boats … and she was nearly startled into face-planting again.

“Care to tell me what you’re doing on these docks?”

A shiver rushed down Savannah’s spine at the sound of a deep, dark voice behind her. But after nearly jumping out of her skin, she was immediately tempted to kick herself for her fear. Negative emotions would no longer hold her back, not in this lifetime. She’d had enough of all that.

When she turned, she faced a muscled chest barely hidden from her view underneath a tight button-down white oxford shirt. It took her a little while to lift her head and look into this man’s bright blue eyes. Along the way, she hadn’t missed his lips, still compelling even if they were pressed together in a scowl.

“Are you mute?” he had the effrontery to ask.

She was instantly ticked off.

“Whoa. That was rude,” Savannah said, finding her voice. One hand on her hip, she sent this man a look that had made other males cower before her. No man would speak to her this way again, not as long as she was breathing.

“I’m generally rude to anyone who trespasses on private property — even a woman who obviously thinks that because she’s pretty, she can go wherever she damn well pleases.”

“I was invited here,” she said. “I don’t think your boss will be too happy with you when he finds out how you’re treating his other employees,” she told him with a mocking grin. There was the attitude she’d been searching for.

She refused to let this man belittle or intimidate her. No freaking way. Yeah, he had shoulders that seemed to go on and on, a chest half the size of Texas, plus a chiseled jawline that sculptors would drool over … and she was more than sure he was aware of all that. Why was it that great-looking men thought they owned the whole damned world and could treat other people like dirt? Because they usually did. Whatever. His attitude was greatly reducing his attractiveness — in her eyes, at any rate.