Priceless Treasure(5)

“It’s why I am working here, at least according to Mr. Storm. And, yes, part of it all is that I love the ocean, everything about it, and all the treasures that are hidden beneath the surface,” she said before she seemed to realize she wasn’t snapping at him. Her shoulders tensed and she looked into his eyes, making him want to take a step back this time. Then she spoke again. “You’re probably the type to hold that against me?”

“Don’t tempt me, doll,” he said, thinking he wouldn’t mind holding himself against such a beautiful body. Shaking his head free of thoughts like that, he went through a private door that led to his bathroom. He grabbed two large towels and, moving back out to his office, handed one over to her.

She wrapped it around herself and stood rigidly in front of him. He set his down while he went back to work on the buttons of his shirt. He peeled it away and turned back to face her. Why did this strange woman grow more fascinating by the minute? Hell, by the second. The nanosecond.

“There’s a dryer in the next room. Why don’t you use the bathroom and get out of those clothes?” he told her. Damnation. Now he had a vivid mental image of her naked.

That wasn’t an image he needed in his mind. He was halfway out of his clothes, and what hung out below his waist hardened painfully. He just hoped that he could keep her from noticing what was happening down there.

“No, thanks. I’d rather stay clothed.”

“Oh, come on. I’m not going to attack you, woman. I have some restraint. There’s a robe hanging on the back of the door.”

Their eyes clashed, and hers rounded just a bit. Yeah, she wasn’t as haughty as she was trying to make him think she was. Hmm, she definitely appreciated what was now on display. She was watching, and he liked it — he was a man, after all. But he also admired her restraint. As he reached for the buttons on his pants, she quickly turned around.

“I … uh … yeah, I should get out of these clothes,” she stuttered.

He just wasn’t sure why she suddenly decided to escape. Was it because she was cold or because she was turned on? But without another word she made a dash toward the offered bathroom. And then the door slammed behind her … and now she was stripping off those sodden clothes and … This wasn’t at all good. But he had to admire the woman’s temper. As a matter of fact, he found it almost endearing. Whimpering females had never been his style.

Stepping into another adjoining room, he pulled on a dry pair of pants and a black T-shirt. It was safer for both of them if he had thick denim covering the part of his body still refusing to behave. Granted, the T-shirt was tight, but a man had to do what a man had to do.

A little later, she returned to his office in his oversized robe, and his mouth actually watered. He wondered if she had taken everything off. She was clutching her wet clothes, and water was dripping onto the floor. This was fancy wood, but who the hell cared?

He walked up to her, and he had to struggle a bit to wrest the clothes from her hands. He was a good guy, wasn’t he? And he took those clothes to his private laundry area, which wasn’t far away. When he came back, this woman wouldn’t have any more excuses to escape. For at least the next thirty minutes, it was just the two of them.#p#分页标题#e#

A lot could happen in such a short time. But that was yet another thought he really didn’t want crossing his mind. Dammit!

Once back in his office, he sat on the edge of his desk, hoping to regain at least a minuscule amount of his sanity back — and some control over his libido.

So why couldn’t he keep himself from baiting this mystery woman?

“We haven’t had a proper introduction yet,” he finally said with a smile. And he held out his hand. “I’m Ashton Storm.”

She looked at him and then around the room.

“Storm?”

“Yep, Ashton, or Ash, as my friends like to call me.”

“Are you related to Richard Storm?”

“Most days I’ll admit to being his son,” he said. He was really enjoying himself now.

“Oh.” Her earlier starchy attitude seemed to vanish. “So you’re the boss’s kid.”

“Nope. Try again.”

This was beneath him. But why was he having so much fun? Hell, how could he resist? It had all become clear. She was obviously there because of his father, which would explain how she’d had the code to get onto the private docks. On the bright side, at least she wasn’t a thief.

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“What’s your name?”

“Savannah Mills. Mr. Storm hired me to work down here this summer. I mean that your father hired me.”