“Wow,” Tito said, bouncing up and down on his toes. “That looks so cool. Are you going to find pirate treasure down there?”
Beka and Fergus exchanged looks. Of course, the supposed sunken wreck she was going after didn’t exist. Or rather, there was a theoretical ship that had been lost in that area many years ago, but she had no real expectation of finding anything from it—she wasn’t even looking. But seeing the expression on Tito’s too-thin face, she was suddenly determined to bring up something a twelve-year-old boy would find exciting.
Marcus raised a quizzical eyebrow. He’d seen her hauling up small bags, but he had no way of knowing she’d been collecting specimens instead of booty.
Crap. Where the heck was she supposed to find treasure?
“Well, not exactly,” Beka said cautiously. “I’m following up on a legend about a Spanish ship that was sunk by pirates, though, and there was supposed to be a lot of gold on board. So you never know. All I’ve found so far are bits and pieces that might turn out to be something.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your hopes up, Tito, my man. We’re a lot more likely to catch a nice tuna to take home to your mom than Beka is to magically stumble on some pieces of eight.”
Oh, bite me, Mr. Crabbypants. With a smile at Tito and a glare for Marcus, Beka lowered herself into the effervescent waves of the welcoming sea. She was going to bring back something cool for that boy if she had to swim back to shore to get it.
* * *
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.