Wild And Willing

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 his mouth.

“Put. This. On.” Finally, he eked out that much, handing her the sarong.

Defeated, she yanked the gauzy floral fabric out of his hand and shook out the wrinkles. “Fine. I will. But you were supposed to pretend I wasn’t even here, remember?”

“I could scarcely function when you had your clothes on. I’m supposed to ignore you when you’re almost naked?”

Despite the fact that he was practically yelling at her, Mia’s mood improved considerably. Maybe her efforts hadn’t been wasted after all.

“Sorry.” She wrapped the sarong around her waist and tied the knot with slow deliberation. “I thought you were going to be concentrating on driving the boat and you wouldn’t even notice me.”

His gaze narrowed, communicating his suspicion quite effectively. Still, he didn’t comment on her blatant lie. “That’s where we have a little problem.”

“We do?”

“The boat won’t start.” The grimace on his face made him look dangerous enough to sport the eye patch and dagger he’d long ago ditched.

Mia realized she didn’t experience the slightest qualm at the thought of being stuck out here alone with Seth, however. After seeing him play noble with her one too many times tonight, she figured he must be a pretty upstanding, trustworthy guy.

“The boat won’t start? It sounds like a tried and true ploy to fool around with your date.” She sidled closer, just in case Seth had changed his mind about testing out the bed below deck. “Remember on Happy Days when Richie would conveniently run out of gas so he could score with his girlfriend?”

“Do you think that’s what I’m doing? Not starting up my boat to angle for more time with you when I’ve just admitted you’ve got me tied up in so many damned knots I can’t think straight?” The rippling water below them cast constantly moving shadows over Seth’s face. The moonlight that would have seemed pale on dry land now lit their whole world.

“Spoilsport.” Mia shivered and tried to hide it. If ever she’d been worried she’d inherited her mother’s wild ways with men, Seth’s reaction to her tonight had put that fear to rest in a hurry. “Care to at least tell me how we’re going to get home then?”

Seth’s jaw clenched as he bent to pick up her blouse off the deck. “I’m sure we could signal someone for a tow, but if you don’t mind waiting a little longer to be rescued, I’d prefer to have my uncle come get us. He’ll be able to fix the boat tomorrow if I can get it to him tonight.” He handed her the shirt, keeping his eyes trained on her face.

“I’m in no hurry.” She shrugged into the halter top, disappointed to see Seth pulling a cell phone out of his pants pocket rather than watching her. “Even though you’re determined to thwart all my adventures, at least I’m getting to spend some time out on the water tonight. That’s sort of fun.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a boat. She didn’t own one, and she would never rent one given her run-ins with Frankie the marina guy.

“Sorry about this, Mia.” He started punching numbers into the keypad, pointing the antenna back toward St. Petersburg.

“Not a problem.” Time to grow up and pack away her fantasy. “I should be thanking you instead of trying to lead you astray. This is more adventure than I’ve had in ages.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’ll see if you’re still saying that after you’ve been stuck out here another hour and—” He held up his finger as he listened to whatever was going on at the other end of his phone call, then spoke into the receiver. “Hey Uncle Brock, it’s Seth…”

Mia slipped away from his conversation and headed toward the back of the boat, unwilling to cause the guy any more grief tonight. She wasn’t sure whether to applaud his noble efforts not to dally with a woman he wasn’t seeing, or to curse his incredible restraint for not making a move on her since the oh-so-startling orgasm incident.

The night air held a slight chill, but not enough to give her goose bumps even without Seth next to her. She smoothed her hands up and down her bare arms, wishing for Seth’s touch instead of her own.

Why hadn’t she paid more attention to her mother’s seductive moves around men? Maybe she’d be rolling around in the pirate’s cabin being treated to a mind-blowing ravishing instead of haunting the shadows while Seth tied up the details with his uncle.

But she’d given it her best shot, damn it. She didn’t want a relationship in her life—she’d seen firsthand from her mother how men could distort a woman’s priorities and make her forget what was important in life.

She’d only wanted a weekend to play, and somehow she had managed to get herself kidnapped by a sexy pirate. Even if the story ended right there, it was more excitement than she’d been treated to since her mother had surprised her with an offer to work a few hours in the tourist shop last week.