LITMIR.BIZ

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a crime to prevent being taken somewhere else.” She didn’t tell him that her father’s security force had drummed that into her since she was small. “So I knew I had to get out of the boat. When we were close enough that I thought I could swim to shore, I wriggled out of the blanket and slipped over the side of the boat. Steve and Tommy were too busy trying to navigate to notice that I was gone. Then I just dove under the water and stayed there for as long as I could. By the time I surfaced, the boat had almost disappeared over the horizon.”

      “How far away from the beach were you?” Marcus asked.

      She shrugged. “Maybe a mile.”

      His eyebrows rose. “You were able to swim a mile to shore?”

      “I’m a strong swimmer. It’s part of my job.” Her mouth twisted. “And I was desperate. It’s amazing what you can do when your life depends on it.”

      Marcus’s mouth softened, then he stood up and came around to her side of the bed. He sat down inches away from her and took her hand. “You’re a brave woman, Jessica Burke.”

      His hand was warm and strong around hers, and it sent an unexpected wave of sensation jolting up her arm. She held on to his hand and stared at him, and she watched his eyes darken. She might be naive, but she had no trouble identifying the expression she saw in his eyes. It was naked desire.

      A curl of answering desire unfurled inside her, and she stared at him with shock. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. She didn’t know Marcus Waters, she reminded herself. And you were supposed to know someone well before you had sexual feelings for him. That’s what all the books said.

      She slid her hand away from his, ignoring the shimmer of regret. For a moment he leaned forward, his eyes fixed on hers, and she wondered with a thrill if he would touch her again. She saw the intent in his eyes. Then he leaned away from her, carefully shuttering his gaze.

      “So you swam to shore after you jumped off the boat. What happened then?”

      “I have no idea.”

      His eyebrows came together in a frown. “What do you mean?”

      “I mean I don’t remember much of what happened after I jumped off the boat. I remember swimming for a long time, but the details are fuzzy. I must have passed out once I made it to shore.”

      “Did the guys in the boat, Tommy and Steve, notice you were gone?”

      “I’m sure they did, eventually,” she said dryly. “But I don’t think they knew right away. They didn’t come after me with the boat, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t remember seeing it.” She shrugged. “But then, I don’t remember much.”

      “Did you hit your head at some point?” he asked, his voice sharp.

      “I don’t think so.” She touched her head tentatively. “It doesn’t feel like it.”

      Marcus stared at her, an assessing look in his eyes. “So why did Steve and Tommy want to kidnap you? What do you have that they want?”

      “I have no idea.”

      “You said you’re a scientist. What do you do? Could your work somehow be involved?”

      “I doubt it. I study coral reefs. And although I find the subject extremely interesting, I doubt anyone would kidnap me because they had a burning need to know about coral reefs.”

      His mouth curled in a tiny smile. “Not only beautiful, but humble, too,” he said in a voice layered with velvet.

      Once again she felt the jolt of attraction. This time it shimmered through her whole body, pooling low in her abdomen until she felt like a violin string quivering with tension.

      “Just realistic,” she managed to say.

      The smile lingered in his eyes as he continued to stare at her. Then slowly the smile faded. “That leaves the other possibility. Money. Would you or your parents be able to pay a ransom?”

      She nodded tightly. It was something her father and mother had feared for years. “Yes. My parents would be able to pay a ransom.”

      “Even a sizable one?”

      “Yes.” Her voice was curt.

      “I’m not going to ask them for one,” he said. “I’m just trying to establish a motive here.” He leaned back and watched her. “So you don’t know anyone named Simon, but your parents could pay a ransom. That must mean that they have a lot of money.” He paused. “Have there ever been kidnap attempts before? On you or anyone else in your family?”

      “Yes.” She looked away. “Someone tried to kidnap my brother years ago.”

      “Did they succeed?”

      “No. He managed to get away. But since then, my father has had very elaborate security for both of us.”

      “Yet someone managed to get through it and grab you.”

      “I told you, one of the kidnappers had worked for my father and had managed to figure out how to get around the security.” She hesitated. “And there isn’t as much security on the island. My family are the only people who live there. We’ve always felt safe on the island.”

      Marcus nodded, his eyes unreadable. “Then we have to assume that you were kidnapped for a ransom. Is that what you think?”

      “Yes. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

      “Do your parents have enemies who might try to hurt them by kidnapping you?”

      “Anything is possible, I suppose,” she said slowly, weighing the possibility. “But I can’t think of anyone.” She looked at Marcus. “A wealthy man always has enemies. But I don’t know of any that would do this.”

      “Do you have any enemies of your own?”

      “No.” The very idea was ludicrous. “I’ve lived a very sheltered life, Mr. Waters. All I’ve done is go to school and study.”

      “My name is Marcus,” he said, his low voice strumming across her nerves. “And it looks like you have some enemies now.”

      “Yes, it does.”

      She was caught in his gaze, held like a deer in the headlights of a car. She couldn’t get away, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to. Her heart stuttered in her chest and sped up, and butterflies danced in her stomach.

      What was happening? She had never felt like this around a man before. The realization that she was attracted to Marcus Waters both thrilled and frightened her. She had no experience with men, let alone a virile, sexy man like Marcus. She had no idea what to do.

      To change the subject, she plucked at the T-shirt she wore. “What happened to my clothes?”

      “They were covered with sand and salt. They would have irritated your skin, so I took them off and gave you a bath.”

      She swallowed, her skin burning beneath the thin shirt. “You gave me a bath?”

      “I couldn’t let you stay in those clothes.”

      She was uncomfortable, knowing that he had seen her naked. Heat flared in his eyes as he watched her, and she knew that he was thinking about the same thing. A flush started at her feet and swept up her body.

      “I’m sorry,” he murmured, but she could see that he wasn’t sorry at all. And suddenly, shockingly, she wasn’t sorry, either. Blood pounded in her head, and desire swept through her veins. “Don’t be,” she whispered. “It’s all right.”

      What was wrong with her? She shuddered, then buried her face in her hands. It must be the shock of what had happened. She had never felt like this before, never ached for a man to kiss her. For God’s sake, he had seen her naked, and rather than being upset, she was thrilled at the thought!

      “It’s all right,”

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