Her Sworn Enemy (Men of the Zodiac) Read Online Free PDF

himself, then he had to stick to the rules that had served him so well in the past once his mother had died:
    No strings.
    No entanglements.
    No long-term relationships that could tie him down.
    Unfortunately for his sex drive, that included the very sexy Ph.D. he’d be working with in tight confines aboard his ship. He shifted in his chair to ease the pressure caused with the stirring of her sweet fragrance in the air, let alone the image that flared to life in his mind of her in a string bikini. Damn.
    He reminded himself that he was a confirmed bachelor. “See you aboard ship?”
    She nodded and smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
    He. Was. So. Screwed.

Chapter Three
     
    B ella squinted against the intense sunlight glinting off the azure waters of the Gulf spread out in a glitter-strewn rolling blanket below her. Only the changes in depth that made the blue deeper and the occasional outline of a boat on the water broke up the monotony of the scenery as the helicopter took her closer to her destination.
    She shoved her sunglasses back into place with an index finger. “How long until we get there?” she asked through her headset. The humidity and heat in the air were less here than on shore, but still the backs of her thighs were beginning to stick uncomfortably to the vinyl seats of the aircraft. Perhaps shorts, a cropped T-shirt over her swim suit, and flip-flops had been a bad idea, but she figured she was going to be on a boat, so she hadn’t worried about it.
    The pilot turned his head in her direction, his dark mirrored sunglasses reflecting an image of her. “See that dot at three o’clock? That’s the Discovery . Ten minutes.”
    Bella nodded and started scanning the horizon for her first glimpse of the Discovery . The yellow and white boat looked small at first, a toy floating in a massive bathtub, but as they got closer, she saw the enormous boom crane off the back and the wide sweep of decking marked for a helipad.
    The investor had deep pockets. She sighed with relief. This was no fly-by-night operation. They’d have her skills and the investor’s money and a professional salvage diver and his crew. Her heart leapt. This was it. All her dreams and hopes were getting closer and closer. Bella tasted victory in every rapid beat of her heat.
    The Discovery was a top-of-the-line recovery operation. Judging by the number of decks and the size of it, they had no problem working with a full crew for months at a time without going back in to resupply.
    The helicopter touched down light as a dragonfly on the helipad of the ship’s uppermost deck. A huge guy wearing Hawaiian-print board shorts and a white tank top ducked under the spinning blades of the chopper and opened her door. Pacific Islander by the look of his squared body, big shoulders, and deeply tanned skin and wide, white grin.
    “Welcome to the Discovery ,” he yelled, holding out his hand and helping her down, then taking one of her bags.
    The wash of the helicopter props made it hard to hear as she ducked down, and they both hurried out of range of the helipad as the transport lifted up from the deck and darted back into the blue on blue of sea and sky.
    She turned to the man and held out her hand. “I’m Doctor Dupré. Bella.”
    His beefy hand swallowed hers. He had a generous smile, a dark beard, and eyes that sparkled with humor. “Nice to meet you. We’ve been expecting you. I’m Toneau Lupopo, first mate of the Discovery . Let me take your things and put them in your cabin after I show you to the conference room. The captain wants to see you right away. We’ve been doing some prelim dives with the ROV based on the information you sent, but he’d like to get a briefing complete so we can get this recovery effort moving.”
    Toneau picked up her bags and started walking. He moved fast for someone who she imagined would have to turn sideways to make it through the narrow corridors down below. They took the teak staircase from