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

the helipad to the deck below, and she was ushered through a set of glass double doors into a sizable air-conditioned conference room.
    On one side was a long glass and chrome table with sixteen gray, modern chairs around it. On the other side was a seating area of black leather chairs and couches and a massive large screen television that took up most of the wall space that the windows didn’t. Right in the middle was McCormack.
    She thought she’d been prepared to see him again. She’d been wrong. All the fluttery expectations and excitement that had been swishing about in her stomach all morning came to an end. Instead, her pulse took over, pounding everywhere until she swore it even beat at the ends of her fingertips and toes. There was something about McCormack that made her go from smart to stupid in seconds.
    His build was that of an athlete, and his dress wasn’t captain-like at all. His tight black T-shirt showcased his well-defined shoulders and back, and his low-slung black shorts revealed a nice butt, muscular tanned legs, and wide feet in simple black flip-flops. His surfer hair was on the long side and brushed his shoulders in sun-bleached layers. All in all, he looked nothing like his Armani-suit wearing brother or the spit and polish one would expect from the captain of a craft as impressive as this one.
    “Captain, Doctor Dupré is here.”
    His back was to her as he looked out over the water. “Thanks, Toneau. We’ll have an all-hands meeting in one hour, then break for lunch.”
    “Aye, aye.” Toneau scooped up her bags and disappeared, leaving Bella alone with Tucker.
    He pulled a remote control out of his pocket and flicked on the wide flat-screen television between them. Cool blue underwater images filled the screen. Soft, rounded lumps and silt-covered shapes appeared and disappeared as the ROV drifted over the seabed. Branches and twigs of straggly coral looked more like tumbleweed strewn across a desert than the bottom of an ocean.
    “This is some footage from our prelim dives with the ROV. We’ve already done three with the coordinates you texted. So far we haven’t found anything.”
    Bella frowned at the moving image. Willing a man-made shape to form on the seabed. “Not even outlying debris?”
    He shook his head.
    “Before we go any further, I need to clear something up with you that we neglected to talk about in Harold’s office.”
    He turned, his incredible blue eyes sucking her in. His lips curved with a sensual tilt. “You mean the instant attraction between us?”
    Shit. Had she been that obvious? That would have to change. Now. Bella swallowed back the retort that rose to her lips. He flustered her, and she didn’t want to think about how obvious she must have been for him to notice. She shook her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. “No, actually, that wasn’t what I was thinking of at all.”
    “But you have been thinking of it.”
    She frowned. “Is this going to be an issue?”
    He took one step closer. “Not unless you want it to be.” His smile got slightly wider, and her heart pounded in response.
    McCormack was good looking, but she was not about to let her female Dupré instincts override her own intelligence. She refused to let him keep redirecting her thoughts.
    “Did someone explain to you that I’m supposed to take lead on this project?” she said, her tone matter-of-fact. She hated to jump into this detail, but it hadn’t been covered in their meeting in Harry’s office, and she wanted to make sure exactly where things stood before the operation got fully underway.

     
    H is smile faltered. “So that’s how it’s going to be, is it? All work and no play?” He nodded. “Okay, Doc. That’s fine. I was only told you needed an expert crew to recover a wreck. And since I’m the one with exponentially more experience in the actual water, pulling up items from the sea floor, and responsible for the safety of everyone aboard this vessel, I’d