Make Her Pay Read Online Free PDF

clothes at her, giving her long, bare legs an open appraisal. “Don’t rush dressing on my behalf.”
    She stood up and dropped the towel, a plucky expression on her face. “Thanks.”
    “Good thing you didn’t burn that body,” he said, taking a nice long time to appreciate the curves and angles of a well-toned woman, the dive suit tan lines drawing his eyes to the most private parts, the impact on his lower half exactly what she must have wanted. “Be a damn shame to wreck… perfection.”
    As she stepped into the shorts she smiled, her hair falling over her shoulders. “Now you’re going to compliment me? Why do I think you have to have an ulterior motive?”
    “Because thieves never trust anyone.”
    She stood, zipping the shorts, facing him as she reached for the top. “I’m not a thief, but I see there’s no way to convince you of that.”
    He lapped up the last flash of pink nipples before they disappeared. “There might be a way.”
    She yanked the top on. “Forget it. I’m not going to screw you so you don’t rat on me.”
    “That’s not what I was thinking.”
    She notched her chin toward the bulge in his shorts. “No? Looks like you were.”
    “So I’m human. And you’re hot. But I wasn’t suggesting sex.”
    She flipped her curls out from under the tank top straps and shook her head a little. “So, what then? What’s it going to take to buy your silence?”
    “Maybe a cut of what you’re getting?”
    Her jaw loosened. “Excuse me?”
    “You heard me. Take in a partner on this dive.”
    “You don’t get it, do you?” She laughed softly. “I don’t need a partner, because I’m not stealing anything. I’m taking pictures so when Paxton’s treasures ‘accidentally’ disappear before the state of Florida even finds out we were diving for them, there’s proof that they existed. No cut, X. There’s no buyer for my pictures.”
    Was it possible she was telling the truth? There was something… oddly innocent about her, despite the feisty act.
    “You been salvaging long, Lizzie?”
    At the sudden change of topic, she shot him a sharp look. “I was practically born on a boat. My father was a marine archaeologist, and he took my sister and me on plenty of dives.”
    “Was?” He knew from her file that her father had died fairly recently, and the pain on her face said the grief was still pretty raw.
    “He passed away a few months ago,” she said, tucking some stray curls back from her lightly freckled cheek. “Diving accident.”
    That he didn’t know. “What happened?”
    She took a breath, tried for a casual shrug. “I don’t know, I wasn’t there.” The ache was clear in her voice. “Nitrogen narcosis.”
    He thought about that for a second, frowning. “On a salvage dive? How deep was he?”
    “Not a salvage dive.” She waved her hand, dismissing the subject. “What are you going to do with my clothes?”
    “Destroy them. And after you go to your cabin, I’ll go clean the lab.”
    “So, then…” She gave him a questioning look and let her words fade away.
    “Your secret is safe with me.” He stood slowly, getting right in front of her, as close as he was in the shower. With one finger, he lifted her chin and forced her to look right at him. “For the time being.”
    She didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. “So, what, you can lord it over me whenever you want something?”
    “That could work.” He lowered his face one centimeter and saw the flicker of response in her eyes. A hint of pink rose in her creamy cheeks, darkening those few freckles, warming the skin under his fingertips.
    Her lips parted to take in a soft breath, drawing him closer.
    She stepped back, keeping the sly smile on her face. “Two can play the blackmail game, Mr. X.” Without breaking eye contact, she reached into the side pocket of his backpack to slide out the satellite phone. “This is banned on the boat, baby.”
    He barely shrugged in response. “I’m keeping