Free Unexpected Places by V. K. Black Page A

looks a lot better on you than it does on me.’
    Well, maybe. But Luke, with his identical black T-shirt clinging to every lovely muscle, looked pretty darn good to her. ‘You’re feeling better then?’ She nodded down in the direction of his pants and tried to appear concerned and failed. Hard to seem worried when you’re biting your lips to stop smiling. ‘No sour cream in sight,’ she explained.
    ‘Ah, she’s back.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘The cheeky little lady who tried to seduce me up in my penthouse hotel room in Sydney. The same one who hit me over the head with a champagne bottle.’
    ‘But you told me —’
    He laughed and skimmed her bottom lip with his thumb. ‘Let’s not go there again. And to answer your question, Percy is fine, but still affronted. He doesn’t want to make any reappearances for a few hours yet.’
    ‘So that’s why —’ She stopped herself in time. No way was she going to hint she’d been thinking about him. He was arrogant enough.
    He grinned. ‘So that’s why I left you unmolested last night.’
    Ariana sighed.
    ‘Plus you looked exhausted,’ he added. ‘But I’m pleased to say you seem very bright-eyed this morning.’
    Feeling herself flush, she ignored his broad hint. ‘Percy? Is that really your pet name for your…your penis?’
    ‘Yep, Percy the Penis, as in ‘Point Percy at the Porcelain’.’ He grinned lazily down at her. ‘Though he has other names. Willy, Old Boy, Handy Travelling Companion…’
    She burst out laughing. ‘Wow, so many names for such a little thing.’
    ‘Little!’ he said in mock affront. ‘I’ll show you ‘little’ when he’s feeling better. That’s when I’ll call him my Throbbing Python of Love…’
    Clinging onto the stainless steel railing, she giggled helplessly.
    He laughed too. Then, raising an enquiring eyebrow, he reached down to the hem of her shirt and lifted it. Shaking his head, he sighed. ‘No commando?’
    She tried to frown. ‘No, Mr Donahue. Sorry. Do you think you can be serious for a minute?’
    ‘Sorry, Moonbeam. Are you going to call me “Mr Donahue” when we’re having sex?’ he asked with apparent genuine interest.
    ‘Ariana,’ she snapped.
    He grinned.
    She fell in every time. ‘Will you stop teasing me? I wanted to know why you’re sitting up at the pointy end like this, and parked here. Aren’t you in a hurry to find the emeralds?’
    Luke closed his eyes. ‘Firstly, my little sailor girl, this pointy bit is called the bow, and…’ he nodded behind him, ‘…the blunt end is called the stern.’
    ‘Sorry.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve never been on a boat before.’
    ‘I can tell. Because we’re moored or anchored, not parked. And secondly, no, I’m not in a mad rush. The emeralds have been hidden for two centuries. A few hours aren’t going to make any difference. It’s one of the advantages of being the boss. You do what you want, when you want.’
    Ariana sighed with envy, thinking of the long, boring hours she’d put in during holidays, getting experience in various accountants’ offices.
    ‘Also, while I don’t actually have the emeralds in my hands, I can more or less trust you.’
    Well, he had that right.
    He stood with lithe grace, reached down and grasped her wrist. ‘Come on, little Ariana, come with me to the bridge.’ His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. ‘That’s where I drive.’
    ‘Thank you, Luke, I did know that,’ she said. Actually, she didn’t. She probably would have called it the cockpit, or something stupid. She followed him into the room.
    ‘This,’ said Luke, pressing a large button, while holding onto the steering wheel with one hand, ‘tells the electronic winch to raise the anchor.’ There was a whirring, clanking noise, and then Luke turned a key, pressed another button, and the motor roared into life. He inspected the narrow entrance of the river he had to turn into.
    Ariana contemplated all the instruments in front of them.