THIRTEEN
Peri sat up, curling her legs beneath her butt, her hair covering her nakedness. “I have zero to do with either, and I freaking resent you making yet another unsubstantiated accusation." It hurt that he didn't know her by now. Then she realized how ridiculous that assumption was. He knew her body. Why couldn't that be enough?
"Why do you think the Cutters and Vadini are in cahoots and doing something nefarious? Is suspicion your default? It must be exhausting."
Finn reached over to arrange her hair to his liking. His liking had her nipples poking through the tangled strands. “You have no idea why Vadini is claiming that this seer had the same name as my business?”
He wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable sitting there stark naked with the streaming sun burnishing his body. There was not a single damned freckle on all that toned, tanned, lickable skin. There was absolutely no point angsting over things she couldn't change, and she refused to spoil this time together by being hurt that he didn't trust her. He had every right to feel the way he felt. She was the freaking last person to try to convince him that not everyone had an ulterior motive.
“No. But it was weird and off the wall.”
“More than.” He played with her hair, running it over and around his hand, as if the strands were a string of worry beads.
Peri was fine with his seeming obsession with her hair. Any way he touched her was perfect. She'd happily have his hands on her 24/7.
“Can you look me in the eye and swear you’re not in collusion with Vadini and the Cutters?” He gave her a piercing look, clearly gauging her sincerity.
"Geez, give it up already, Finn! I have nothing to hide." In that regard. But, her heart did a little flippy thing that reminded her there were other things she was hiding from the others, and by necessity, Finn too. She recognized her physical response was because she was growing more and more uncomfortable with keeping secrets from him – not so much the Cutters-although that was changing.
Damn it. She respected Finn. She trusted him. A lot. She liked him. A lot. Self-preservation had her falling back on what she’d always done – kept her own counsel. “I told you no, don't ask me again. Do you think that sweet little man and the Cutters are trying to con you?”
“Not sure.” He’d find out, Peri knew, unnerved now that the time of reckoning had reached defcon two and a half for her situation. Finn suspecting the Cutters were also up to something nefarious was almost a relief. She felt crappy liking them. Now she could go back to hating them, because as sure as God made little fishes they were going to hate her.
And sue her ass, and probably make her walk the metaphorical freaking plank.
She shivered.
"Cold?"
She slid her palm up his thigh. "Hot."
"Are you now?" Finn’s tone reflected the confidence that came with being a male who was dominant in all he surveyed and confident in his place in the world. He shoved her pillow under his back, then pulled her down, and against his side. His skin was warm. The strength of his arms alone was seductive. Peri buried her nose against his chest, inhaling the scent she was becoming addicted to. Storing it up for later.
"I'll get to the bottom of it." He picked up her hand and moved it to his chest. "Talk to me," he murmured against the top of her head. "Tell me what thirteen-year-old Ariel was like."
Thirteen-year-old Ariel had never existed. "Angry," she admitted, combing her fingers through the damp, wiry hair on his chest. "Lonely. But mostly angry."
"At your father?" Finn brushed his lips over her temple.
"Most definitely him. My mother. My middle brother for being sick, and for sucking up all the attention, which in turn made me feel like shit for being that selfish. My oldest brother because he was always preoccupied with money, and he travelled a lot. My friend from next door because she was sweet and even-tempered, and everyone loved her. I was angry at everyone around me. I had a hell of a temper, and unleashed it at the drop of a hat."
"What a surprise," he said dryly.
She pulled his hair. "I eventually learned to control it- somewhat. After my middle brother died, I really lost it. My oldest brother forced me into counseling for a while. It helped. Staying away from people who annoy me helps, too.
Finn laughed. "I'll take that under advisement."
"Salvaging turned out to be my salvation. I love it, and I was good at it, and I made a lot of money doing it. I was independent and self-sufficient."
"And no one can bug you underwater."
She smiled. "That too. Did working on computers have something to do with all the things you've invested in over the years?"
"Probably. But I always wanted to know how things worked, so I was forever taking something apart. Strangely enough," his lips tilted, “people didn't particularly like their televisions dismantled, or their refrigerator in pieces because I needed the cooling element for some invention I was working on. At least fixing computers kept me focused and productive. I was much of a handful. To say that I was hyperactive was an understatement. And I was a bit of a smartass. Couldn’t comprehend why people didn't understand me.” He paused, then said quietly, "And it was because I knew people didn't give a damn to look, other than surface deep, I learned to control how my emotions appeared to other people."
"You don't have to hide them from me."
"You thought I was going to strike you."
"I wasn't going to make love if you were angry at me."
"I wasn't." Eyes tender, he brushed her cheek. "I'll never hurt you, Persephone. Ever. You can take that to the bank."
No, I'll hurt myself for loving you. "Good, then issue resolved," she said with a smile that hurt her heart. "Back to your life of demolition."
"My life of demolition and my "attitude" made me “difficult to place", is how they put it."
She knew better than to offer sympathy, but her heart pinched for him. "Were you close to anyone in foster care?"
"I stayed in one home for almost a year in my early teens. Their son, Derry and I were the same age and we became fast friends. We ran wild, I was sent packing after he was caught shoplifting and thrown into juvie, but we stayed in touch over the years. Old Derry was a con man of the first order. I was just too stupid to see it then. When I went to the States to make my fortune, Derry joined me after he got out. I was glad to see him. Considered him my brother. That boy-o had a sharp mind. He always had a wad of cash in his pocket and a ruddy smile on his face. I was working round the clock. Happy to have my best mate with me. I never asked where he got money or why he always looked smug."
Peri had a feeling she knew what was coming. "Did he cheat you?"
"We went into business together- investing in the stock market. We made good money."
"It wasn't 'good money'." With a smile, Peri nudged him in the ribs. "It was a million dollars and you were seventeen."
"Luck. Hard work. Determination to make my stamp."
"You did that and more. Is that why you got a divorce? You were a workaholic?"
"You know about that, do you?"
"I looked you up after we ran into each other again at the party," she admitted. "She was beautiful, in a cold, frosty way. You were sexy and enigmatic. Some fancy do in Monte Carlo, you looked amazing together." Finn tall and dark and serious, and the elegant blond smiling at the camera. His wife had a sneaky look – the smile in her red glossy lips hadn’t made it to her eyes. "You were quite the catch."
"Money will do that," he said dryly. "I had Derry as my business partner and Erica on my arm. I was cock-a-hoop. It never occurred to me to have Derry's background checked when he showed up out of the blue. I'd discovered shortly after he arrived that he'd been arrested in Ireland for a bank scam. I warned him I wouldn't tolerate crooked business dealings. And he swore he was straight." His voice deepened. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
"Fast forward ten years, and I knew Derry was skimming money out of our company. Small amounts at first, and then he got bold and I couldn't ignore it anymore. He didn't have to steal it. I would’ve given it freely. I put the money back in, gave him another warning. He was contrite. Swore he'd never do it again."
I don't give second chances. "But he did?"
"Hell yeah. He went to the bank where we had our accounts, set out doctored deposit slips, and rerouted people's money into an offshore account just as he'd done back home." Finn lifted an arm behind his head. The action caused the tightly coiled muscles in his core to pull taut against his tanned skin. Peri couldn’t resist, she began tracing her fingernail across the corded muscle.
"At the time my marriage was going downhill fast. I was never home. I was having Erica followed because I suspected she was having an affair. She was. With Derry. Lucky me, I got a two for one. I was one of many who prosecuted him for the bank fraud. He was put away for fifteen years. Erica didn't do as well in the divorce settlement as she'd hoped. Derry and Erica were the last two to successfully scam me.”
His slate gray eyes showed his bitterness. “Though many have tried. I've not tolerated liars and cheats since. It isn’t the money, it’s the bloody principle of the thing. Moral integrity is everything. If the Cutters are trying to scam me, I'll prosecute to the full extent of the law."
And there you have it. No second chances. Peri got it. Loud and clear.
Mid-afternoon, after a quick call to his P.A to see if there was anything that urgently needed his attention, Finn cancelled everything on his crowded agenda and turned his phone off again.
He never turned off his phone. Only a few trusted business associates had his private number, and everything else went through his staff. But with his business interests Worldwide, he typically fielded calls at all hours of the day and night. If he got at least four hours sleep a night, he was good to go.
"Come on," she lightly slapped his stomach as she sat up. "Let's do something."
Sifting his fingers through her hair, tangled down her back, he smiled. “The last couple of hours of calisthenics didn’t do it? Clearly, I need one of those awful energy drinks.”
“You don’t need an energy boost at all. Different kind of exercise.”
“There’s a fully equipped gym down the hall or a track for running if you’re feeling that energetic.”
“I want to dive.” She patted his belly, then lingered, trailing her fingertips over his abs. ‘There are four wrecks down there, and two of them have given up a tablet. Maybe we can find more. Rise and shine, buddy. With one from Napolitano, and yours from Nuestra Señora del Marco, aren't you even a little bit curious to see if the Santa Ana and El Crucifijo carried their own tablets? Wouldn’t it be awesome if we found more?”
Yeah, it would. “Dr. Vadini might not be able to take much more much excitement.” Finn sat up. “He and your Dr. Núñez, are in the salon working with the tablets we have. Let's leave them to it. Logan’s diving now. Let’s see if he’d like another pair of hands.”
"Theo's not my anything." She slanted him a look under her lashes. “I can say, with great authority, that your pair are deft and dexterous.”
He was rapidly learning her nonlinear thoughts. “Pair of hands?”
Her eyes lit up devilishly. “Those, too.”
Seventy-two minutes later, after showering, making love again- several times, a second shower and getting dressed, they went down to the dive platform.
"I shouldn't be taking another day off, you know," Ariel said as they emerged into the sunshine. "I do have a job."
She wore a purple t-shirt over her bikini, and her long, bare legs went on for miles. She'd scooped up her hair, and pinned it haphazardly on top of her head, leaving the vulnerable nape of her neck exposed and begging to be kissed. Jesus. He had it bad. Finn couldn't figure out how it was possible to want her again, when muscles he didn't know he had, ached from their marathon love-making session.
When he was with her he was insatiable. "You can take inventory on Logan's ship while we're there," he said, somehow managing to keep his hands off her. If he didn't, they'd be back in his cabin, horizontal again. Since he wore just his black swim trunks, he shifted to rearrange his erection.
"I will-" Her eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! Now we’re talking.”
Instead of the runabout, Finn had ordered a crew member to bring out two jet skis.
Finn grinned as she peeled out of her t-shirt to expose the white bikini he'd tried to remove the minute she'd put it on. She was all sleek muscles and golden skin. He loved the look of her in the sunlight. Even though she was lightly tanned, the cinnamon dusting of freckles all over her body looked as if he could sweep them up in his hands.
Four members of his dive team were just emerging from the water. “Give me a minute,” he told her, glad to have something to distract him even for just a few minutes. “Want to go over there and get us a couple of suits? We can use Logan’s tanks.”
While she went to the nearby rack to find a drysuit, he caught up with what his team had found in the last few hours. Coins, a few small pieces, but nothing to write home about.
“All set?” Finn helped her stash their stuff in the jet ski, then showed her the controls before they set off.
The water had a bit of a chop, and the spray felt good on his warm skin. Hell, he felt damn good with her beside him. Her hair had unraveled and was whipping in the wind. She threw back her head and laughed at the wind, and Finn almost ran into her jet ski because his brain settled into his groin looking at her. No. His brain went directly to his heart and set it tripping.
They made good time to the Sea Wolf.
Several men were already suited up, and getting their tanks as they arrived. Logan and two other guys Finn recognized had clearly just returned from their dive.
Bobbing on the water, several dozen buoys, in various colors, marked datum points, and the locations of found artifacts.
Logan was peeling down the top of his drysuit as they pulled up to his platform, his dog stood beside him, hackles raised. The salt and pepper wolf/Alsatian was fiercely protective of his master and had the run of his ship. He gave a low warning growl that deepened as they got closer. One hand on the large dog’s head, quieted him. Logan shaded his eyes as Finn and Peri tied off the skis to the stern. “Problem?”
“No.” Finn held out his hand to help Ariel board. “We thought we could lend another pair of hands. See if we can help you find another tablet.”
Logan shrugged. “You’re more than welcome to go down with Galt and Earl here. But keep in mind, just because two have been found doesn’t mean there are others.”
“Nothing ventured nothing gained.” Finn visually pinned Jed Jones in place as the diver slicked back his wet blond hair with both hands and watched Ariel like any red-blooded male would as she pulled on her drysuit. Bastard was preening for her, and he’d just seen them arrive. Tofuckinggether.
Finn nudged her hand out of the way and finished pulling up her zipper, lingering as he got to her breasts. Mine.
“The sidescan sonar and swath bathymetry have been completed, and we’ve already run the lines and set up a couple of grids. More as we go. I've reached my no- decompression limit for the morning, so I can't join you. Stay as long as you like. The viz is about seventy-five feet, so you’ll have a good idea of the scope of the wreck. The pieces stayed relatively close together as you’ll see. Check out Nick's grid, he'll be down later. Just an FYI," his eyes twinkled, but he didn't smile. "The face mask’s mics are set to channel 2. If you want your convo private, switch to 4 right here." He showed Finn how to adjust the channel on the outside of the mask. "Have fun and stay out of trouble. Come on, Buoy.”
Dog and man disappeared inside. Jones and the other diver settled into chairs, and what looked like an unfinished card game.
“Ready to rock and roll?” Earl asked, dropping down to sit on the edge of the platform, legs dangling as he adjusted a strap on his tank. He’d been on Logan’s dive crew for years, Finn had met him several times. Nice guy, mid-fifties, didn’t talk much.
He’d met the second guy, Steve Galt as well. Steve was a giant, towering over Finn’s six four. He held out a ham-sized hand for Finn to shake, and grinned with big white teeth at Ariel, who eyed him warily as he said, “Let’s go find us another tablet.”
Due to the angle of the mid-afternoon sun, the water was the pale aqua of translucent jade, with visibility of about seventy-five feet. Perfect diving conditions. The integrated dive masks they all wore had 2nd stage regulators, and low-pressure hoses, which eliminated fogging and reduced CO and CO2 buildup. Adjustable head straps, attached to the face shield, made fit secure and comfortable. The built-in mics facilitated communication underwater.
Peri loved to dive, and sharing the experience with Finn made it that much sweeter. She loved the anticipation that had her blood racing pleasantly. Loved the sense of weightlessness and the rush of the water around her body, as much as she loved the endless aqua underwater and the thrill of new discoveries.
“This is what it must be like in space, huh?” she spoke into her mask mic as she followed Logan’s divers, Finn beside her.
“Similar, but not really,” his voice was pleasant in her ear and had the power to make her heart beat a little faster. She wondered if they should just switch to channel 4 now and avoid embarrassment. Cocking a brow, she held up four fingers to Finn.
He smiled as he shook his head. “Gravity comes into play under water. In space, there’s zero gravity. But our astronauts train in deep water simulators to get used to weightlessness.”
“I’ll be ready for my flight to Mars, then,” she told him, then jackknifed down to join the others. The idea of going into space, of being a pioneer, was appealing. Especially since space might be her final frontier if the Cutters decided to press charges. Charges in every country where she’d helped herself to their goodies. Might as well enjoy her freedom while it lasted.
“We do have some grids on the northeast sector behind the wreck- the debris fields over there are more contained,” Steve The Giant's voice sounded like gravel in a cement mixer through the helmet mic. “But, since this field is so large, we used these chains, and the buoys on the datum points on the wreck, to form a triangle.”
“I’ve never seen this done,” Finn told him, eyeing the multiple links from the wreck to the surface. “I’ve only been on salvages where the grids were used. So, the artifacts are located by noting the compass bearing on the azimuth circle and measuring the datum point to the artifact?”
“You’ve done your homework.” Steve grinned behind his mask. “More expedient doing it this way on a wreck of this size. Although we’ll be laying more grids as well over the next few weeks. See that big grid down there on your right?" He pointed. "That area has proven artifact-rich. Nick's working that area personally, Logan's area is over there. He's diving with the Decrepit team with Zane and Jonah on the Santa Ana this afternoon. You do know that if you look up the word 'competitive' it shows a picture of the four Cutters, right? They've taken it to an art form." His laugh boomed through Peri's comm. "Man, it's a real pleasure to watch. Come on, we're over there-” He pointed to the remnants of the stern.
“No need to stick with us,” Finn told the men. “We’ll be happy looking around on our own.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah. Forty minutes?”
They agreed and swam off. Finn set his dive watch, then held out his hand to her. “Let’s take a look at this old girl.”
Gliding through the water with him beside her, Peri had never felt more at peace. It was to be short lived she knew. But for right now, everything was right with her world.
The carrack, El Crucifijo, lay on her side, broken in two. They swam up and down her seventy-five-foot length, accompanied by a curious tarpon, trailing them like an inquisitive puppy.
In her mind’s eye, she envisioned the four-masted ship, square sails puffed by the wind skimming across the water. The two high castles, bow and stern, hampered their sailing speed, but that was the design of the day for ships used for exploration and trade. It must've been quite a sight to see the four ships skimming over the water together.
They swam under a length of chain with several numbered markers on it. Went down low over the wreck, which had once sported a square sail rig mounted onto horizontal wooden spars perpendicular to the keel. Broken off like a twig, the main mast lay intact on the sandy bottom, fifty feet from the wreck.
“This would’ve been the aftcastle.” Holding onto a chain, Peri pointed to a large pile of shattered wood, spread over a twenty-foot radius on the rocky sand. “They steered the ship from here. I wonder if they found the wheel?”
“How the hell do you know what that was?” Finn eyed the ragged pile of chunks of wood; broken planks, decking and the flotsam and jetsam of a shipwreck. “It’s completely unrecognizable.”
Not to her it wasn’t, but then this was her life, not Finn’s. His head was in space, not underwater. While she barely knew Andromeda from- “What’s the name of a star starting with the letter Z?”
“ Zubenelakrab? Zaniah? Are you doing a crossword puzzle in your head?”
“I know shipwrecks, you know stars.” She paused to throw him a sassy glance through her mask. “I presume those are stars and not gibberish words you just made up?”
A small outcropping of rough rocks held algae and tufts of dark green seaweed, which swayed with their movement as they passed. Peri put her hand on a rocky formation covered with tractor bank mussels, letting a fearless sea cucumber crawl across her palm. “I can identify what’s what because of the location, and those small cannons nearby. The aftcastle would’ve had a platform used to mount attacks on anyone trying to board.”
She used her hands to draw a picture in the water, dislodging the sea cucumber, and scattering a few tiny brown fish nearby. Particulates swirled around her.
Tempted to stay and explore, she resumed swimming, eyes scanning the seabed. Looking for anything, everything of interest. Artifacts, pinpointed by numbered markers connected to the chains, protruded from the sand- a small cannon, more pieces of wood, but she didn’t linger to see what else was in the area.
“She was really used as a long-range cargo ship, more than the warship the carracks would become later.” The built-in headset was awesome, even though her voice sounded as if it was coming through an echo chamber. Still, better than not sharing this moment in real time with Finn. Hand gestures only went so far.
“Our four ships were fast and small. Still at least forty-fifty people must’ve died on each of them when they sank. There’s no record of anyone making it to shore.”
Finn lifted a chain so she could pass under it. “You really love this, don’t you?”
“Diving? Ships? History? Yeah. I live for this stuff. I wonder if they knew what they came south for?” Peri swam down to run her hand along the length of a brass cannon, looked up, caught Finn’s salacious grin, and shook her head. “One track mind, Gallaher. Do you think the captains of Napolitano and Nuestra Señora del Marco knew they carried the tablets? Or were they just ordered to come here, without knowing what it was they’d been sent to collect?”
“We’ll never know. The hope is each of the four ships carried a tablet. Maybe together they’ll tell us something.”
Peri mentally crossed her fingers. “The hope is we find one right here.”
“It’ll still belong to the Cutters.”
“It’ll still be part of history, and connected to our tablets. No matter what they choose to do with it.”
“Jesus.” He stopped swimming to look at her. “You don’t plan on swiping it, do you?”
Since he didn’t sound too worried about it, Peri smiled and rocked her hand.
He shut his eyes behind his mask. “You’ll be the death of me, woman.”
She smiled. "But what a way to go."
The water was so clear, she could see the tiny crabs scurry along the white sand, and a pink starfish scaling a rock. “Come on, I see the forecastle over there.” She indicated a slightly less broken section, where she could see the window opening, and a curve of deck still intact. “That’s where they kept all their war toys. It made navigation a bit tricky because it caused the ship to be a bit top heavy- Oh, wow!” She saw another cannon on the sandy bottom and darted off.
Jack-knifing to dive low, she trusted Finn to follow. “I love finding the cannons. Look at this beauty.”
Finn shook his head. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t stroke that thing like you mean it.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her against his body. “You look sexy as hell in this drysuit. I’m so damned hot for you I’m surprised the water around us isn’t boiling. You have no idea how badly I want you right now.”
She didn't give a damn if the man in the Moon was listening in. “Do you think- "
“No,” Finn laughed, taking her hand to twirl her around in the water as if she were a salsa dancer. “But later, when the probability of drowning in your arms is no longer an issue.” He pulled her back into his arms. “Then not just yes, but hell yes.”
Despite the cumbersome tanks, two drysuits, and the buoyancy of the water, she felt the same urgent need she saw in his silvery eyes. Peri gave a dramatic sigh. “Can’t cross that off my bucket list then. Too bad. Okay.” She kissed her fingers through her mask, then pressed them to his mask over his lips.
“Since there’s no one working there right now,” she said, indicating to the large grid on the port side of the wreck, “let’s go play in Nick's sandbox.”
On arriving at the edge of the grid they removed their fins, securing them on the post installed there for just that purpose. Then using the fixed position of the white, PVC pipes, spaced thirty inches apart, they pulled themselves hand-over-hand horizontally over the area.
“Be here. Be here. Be here,” she whispered as she glided over the squares, the white sand rippling beneath them in their slipstream.
“It probably won’t be,” Finn cautioned, proving he had ears like a freaking bat. His attention was fixed, as was hers, on the area below him. “We have no indication that there might be more tablets, remember that.”
“I’m going to find one here. Today,” she said, determined. If this was to be her last hurrah, then damn it, she wanted to go out with a bang.
Seeing an intriguing bump in the sand, and keeping her movements slow and small, Peri sifted a finger through the shimmery grains. Even so, particles drifted up around her arm. Motionless she waited for them to settle. “And it mig- Holy crap! Finn. Look at this.”
Coming alongside her, he closed the gap, hooking his ankles on the pipe to remain in place. “Could be anything- “
She withdrew her clenched fist. “Or it could be a giant, whopping freaking emerald.” She opened her fingers to expose the apricot-sized green stone.
Finn was already sifting sand between his fingers. Looking for more. “Could just be part of the cargo- “
“Could indicate the chest holding the tablet. . .” She toed her way, hand-over-hand to the next opening, finger-combing the sand. “How close were the emeralds to your tablet? Mine on Napolitano were maybe a foot awa—"
Everything inside her stopped. Could it be? Was it. . .? The water around them became cloudy as she dug like a terrier after a juicy bone. "I found another one. Finn. . .I think- God, I hope- this is the corner of another tablet."
Finn put his hand on her wrist. "Slow down, you're stirring up the silt."
Her insides jumping around with excitement, Peri forced herself to freeze in place. "Damn I want to move fast, and I know we have to take this slow." The suspended particles seemed to take a lifetime as she waited for them to drift back to the seabed.
“Steady does it.” His hands joined hers, and they moved in unison in slo-mo. “Yes. Just. Like. This.”
Peri’s heart went into overdrive, pounding frantically behind her eyeballs as, together, they slowly pulled a fourth tablet from its centuries-old burial place in the sand.
After marking the location and photographing their finds from every angle, they'd placed the emeralds and the tablet in a wire basket to haul to the surface. Finn and Ariel returned to Logan's ship, pulling themselves up onto the edge of the dive platform. The other two divers, ready to go down, stood nearby adjusting their masks.
Oblivious, Peri grinned as she ripped off her mask and drysuit hood. "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. Can you believe it?"
Even if he wasn't blown away by their discovery, Finn was excited just watching her.
Her glorious hair spilled free as she pulled the cap from her head. It tumbled down her back in a fiery fall. He wanted to lay her out, right there in the sunlight, strip off her drysuit, and take her as her body shivered with exhilaration and lust.
Settling for touching his thumb to her lower lip, he laughed. "Excited?" he teased. He wanted to capture that smile, that devilish look in eyes the color of water, that unbridled enthusiasm, to enjoy whenever she wasn't with him. Fuck it. He never wanted to be apart. "God. I wish I could bottle your energy and enthusiasm. I’d store it up and ration it so I’ll always have it.”
Her look of excitement dimmed, gone and back so fast he almost missed the subtle shadow that fell over her face. “Can't keep me in a bottle, Finn Gallagher," she said with a sassy grin. "When you leave, you’ll go empty handed. Come on. Let’s get this accumulated crap off it, and see what it looks l-"
"Did I hear that right? You guys found another tablet?" Steve Galt said as he removed mask and hood and joined them on deck. He was followed by Earl who also had a basket with a few artifacts in it.
"Over on G9-BH173," Peri told him, eyes glowing as she pulled the basket, heavy with its contents closer to her hip.
Since a blind man could've found the tablet, he wanted to talk to Nick and Logan before he highlighted that to Peri. Or perhaps he wouldn't ask the Cutters about this coincidence of whale-sized proportions. Finn didn't believe in coincidences, and finding a fourth tablet, in a location Nick had already searched, in less than an hour, smacked of conspiracy, not a genuine historical find.
"Do you have a way to contact Nick and Logan?" he asked the men in general, not taking his eyes off Peri who looked like a sleek, sexy mermaid with her sultry smile and loose red hair tumbling around her shoulders.
"Logan's on his way to the airport to pick up Daniella, and Nick's too far away to pick up the lip mics," Earl reminded him. "I imagine they'd want the tablets to stay together, don't you? Isn't that Italian museum guy on board Blackstar going to try and decipher what they say?"
Steve turned Peri's basket to get a better look at the tablet. The gold still gleamed, but once it was properly cleaned the true beauty would be even more evident. "Look, take it with you when you go back, I'm sure both Nick and Logan would say the same. Leave the stones, though."
"This tablet is probably a hundred times more valuable than any emeralds," Peri pointed out, twisting the length of her hair and feeling around for the pins that had held it in place when she dived. Found, she jabbed them into the coiled mass to anchor it on top of her head.
Suddenly Jones was there with an outstretched hand to haul her to her feet. "Thanks,' she said without so much as a glance his way. The guy didn't move once she was upright. He stood much too goddamn close. Finn started to get to his feet, but she accidentally elbowed Jones in the ribs as she unzipped her drysuit. He stepped back. Not far enough as far as Finn was concerned, but the diver took another couple of steps in retreat as Finn rose to his full height.
Ariel pulled one arm out of her suit. "I think that's a good call," she told Earl, freeing the other arm to expose her white bikini top and a freckled expanse of the upper curve of her breasts. "Finn's people have already cleaned his, they know their stuff." Tying the neoprene sleeves around her waist, she was ready to leave.
It was agreed that Logan's guys would notify the Cutters of their find, and let them know the tablet would be on Blackstar when they arrived there in the morning.
They jet skied back to his ship with the tablet safely secured on Finn's jet ski. "Want to see what our guys have discovered on Nuestra Señora del Marco?"
"Another tablet, maybe?" Wet, spiky lashes framed jade eyes that gleamed with avarice.
"Four tablets aren't enough for you?" Finn led the way across the deck to the processing area which smelled strongly of chemicals.
"For now. . ."
More tablets hadn't been discovered, but Mike and his team on Blackstar Two almost salivated as they took the new tablet from Finn.
Before Peri could insist on staying to help clean the new artifact, Finn took her hand. Walking back across the deck, he whispered, "I'm exhausted. I think I need a kip."
She glanced at her dive watch, before giving him a narrowed eyed look. "It's after seven at night, Gallagher. Almost dinner time."
He led her up the outside stairs. "Dinner in bed after our nap?"
Nap, of course, was a euphemism for wild monkey sex. He'd waited all day to get her naked, and they barely made it back to his cabin before he'd stripped her, stripped himself, and made it to the bed.