Amanda Stevens - Unauthorized Passion - Unauthorized Passion / Intimate Knowledge

She’d been starved for life for far too long, and now Jack Fury, with a story as improbable as his hair color, promised her a feast.

Cassie thought back to that night at the restaurant, the little game they’d played with one another, and she shuddered.

The attraction was still there, no question about it. She just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Her mind raced with the possibilities. “What about the boat?”

“What about it?”

“Do you think your jewel thief had something to do with the explosion?”

He hesitated. “That’s what I intend to find out.”

He turned away from her then, and Cassie saw his hand snake out to grab something from underneath a towel on one of the seats. He was so quick about it that she had only a brief glimpse of something dark and metallic, but she knew instinctively that it was a gun.

So he was armed and, for all she knew, dangerous. And here she was alone with him on the high seas.

A measure of common sense returned. Adventure was one thing, but deliberately placing herself in imminent peril quite another.

What did she think she was doing? How could she even consider starting something up with Jack Fury? She knew nothing about the man. She didn’t even know if he was a real cop. What if he’d made up the whole Interpol-jewel thief story? What if, instead, he was some kind of…stalker?

Maybe he’d blown up the boat, just so he could rescue her. Get close to her.

Cassie had seen a similar scenario in a movie once. A psycho who’d set up all kinds of bizarre situations just so he could be near the object of his fascination.

Jack Fury might be a little on the strange side, but to be fair, he hadn’t done anything truly psychotic. Although Cassie was pretty sure he’d been staring at her breasts earlier, but she could hardly blame him for that. Her new Brazilian swimsuit was pretty skimpy, and truthfully, she might have been a little disappointed if he hadn’t snuck a peek.

Still, why had he told the man in the other boat that he’d called the coast guard when he obviously hadn’t?

Unless…he hadn’t wanted the others to call…

Because…he had something to hide…

Come to think of it, Cassie wasn’t all that keen on involving the authorities, either. Ethan Gold had made arrangements for Celeste to have the use of his boat, but Cassie wasn’t Celeste. Technically, she’d taken it out without Professor Gold’s permission, which meant that if he pressed charges, she could end up in jail. Or be forced to cough up the dough to reimburse him for damages. In either case, she’d be in deep doo-doo.

But back to Jack Fury…

He didn’t appear crazy or perverted, thank goodness. Then again, neither, apparently, had Ted Bundy.

But try as she might, Cassie just couldn’t picture a psycho killer in a pair of lime-green board shorts.

She couldn’t exactly picture an Interpol agent in a getup like that, either, but that didn’t stop her from appreciating the way those shorts hugged his lean hips and accentuated the ripple of subtle muscle in his abs and chest. The way they rode so low that with just a little tug…

What in the world had gotten into her? She’d just destroyed someone’s boat, barely escaped with her life, and now here she was, moments later, lusting after the guy who’d pulled her out of the water.

A guy who claimed to be an Interpol agent on the trail of an international jewel thief.

If Cassie bought that, he probably had a nice little bridge in Brooklyn he’d like to sell her, too.

CHAPTER SEVEN

A FEW MINUTES later they were back at the marina, and Cassie hopped out of the boat to help Jack tie off. “What do we do now?” she asked anxiously.

Jack grabbed a nylon bag from one of the seats and dug around for his cell phone. “I’ve got a buddy who works for the Galveston Police Department. I’ll see if I can track him down and get him over here.”

“What about the coast guard?”

“The coast guard knows how to reach me. Right now I want to talk to the locals first.”

After he made the call, they walked to a seaside restaurant near the marina to wait, and Jack guided her to a booth near the back. He took the seat facing the door and ordered coffee for both of them. They talked quietly until his friend arrived a short while later.

“There’s Vargas,” Jack said as he spotted the cop at the door. He slid out of the booth. “Excuse me for a minute. I want to fill him in on what’s going on.”

Or warn him not to say too much, Cassie thought uneasily. She turned and watched Jack stride to the front of the restaurant. The man he spoke to looked to be in his midthirties, dark hair, dark eyes, and the kind of good-humored expression that made you instantly like him.

He glanced toward the back of the restaurant, and when his gaze met Cassie’s, recognition and something she couldn’t name sparked in his black eyes before he turned back to Jack.

They conferred for a few minutes longer before joining Cassie. Jack made the introductions. “This is Sergeant Vargas with the Galveston PD. Celeste Fortune.”

Vargas nodded and reached to shake Cassie’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Fortune. Jack’s told me a lot about you.”

Her brows lifted in surprise. “He has? Just now?”

Vargas grinned. “He’s a real fast talker, our Jack.” He clapped Jack’s shoulder. “Mind if I have a minute alone with Miss Fortune?”

Jack frowned. “Is that really necessary?”

“I think so.”

Jack hesitated, obviously displeased by the sergeant’s suggestion, then he shrugged and backed off.

Vargas waited until Jack was out of earshot, then he took the seat across from Cassie. “Jack tells me you ran into a little trouble today. Care to tell me what happened?”

Nervously, Cassie toyed with her cup. “I’ll tell you what I know, which isn’t much. But first…I wonder if I could ask you something.”

When the waitress brought Vargas over a cup of coffee, he thanked her politely, then immediately refocused his attention on Cassie as he stirred a packet of sweetener into the liquid. “What is it?”

“Could I see some identification?”

He looked surprised by the request, but he obligingly hauled out his badge and ID and allowed Cassie to scrutinize his credentials.

Satisfied that he really was a cop, she glanced up with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I don’t really know Jack Fury very well. I only have his word that he’s who he says he is. Unlike you, he wasn’t willing to show me any identification, but I take it you know him? You can vouch for him?”

“Jack?” Vargas took a careful sip of his coffee and grimaced. “We go way back. Worked a case together five years ago and we’ve been buddies ever since.”

“Then he really is a cop?”

His gaze met Cassie’s over the rim of his cup. “He was one of the best when I worked with him.”

She sat back in relief. “That’s good to know. All that business about an international jewel thief…Interpol…I didn’t quite know what to believe.”

Vargas’s expression turned sober. “Here’s what you can believe, Miss Fortune. If Jack Fury thinks you’re in danger, you’d better listen up. He has the best instincts of any cop I ever knew. His investigative techniques may be a little unorthodox, but I learned a long time ago there’s usually a method to his madness. And as for his integrity…I’d trust him with my life.”

He sounded so sincere, Cassie couldn’t help but believe him. She nodded gratefully. “Thanks.”

“Now let’s get back to you,” Vargas said briskly. “Tell me what happened today.”

“There isn’t much I can add to what Jack told you on the phone. The boat I took out earlier exploded in the Gulf. I don’t know how or why. All I know is that one minute everything seemed fine, and the next thing I knew, it was in flames.”