Bared to Him (2 page)

She
turned away. She dipped and withdrew the brush from the can, and
slapped more of the stain onto the trim.

“
What did your dad say about the invitation? Is he letting you
go?” he asked in a snarky voice that cracked her
restraint.

“
I don’t need his permission. I am old enough to decide whether
I am going to a wedding or not.”

Asshole
.

“
I’m talking about delivering this yacht. Isn’t it due to the
customer within a week? Can you do both?”

“
The wedding is in California. I’ll deliver the yacht and then
pop in for the ceremony. No biggie. I’ll give them your regards
while I’m there.” She doubted Gray would fly down there for a
wedding when business was booming here.

“
Do you have a date for the wedding and reception?” His voice
had suddenly changed to a lower tone. One with an odd dissatisfied
growl that she’d never heard before from him.

“
That’s none of your business.”

“
No, she doesn’t have a date.” Her dad’s loud voice boomed
across the yacht as he suddenly appeared on the
gangplank.

“
Don’t you think she needs one?” Gray prodded in that teasing
voice again.

She
turned and tossed her dad a warning look. She was not in the mood
for Gray’s stupid teasing this afternoon.

“
She has one,” her dad replied. He winked at her and she got an
overwhelming urge to run to him and hug him. She loved hugging him.
He was like a thin version of Santa Claus in his long straggly hair
and white beard and moustache.

Thank you
,
dad
!

“
She does? But you just said…”

Her dad
held up his hand to silence Gray.

“
Out customer for this yacht just called. He’s decided on some
changes. He wants that large forward cabin made into two cabins and
he wants the extra bathroom built beside the existing one, so each
cabin will get its own bathroom. He is willing to pay the extra
costs of some of Gray’s exclusive carpentry design plus there is a
good sized bonus in it for the both of you if the delivery date
remains the same. Remember, the yacht is for his wife’s surprise
birthday party.”

Miranda
frowned.

“
But Gray can’t put up the walls and install everything before
I leave tonight.”

A serious
no argument look splashed across his face and she got the feeling
she wasn’t going to like what her dad was about to say.

“
I’ve already ordered the necessary supplies and reworked the
itinerary. Supplies will be ready at various ports. That’ll give
Gray the time he needs before California.”

Her gut
hollowed out in frustration. Damn! She’d been looking forward to
doing her first solo run and proving to them that she was as good
as they were. Hell, she was even better than they were.

“
Oh, so you’ve decided to let Gray take the boat instead of
me.” She didn’t like being pulled off a job promised to her and she
found it hard to keep the disappointment out of her
voice.

Her
father smiled and his blue eyes twinkled with unmistakable
mischief.

“
Gray will be going with you, Miranda. He can’t steer and do
the job and sleep.”

“
Both of us?” To her surprise, Gray echoed the same words at
the same time as she did.

Her dad’s
bushy white eyebrows furrowed.

“
If either of you have a problem with that, you will need to
set it aside. The bonus will allow us to get that second building
you too are always harping on. Lord knows having you two working in
separate buildings will keep the arguments down to a dull
roar.”

Her dad
studied her as if expecting an argument. Well, he wasn’t going to
get one, at least not in front of Gray.

“
You both set sail tonight. Gray, come on to my office and I’ll
give you the low down on the trip. Follow the new changes to the
schedule I just created and there won’t be any
problems.”

Her dad
turned to her.

“
And, Miranda, since Gray is going with you, and you’ll need a
bodyguard to fend off any human males and Octoposeidon males,
you’ll have a date for the wedding. It will be Gray.”

She heard
Gray curse softly beneath his breath. She didn’t have to look at
him to know the idea sucked as much for him as it did for
her.

She was
about to mount an argument with her dad, when his cell phone rang.
He dug it out of his shirt pocket and looked at the screen. He
smiled.

“
Looks like your business meeting paid off, Gray. Our next
customer is calling. I have to get this.”

“
But, dad…”

He held
up his hand to silence her. “Now don’t argue with me, sweet pea. I
don’t have the time.”

He began
speaking to his customer as he headed toward the
gangplank.

“
You should look happy, Randi.” Gray said her nickname so
softly; it felt like velvet smoothing over her senses.

“
You won’t have to show up solo for that wedding. See you,
later.”

Gray
winked at her and the smug expression on his face had her cursing
him under her breath. He tossed her an amused smile that made her
want to throw the paintbrush at his broad back. With a wave of his
hand and an overly satisfied stride in his walk, he followed her
dad down the gangplank.

* * * *
*

“
You may as well face it, Jack. She’s going to Turn. I’ve
noticed some changes to that effect,” Gray said as he poured
himself a coffee in Jack’s office and gazed out the nearby window
to watch Miranda. She stood at the bow of the bright white
sixty-foot yacht they would deliver to California.

She was
gazing at the giant puffs of storm clouds looming off the western
horizon. The way the sun hit them, made the clouds appear almost
black. Watching her silhouetted against nature, her long sandy
brown colored hair billowing behind her in the October ocean
breeze, made his breath catch. He wanted her so bad. But he
couldn’t make a move on her and claim her as his female because of
his loyalty to Jack. Jack had made it clear on several occasions
that he hoped Miranda would remain human and get a nice human man
to take care of her.

He knew
he should sugar coat it so that Jack would have some time to get
used to the idea that Miranda wasn’t going to remain a pure human,
but he couldn’t. Upon returning today from that business meeting,
and finding Miranda on the boat, her sensual scent practically
bringing Gray to his knees with want for her, had alerted him she
would soon Change.

Jack
nodded. Devastation was evident on the sixty-two year old man’s
wrinkled face. Perhaps her father had also noticed the subtle
changes in her recently. Her skin was glowing a vibrant, healthy
pink. She was hanging out on the ocean more often finding all kinds
of excuses to take motorboat rides across the waves. There was that
restlessness in her that made her want to go and deliver that yacht
on her own. The truth was that deep down inside her, an instinct
was telling her she needed to get away and find a mate.

“
It’s another reason why I want you to accompany her, Gray.
You’ll keep the males away from her. You’ll keep her safe. I know I
can trust you.”

Guilt shifted through Gray like sharp razor blades. He knew he
should tell Jack he wasn’t sure he could handle staying away from
Miranda. Her scent drove him wild. Lately, every time he saw her,
he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her. He craved to
touch her in ways a guy in charge of her safety should not be
thinking about. And, at nights when he Turned in the depths of the
ocean, he swam alone in the darkness, needing her.
Wanting her
.

Jack’s
slap to his back snapped Gray from his thoughts.

“
She’ll be safe with you. You don’t know how good that makes me
feel.”

Yeah
,
right
.

Gray forced himself to smile at his partner and then took a
sip of the scorching hot coffee. He grimaced as the fiery liquid
slid down his throat. Perfect. Just the way he liked it. But the
heat of the coffee did nothing to douse the chaos of his emotions.
Guilt ruled. How was
he
going to protect Miranda from himself?

“
Have you unpacked from your other trip, yet?” Jack asked as he
handed Gray the new itinerary he’d mentioned.

Gray
shook his head and pocketed the schedule. He’d look at it later and
then give it to Miranda.

“
No, but I need a fresh set of clothes. I can pack in a few
short minutes. Then I just need to add a suit for the wedding. I
can order a rental over the Internet and have it waiting for me in
California.”

Jack
nodded.

“
Good. Good. Seriously, I am glad I hired you all those years
ago. I knew you would be the perfect man to protect her if she went
into the Change. Do you think she has an idea she won’t be the
human she’s always wanted to be?”

She knows
.

But he
didn’t tell Jack that or the fact he’d been reacting to her. Jack
was human. He didn’t have to know everything about Octo males and
how badly they hungered for a female.

“
I think you’d have to ask her that question,” Gray
said.

Jack
frowned. He gazed out the eastern window of the business office and
rubbed a hand across his scrubby white beard. Gorgeous snow-capped
mountains loomed behind the handful of colorful buildings nestled
amongst the cliffs of this secluded hamlet. It was a beautiful
place here and it almost made Gray’s breath catch at how close he’d
come to never coming here in the first place.

“
I’ve been her mother, her father, friend, and confidant since
her mother died. She’s always wanted to remain human, like
myself.”

You mean you taught her to want to be human
. But Gray kept the comment to himself. He’d never agreed with
the way Jack catered to Miranda’s sporadic comments of wanting to
remain a human. The chances were pretty much for sure that soon, at
every twilight, her legs and arms would shift into octopus form.
Her craving for sex in both her human form and her Octo shape would
become a dominant part of her life. Just as it was for
Gray.

“
I’ll have a talk with her when you both return,” Jack replied
softly.

Gray was
sure Jack’s talk would come too late. Again, he remained silent.
Jack would find out soon enough.

“
In the meantime, I should let you know we got the job from
that business tycoon you were meeting with. He’s slapping down
three million for a sailing yacht and wants it ready for Spring.
That will be Miranda’s run.”

Gray
nodded, barely hearing Jack’s words as the older man continued
chatting about the new job.

He was so damned glad he’d returned earlier from his trip. Had
she gone to that wedding alone, she would have been prey to strange
Octoposeidon and Gray didn’t want her first Octo sexual experiences
with one or more strangers. He wanted her first time to be
with
him
.

Chapter Two

The
instant Gray left her dad’s office and strolled up the outside
stairs to where the three of them shared a large apartment on the
second floor of their office building, Miranda left the yacht. A
few minutes later, she knocked on her dad’s office door. Without
waiting for him to call out for her to enter, she walked
in.

“
Dad, we need to talk.”

“
Hey, sweet pea. Are you all packed up for your trip?” he
asked.

He didn’t
look up as he studied some papers on his desk. She could tell in
the way he worried his bottom lip that he didn’t want to deal with
her now. She almost dropped the argument she had planned, but
decided she owed it to herself to stick up for herself.

“
I just have to get my stuff on board. Dad, you promised I
could do a solo run this year. It’s already October and unusually
mild this year. Perfect boating weather. I had my heart set on
going this one alone.” Guilt did wonders on her dad when she wanted
something and she wasn’t above using it on occasion. Like
now.

He looked
up and surprise washed over his face.

“
You know why you can’t go it alone this time, Miranda,” he
said and returned to studying his papers.

“
I get that. But I want a promise from you that the next one is
mine.”

He
frowned and looked up at her again. He shook his head.

“
That’ll be December. The ocean is not a good place for you to
be in December, sweet pea. Gray is experienced with the winter
deliveries. He’ll do the December run. You can do next
Spring.”

Gray. Gray. Gray. Damn him
!

“
Promise me, dad. All the Spring runs are mine.” May as well
get more than one trip out of the guilt.

He seemed
relieved. He stood and made his way around his desk and engulfed
her in a warm embrace that was more like a tight bear
hug.