Treasure Tides (The Coins) by Deniece Greene Read Free Book Online

directly in
front of him.
Tilting her head to one side and squinting up at him, she got directly
to the point. “What did you say you were doing in my house again, naked ?” she asked.
Becki wrinkled her nose as she caught the scent of her favorite
shaving cream. She leaned closer to him, and sniffed. “Did you use my
twenty five dollar can of shaving gel?” she said incredulously, poking him
hard with a finger in the center of his chest.
Royce raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender, “If you will
get me something to wear, I’ll explain,” he negotiated.
She looked at him as if he had three heads, folded her arms, and
began taping her foot; clearly indicating that she was not going anywhere.
“I’m a friend of Ryker’s--” he began.
“Ryker? My landlord Ryker?”
“Yes,” he confirmed, “we’ve been friends for years. I’m going to be in
town for a couple of weeks and I usually stay here when I’m in the area.”
His stomach clinched as he lied to her, but there was no other
explanation he could offer, at least not an explanation that was reasonable .
“Well you are not staying here this time. It’s occupied,” she said with
a glare.
“So noted; I’m sorry I frightened you,” he apologized, then offered a
bribe, “I’ll buy you a new can of shaving cream if you find some clothes
for me.”
She narrowed her eyes and planted her hands on her hips. However,
she had stopped tapping her foot which Royce decided to view as
progress.
“Two cans,” he quickly upped the ante. “ Two cans of shaving cream
for a shirt and pair of shorts,” he bargained flashing his dimples.
“Deal,” she agreed, before turning to rush from the room. She had
better find those clothes… quickly . When he flashed that smile, her first
impulse had been to tackle him to the floor and have her wicked way
with him.
He fleetingly wished he could spend some time with her, get to know
her a little better (maybe even a lot better). You might as well stop right there
buddy . Royce shook his head at the foolishness of wishing. Time was
one thing he did not have. The mission was already two years behind
schedule, so there was literally no more time to spare. He had a job to
do, a team to lead, and a coin to find. He also needed to figure out the
Witches’ agenda; they always had an agenda. He didn’t know what they
were up to, or why they were meddling in the recovery operation, but he
was damn sure going to find out. Glancing at his watch, he wondered
what the hell could be keeping Sean.
Becki moved quickly from her bedroom, through the living room,
continuing out the patio door onto her deck. She paused momentarily to
fling shorts and a T shirt in Royce’s general direction as she passed
through the living room.
Royce heard Becki re-enter the living room and looked up to see
clothes sail through the air toward him.
“Thank you,” he called to the rapidly retreating figure. “Chicken,” he
murmured, chuckling to himself. It really was a shame he had to move
on so quickly.
Outside, Becki paced from one end of her deck to the other and back
again.
Biting the nail on her index finger, she relived the last few
minutes. Did she just make out with a perfect stranger?
Perfect was
right. Oh my .
“Shit, shit, shit,” she muttered rubbing her forehead. Was it too
much to ask for the ground to open up and swallow her right now.
“Coffee?” Adonis asked, handing her a steaming cup with all the
essentials.
Looking at the perfectly tipped swirl of whipped cream floating on
the top, she asked, “How did you…”
“The creamer and whipped cream were sitting next to each other in
the fridge. I just heated the coffee that was cooling in the pot,” he said
as he moved to sit in one of the chairs surrounding the patio table.
Becki sipped her coffee, and wondered if she had hit the “man
lottery”. He looked like a model sitting at the table, actually drinking her
coffee. Uncle Kurt’s “Divers Do It Better”