Unauthorized Passion. Amanda Stevens

him…about his demeanor…about this whole setup…

      Why had Celeste never mentioned the Boucheron diamond? Surely, a stone of such…epic proportions was something Cassie should have been made aware of, in case people asked questions. And by people, she meant Jack Fury.

      She lifted her chin, prepared to improvise as best she could. “If you expect me to tell you where I keep my jewelry, you’re in for a shock. You say you’re a cop, but you haven’t shown me any identification. For all I know, you’re the jewel thief.”

      “I haven’t shown you any identification because I’m undercover,” he said. “I can’t exactly go around flashing my ID and badge, now can I?”

      Cassie’s gaze narrowed. Again, his explanation was just a little too convenient. On the other hand, if he really was working undercover, that might explain the overprocessed hair.

      Still, Cassie knew she’d be a fool to simply take him at his word. And yet…even as her doubts continued to mount, she couldn’t help but remember the way he’d reacted at the restaurant to what they’d both thought was gunfire. He hadn’t hesitated even for a moment to protect her. His response had been instinctive, just as a cop’s would be.

      Even now, his gaze on her was steady. Not shifting or wavering, but so relentless that Cassie felt a tremor course through her. His eyes were even bluer than she remembered. A deep ocean blue that made her wonder about hidden depths.

      “Do you remember what happened at the restaurant the other night?” she asked reluctantly. “Almost everyone on the patio thought that sound was a gunshot. Did you?”

      He shrugged. “I did at first.”

      “Is that why you dove for me?”

      “Sure.”

      “But why would you assume I was the target? Why would a jewel thief want to kill me?”

      His gaze left hers then to scan the ocean. “I didn’t stop to think about it. I just reacted because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

      Something in his voice made Cassie’s heart start to pound even harder. Was it a note of sincerity? “Afterwards, I saw you on top of the building across the street. You were looking down at me.”

      His gaze met hers again. “I thought I saw someone up there. I went to check it out.”

      “And what about today? Why did you follow me to Galveston? If you think the jewel thief is after the—” What had he called it? “—Boucheron diamond, why didn’t you stay back at the hotel and watch for him?”

      “Because he knows you’re too smart to entrust a three-million-dollar ring to a hotel safe. He also knows that a woman in love would want to keep an expensive gift from her lover somewhere close by.”

      “Who says I’m in love?” Cassie blurted.

      Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Aren’t you?”

      She pushed back her wet hair. “Owen and I are finished, haven’t you heard?”

      “Yes, I heard that.”

      “Then how do you know I didn’t give the ring back?”

      “Because you’d be a fool to give away that kind of security now that your career has—shall we say—suffered some setbacks.”

      There it was again, the barest hint of disapproval, and this time Cassie was a little annoyed by it. “How is it you seem to know so much about me?” she demanded.

      “I make it my business to know everything about the people involved in the cases I’m working. I don’t like surprises.”

       Then brace yourself, mister.

      But Cassie wasn’t yet ready to come clean with Jack Fury. A part of her wanted to trust him because, after all, what was her alternative? Jump back into the water? They were too far out for her to swim to shore, and if she hailed another boat, how could she be certain she wasn’t flagging down the real jewel thief? If he even existed.

      But that wasn’t the real reason Cassie kept silent. To be honest, there was something deeply thrilling about being the object of Jack Fury’s attention. And once he found out she wasn’t Celeste, she’d be about as interesting to him as yesterday’s catch.

      He was just so different from anyone Cassie had ever met before. She’d known there was something special about him the moment she’d set eyes on him at Metro. But she’d thought at first her attraction stemmed from the effortless way he blended into the arty world to which she’d always hoped to belong. Now she realized it was something else. Her thirst for adventure—for something more—drew her to him.

      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