Lords of the Deep by Kaitlyn O'Connor Page A

least some. She saw what at least appeared to be cultivated fields.
    “My god!” she breathed. Glancing around for the recorder and snatching it up, she began to describe everything she could see. She was so enthralled that she didn’t even hear Miles when he entered the room.
    She jumped a little guilty when he spoke, whirling around and staring at him wide-eyed, wondering suddenly if she was seeing things she shouldn’t be seeing, recording them!
    He said something and held out his hand.
    She stared at his hand with budding uneasiness and pretended she had no idea he was demanding the return of the recorder. He pointed at it and demanded it again. She shoved it behind her back. “No! You gave it to me. It’s mine now!”
    Miles studied her, trying to figure out how he was going to get his recorder away from her short of wrestling her for it.
    He didn’t think that was a good idea. Aside from the fact that he still wasn’t completely certain that she didn’t have any way to inject toxins, considering the effect just looking at her had on him, he didn’t think wallowing all over her was likely to have a happy conclusion—not for him, anyway.
    Damien came in, pausing in the doorway and propping one shoulder on the frame. “She won’t give me the recorder,” Miles said indignantly.
    Damien shrugged. “Give her something else to play with. She’s probably bored. She’s too bright not to be.”
    Miles sent him an irritated glance. “Just what do you suggest?” he demanded resentfully. “I should give her my microscope? Or maybe my spectrometer?”
    Damien grinned at him. “Whichever would be the lightest to carry, I guess … and the least lethal if she decided to throw it.”
    “Well, I’m not giving her either one! See if you can reason with her.”
    Damien gave him a look. “How the hell do you think I can do that when I can’t even talk to her?”
    Miles fumed for a moment and finally got up, stalking out. Damien studied Angie speculatively but decided his blood was a little too high, still, to go any closer. Miles breezed back in after a few minutes holding a remote. Settling on the edge of the bed, he waved it at her. “Buttons! This one has lots buttons. Give me the recorder you little shit and I’ll give you the remote.”
    Damien chuckled. “Nice. Try sweet talking her.”
    “I smiled when I said it. She doesn’t know the difference,” Miles said irritably.
    “That teeth baring thing was a smile?”
    Miles gave him a deadly look and then turned to study Angie again. “Look, sweety,” he said, using the shutter control to open and close the window shutter. “See! It does fun things!”
    Angie glanced from him to the remote to the window and returned her gaze to Miles. Very deliberately, she leaned over and pressed the button beside the window.
    Damien laughed.
    Miles glared at her.
    Damien decided it was time to intervene. Striding across the room he held out his hand to her. “Give it to me, Angie,” he said firmly.
    She clasped it behind her back and shook her head. “No!”
    He narrowed his eyes at her speculatively, allowing a predatory smile to curl his lips. “I know you don’t want me to come after it,” he murmured.
    Her eyes widened. After staring at him uncertainly a minute, she pulled the recorder from behind her back with a great show of reluctance and dropped it in his palm. He uttered an irritated sigh and slapped the recorder in Miles’ hand. “I didn’t think you did.”
    Miles divided a glance between them. “She acted as if she understood what you were saying!”
    Damien gave him a look filled with grim amusement. “I think she had a fair idea,” he said dryly.
    * * * *
    Angie settled uncomfortably in the corner when the two men had left, staring in consternation at the door while she mentally reviewed what she’d recorded, trying to think if she’d said anything embarrassing or potentially dangerous. It didn’t make her feel any better when she’d