Dangerous Kisses (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Free

Paul dealing with his wife, however, Megan knew he was going to have hell to pay when Marie got wind of him firing her nephew.
    “If you had heard the whole conversation, you would know the decision I made was not rash by any means.” Paul walked to the door, stopped, and turned to Megan. “Are you coming?”
    Megan glanced at her wristwatch, surprised a full hour had passed already since she arrived. The aquarium would be closing at six o’clock. She didn’t have any plans for the evening beyond going home and soaking in a long, hot bath, so she shrugged and followed Paul out of the office, sensing Brandon at her heels.
    “I heard the whole conversation,” Brandon continued on another half laugh. “Hell, Paul. Half the aquarium heard you yelling at that poor boy this time. You know we all sit around placing bets on when the next spat between you and Robert will happen.” He settled into step beside Megan and patted the right back pocket of his khaki slacks. “I think I’ve made damn near twenty bucks over the past six weeks betting on him and Robert,” he whispered to her, then raised his voice again. “If you were attempting to be discreet, Paul, you failed miserably.”
    Paul breezed past the scattering of employees and tourists in the hallway, leading them to the unisex locker room and the changing area inside. He went to a locker in the far corner and pulled out his wetsuit.
    Megan started to back out of the room, but he disappeared into one of the stalls to change, so she stayed.
    “I wasn’t attempting to be discreet,” Paul said through the stall door. “I don’t give a rat’s ass if the President of the United States heard me. That poor boy , as you referred to him, deserved every bit of it and then some. He’s lucky I allowed him to walk out of this place in one piece.”
    “Maybe so.” Brandon sighed. “Look, I agree he needed to be fired. Heaven knows after all the stunts he’s pulled around here, he got what he deserved. It just doesn’t seem to me like now would be the most opportune time to throw more fuel on the home fire.”
    “What’s going on at home?” Megan didn’t mean to put voice to the question. She didn’t want to pry, but her concern for Paul overruled her sensible thought.
    Paul stepped out of the stall, put the suit he had been wearing in his locker, and turned to Megan, sadness and what she could only define as guilt clear in his eyes. “I fucked up with Marie. Our marriage hasn’t been a great one in years. You know that. But I, well”—he raked a hand over his balding head—“did something that definitely didn’t make it any better.” He sighed and shifted his attention to Brandon. “Despite that, nothing I do lately is making my home life any better. This place is all I’ve got, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Robert fuck it up any worse. If Drake hadn’t gone behind him this afternoon and checked the gauges on the tanks, every one of those sharks could be dead right now.”
    “They’ve been in captivity too long,” Megan said, thinking aloud. “They don’t adapt as well to colder temperatures as ones that live in the open ocean, especially the tiger shark.”
    “Exactly.” Paul nodded and walked out of the door, holding it open for them to follow. “As it stands, they may be in danger anyway. I have no way of knowing for sure until countless hours are spent monitoring them, countless hours that could be better spent on other tasks.”
    “Where are you going now?” Brandon asked, shuffling to keep up with Paul. “Would you stop for a minute so we don’t have to keep talking to your back?”
    “I don’t have time, and this conversation will get us nowhere anyway.” Paul continued down the hall to the employee entrance of the shark tank. “I’m going diving with the sharks. Like Megan said, that tiger shark is my biggest concern. There’s too much money invested in that baby to let it keel over. Drake’s a well-trained young