Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

right, but you carry your own weight.” And no making moves on the captain, she wanted to add. She had all the moves she could take in the last twelve hours. “Cast us off, Peter.”
    “Aye, aye, Captain.”
    “Sonya?” Aidan reached out and grabbed her arm. Stepping closer, he studied her face.
    “Yes?” Their eyes met and his turned hard.
    His jaw tightened, and he let go of her. “Nothing.”
    Puzzled over his actions, Sonya returned to the pilot house and fired up the engines as her crew, plus one, cast them off from the dock. She turned the boat toward the line, in the mood to fight for her share of the catch today.
    The door slid opened and in stepped Aidan, the breadth of his shoulders sucking the air out of the small room. “You slept with that fish cop last night, didn’t you?” His eyes were full of anger, accusation, and…hurt?
    “Excuse me?” How could he know? Did someone see Garrett leave her boat this morning? Had word swam down the cork line that fast?
    “You have that look.”
    “What look?” What the hell was he talking about?
    “The one you always got after we made love. You would develop this glow about you, like heat radiating from the inside out.” He swallowed and glanced away for a moment before nailing her with reproachful eyes. “Why, Sonya?”
    How dare he make her feel guilty, like she’d somehow cheated on him? They were no longer together. It was none of his business who she slept with and vice versa. “Whatever happened between Garrett and me doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
    He stared at her long and hard, the wounded look in his eyes changing to something dark and dangerous. “Don’t kid yourself.” Then he slammed out of the pilot house, and stomped his way to the deck where Peter and Wes were readying the net.
    A chill chased up her spine.
    She reached for the small aluminum pan she kept near the stove. Turning it over, she gazed long at her reflection. Did she give off a “just been satisfied” glow every time she had sex? Why had she never noticed before? Yes, her cheeks were flushed but that could be due to the accusations Aidan had just flung at her. For that matter it could be due to the weather.
    Who was she kidding? It was a beautiful morning. Clear, calm, with a caressing breeze.
    Suddenly she seethed.
    She tossed the pan back to the stove, and it clanged as it hit, rocking until it settled. She wished she had something else she could throw. A glance at the clock told her she had ten minutes until the fishing period opened. The boats in front of her were lined up like an aluminum wall.
    Damned if they wouldn’t make room for her today.
    “Sonya, whatcha doing?” Peter asked as she bumped her way past the Miss Julie II.
    “You want to show Aidan how to drift, don’t you?” she hollered back at him, tired of the men in her life questioning her actions.
    “Not if it involves putting ourselves at risk.” Peter turned to Aidan, and she heard his words as they traveled into the open window of the pilot house. “What did you say to rile her up? I thought you two were getting along.”
    Aidan turned and gazed at Sonya, his expression downfallen. “So did I.”
    The look stabbed her.
    Come on already, she had nothing to feel guilty about. She was a grown woman who hadn’t had sex in over a year. Hell, she had needs, damn it. She didn’t have to explain those needs to anyone. She glanced away from Aidan and focused on finding a place to set out the net in the cramped area crawling with other drifters trying to do the same.
    “Five minutes! Peter, get that buoy ready. Wes, keep an eye out.” They couldn’t put their net out until the clock struck time to fish, but if a fisherman let his buoy fly a little earlier, then all the fisherman dropped their nets. After all, how would the fish cops be able to discern which fisherman dropped their net first?
    Time clicked slowly and silence settled over the bay, except for the slow rumble of diesel engines. It was as if the very air waited on baited breath.
    “There!” Wes pointed, and Peter let the buoy soar. Sonya gunned the engines and the bay roared as drifters rushed to catch every last fish swimming upriver to the spawning grounds. It was a buzz that never failed to exhilarate Sonya. Forgotten was the risk of being pregnant, the reprimand she’d received from Aidan, the guilt she couldn’t seem to squash. Instead, she let the excitement and the fight for fish steal over her.
    White