could she be thinking of sex in the middle of a meeting? Focus, Valentina. Focus.
Ash gave her one of those sinful smiles that made her want to strip right then and there. She blushed and glanced down. He squeezed her thigh. She glanced up, and he winked at her. The bastard knew she was embarrassed and was actually enjoying it.
Dr. Ishman closed the folder on the table. “That’s about it.”
Dammit. She’d missed almost everything he’d said. She hoped it wasn’t important for her job.
He continued. “I’ll visit the crater shortly.”
Crater? Oh shit. He meant the crater in the volcano. That was what Mark was talking about. He’d found a coin in the crater of the volcano. Wait, how the hell could that happen? Who would put coins way up there?
Everyone stood after Kristin called the meeting over. If she was going to ask a question, now was the time. She may not get the chance to see him before he went back to his island.
“Dr. Ishman,” she called out. He turned back toward them. Since Ash still hadn’t let go of her hand, she dragged him around the table with her. “Sir, may I ask you a question?”
“Absolutely, young lady. What can I help you with?”
She thought about how to phrase her question without sounding like a complete idiot. “One of my friends recently found an old gold coin in the volcano crater. Gold as in real gold and not the normal size of a quarter or nickel. How is that possible?
The doctor pulled his brows down and laid the folder in his hand on the table. “Very interesting. Do you know where in the caldera he found it?”
Great, he was using scientific jargon. Now she felt stupid. Ash would think she was a moron.
She shook her head. “No.”
Dr. Ishman tapped a finger on his mushed lips, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling, and Ash snuggled up behind her. Hard cock and all. It almost took her breath away, knowing that was intended for her.
But they were in the damn office. So, she stuck her butt out and pushed him back. There, that should show him. Not only did Ash step back, but he slid his hand down the side of her thigh.
With a jerk, she straightened, sucking her ass back in. Goosebumps crawled down her leg where he touched her. The doctor still stared at the ceiling, humming to himself.
Next, he cupped her ass cheek. She slapped his hand as the good doctor pulled his head from the sky. Quickly, she clasped her hands in front of her.
“The only reasonable thing I can think of,” Ishman said, “is a blowhole.”
Ash leaned forward against her. “A blowhole?” She jabbed back an elbow into his stomach. She knew exactly what he was thinking. This had nothing to do with blowing or a hole. Though she could go for that idea.
“Yes, blowhole,” the doctor repeated. “On Oahu, there is a place known as the Halona Blowhole. There, ocean water is sucked into a lava tube. Then, when the pressure gets just right, the water travels up and out a hole, shooting like a geyser into the air. The smaller the tube gets as the water moves up, the more powerful the burst.”
“Then what happens?” she asked.
“The cycle starts over. Water is sucked up until the pressure is right.”
“Let’s say there’s something in the water near the lava tube opening. Could it be sucked up too?”
“Absolutely. In point of fact, the occurrence of the cycle could depend on how much water can go in. If the opening is small and water comes in on a trickle, then it would take a lot longer than, say, a wide tube that could suck it up like a straw.”
“How does that relate to things being sucked up into the tube.”
“Oh, sorry,” the volcanologist said, “I get going on the inner workings, and I could go on all day about how fabulously nature works.”
Yeah, maybe someone she wouldn’t hang out at the bar with.
“Anyway,” he continued, “rocks are frequently sucked in and, if small enough, shoot out the top. But anything too big or heavy would get stuck in the tube where it starts to narrow on its way up. Those then just fall back to the bottom and either roll away or keep getting sucked up until the rock wears down enough for them to go on through.
“Also a few years back, a paleontologist found a full skeleton of an extinct fish. I