Dylan forced a smile that turned into a real one when he thought of what Brian would say if he could see him now. A dancer? What, you’re gay after all?
Dylan chuckled. He hadn’t bothered telling Brian what he was doing with his time off. He’d never understood his brother’s hostility toward the profession their mother had cherished early on in her life. Sure, some of the guys involved were a bit over the top, but so what? And anyway, not everyone was like that.
His cell buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out without thinking.
“I turned mine off when I came on board. Not going to be much use soon,” the young dancer said.
“It works in port. We’re not underway yet…” Dylan read the other dancer’s gold name badge. “…Jake.”
He tapped the screen a few times and scanned the new message from Brian.
Don’t ever get married. Lily’s being a nag.
His good humor evaporated. “Bastard.”
“Nasty breakup?”
“Something like that.” Dylan gritted his teeth and shoved the phone back in his pocket.
“That’s the way. Out of sight, out of mind.”
If only it were that easy.
“I’m so looking forward to getting to know everyone,” Jake said. He gave Dylan a lascivious wink.
Dylan rolled his eyes. It really shouldn’t bother him that everyone was going to assume he was gay. Maybe he was more like Brian than he realized.
No. I’ll never be like him. I’ll just put everyone right quickly, make my sexuality a non-issue, and move on. These next three months are all about doing my own thing.
The cruise director stalked past them, and he admired the way her uniform molded to her body. Her long golden hair swished as she walked. Dylan wondered what the soft strands would feel like across his naked chest.
Nope, he was definitely not gay.
He smiled again. Brian might be a bastard, but he’d made this break happen. Perhaps Dylan would find more than tropical seas and the rigor of dancing to treat himself with. A flash of sunlight reflected through a window, thinning the opacity of the cruise director’s skirt and outlining her long legs.
Oh man, she shouldn’t hide under all that stiff fabric.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, she turned. Her eyes flashed at him, and he smirked. He’d need to pick and choose who he associated with carefully while onboard. Starting a flirtation with someone he knew nothing about was probably not a good idea, given that he’d lied his way into the audition. Not to mention the woman was his boss.
He did always like a challenge, though. The smirk turned to a full-blown smile. Nothing like a romance to make a holiday complete. No one would be expecting anything long-term on a cruise ship.
Without the tension of the boardroom to focus on, perhaps he could put his energies into winning in the bedroom. Winning in the cruise director’s bedroom. Maybe her wall of ice just needed a real man to melt it.
“See you later,” he mumbled to Jake and headed for the stern deck. If the cruise director could enjoy the last shards of sunlight, so could he.
Beside the stern pool, he lay back in a deck chair with a beer bought from the bar and sighed.
The hard lump he sat on reminded him of Brian’s message. He took the phone out and read it again. Don’t ever get married. Lily’s being a nag.
What an ass.
On this occasion, though, he had to agree with his brother. Marriage never worked out for anyone.
Not that he needed to deal with that for the next three months at least. Relishing the sun on his face, Dylan closed his eyes and let the gentle sway of the ocean and the hum of the cruise ship’s motors lull him into a pleasant doze.
…
Maybe it was the three cocktails, or maybe it was today’s confrontation with the captain, but Michaela’s head churned as she lay in bed. So much for an early night.
“Get a grip, girl.”
Throwing her legs over the side of her small bed, she gave up on sleep and decided a walk on the deck was the thing to calm her.
Night had just closed in over the harbor, and Michaela relished the cool of the evening. A full moon sat fat and replete in the sky. Perhaps that’s what had brought her up here—it was time to break the spell of her own onboard werewolf.
The captain really was a werewolf, charming one minute, then all claws and vicious remarks the next. Why oh why had she ever let him talk her into bed with him?
“Clearly a moment of weakness,” she told the ocean.
“I wouldn’t have thought you had any of those.”
Michaela jumped. What was with people sneaking up on her today? “Who’s there?”
“I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I’m over here. On the deck chairs.”
Squinting in the dim light, Michaela made out a long, lean form stretched over a chair, but she didn’t need to see his face to recognize the deep voice of Dylan Johns. Just thinking of the way his body would look sprawled out in a deck chair made the palms of her hands tingle. Wasn’t that a sign of madness? Cocktail reaction. Definitely.
“I don’t bite. Well, not unless I’m asked to. Come on, the moon is magnificent over the water. Sit for a bit.”
“I came up to clear my head. Think I’ll keep walking. Thanks all the same,” she said stiffly.
“Suit yourself.” He paused. “Must be hard work being a woman at the top. The captain sure seems to like making your life tough.”
Michaela’s eyebrows ratcheted upwards. Sympathy? She felt a little lighter, as if someone had lifted a bag off her back.
Hang on. “I’m not sure the captain would appreciate you talking about him like that.”
“He’s not here, though, is he? Or did I read you wrong? Do you like being trodden all over by your superiors?”
This didn’t fit. Michaela struggled to make sense of what was happening through the haze of three cocktails and not enough sleep. “No, of course not.” She changed tack. “What are you doing out here?”
“Dozed off earlier. When I woke up, it seemed a shame to go below decks. I don’t get much opportunity to lie around and look at the moon. Sure you don’t want to join me?” His voice dropped to a growl that set Michaela’s skin humming. “Or do you have some other mystery man to talk to at the other end of the deck?”
Oh, God, he made her sound like a little girl. A little girl who needed someone big and broad to look after her. “No,” she said coldly and spun to go.
She banged her shin into a deck chair and was instantly angry with herself for being so clumsy. “Ouch!”