Guilty Pleasures (40 page)

 

24

Jake awoke the following morning stiff and annoyed. He'd nearly fallen off the couch three times during the night, and each time his angst grew by degrees. The ship hit rocky waters during the night, and every roll and bounce increased his anxiety. Nightmares dominated what little sleep he could summon. On more than one occasion he'd crept from the couch over to the bed, hoping that Eva was awake and would tell him to join her.

In all the years they'd been together, he'd never been banished to the couch. If this was some new trend, then Eva had another thought coming. He figured he'd give her a play for one night, but that was it. She knew how hard being on this ship was for him, the old terrors that it inspired. Was this her way of getting back at him, using his confession against him
Is that what their relationship had been reduced to
Trust was a bitch. It could turn on you like a pit bull, tearing you apart until you were nothing but shreds of what you had once been.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position, hearing his joints creak in refusal to bend to his will. The shower water was running, and he had a mind to go in there and have it out with her. But good sense intervened. Eva could be pretty physical when the mood hit her. And according to statistics, the majority of in-home accidents happened in the bathroom. The fact that they were on a ship didn't ease his mind any.

The bathroom door opened. Eva stepped out, wrapped in a towel. She looked in his direction and kept walking.

“Don't I even get a good morning
How did you sleep last night
” he grumbled.

She cut her eyes in his direction. “Good morning. How did you sleep last night
” she singsonged along with her fake smile.

He stood, stretching his back as he rose. “Do you really care
”

“Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” She pulled open the closet and took out her clothes, tossing them on the bed.

“So this is how it's gonna be, huh
”

She whirled toward him, hands on hips. “How what's gonna be
Us
Me and you
” She craned her neck forward.

“Yeah. Us, Eva. Me and you.”

She let the towel fall, waited a beat to let his eyes feast on her curves.

Heat flushed his body. He started toward her. She held up her hand, halting him in his steps.

“Take a good look, Jake, because this is the last time you'll be seeing me like this.”

Slowly she bent and picked up the towel. Then she draped it back around her body. “From now on, Jake Kelly, it's strictly business between me and you.” She picked up her clothes from the bed and returned to the bathroom to get dressed, slamming the door behind her.

His jaw clenched so hard, his head began to pound. Had she lost her natural mind
He was her husband, damnit! Not some stiff she picked up in a bar. Although that is how they met. But that was beside the point.

He stormed over to the bathroom and jerked on the doorknob only to find the door locked. He pounded on the door.

“Eva! Open the door. We need to talk.”

She snatched the door open, and he nearly tumbled inside. “There's nothing to talk about,” she said with a haughty lift of her chin. She brushed by him.

“Eva … please. Don't do this. There's stuff … that you don't understand.”

Eva drew in a breath and turned slowly around. “What is it that I don't understand, Jake
Tell me.”