“For my first recommendation as troubleshooter, I suggest you get your rebounder out. Pop it in the corner of your office. Actually, screw that. Put it behind your desk and use it instead of a chair.”
Tessa laughed. “I’m going to look oh-so-professional bouncing up and down as I talk to the crew.”
“Better than bouncing off the walls.” Keri squeezed her friend’s arm. “I know we kid around a lot, but I do think you’re going to rock this. You’ve got the skills. So what if Big Brother Golden Boy would do some things differently? Be yourself, use those freaky managerial skills you got at that fancy-schmancy school, and everything will work out fine.”
They pulled to a stop outside Tessa’s office door. Tessa whirled on her. “I’m glad you’re here. You’re the best friend ever.”
All light vanished as Keri was buried in an enormous hug, her face jammed into Tessa’s armpit, her ribs groaning in protest.
“Hey there, Tigger, lighten up on the full-body attacks.”
The words squeaked out like a ducky on its final float in the tub. Tessa released her and Keri sucked for air, maintaining her smile even as she gasped for breath.
The cougar shifter who was her best friend in the world, and as near to a sister as anyone could be, bounced in a circle around her. “I mean it, Keri. Thanks for lending a hand. It’s not everyone who would give up their holiday to work.”
“Hey, I’m on a cruise ship. Bonbons and swimming pools. Exactly how much exertion is this going to take?” Keri ducked Tessa’s halfhearted swing. “Kidding, kidding—but come on, I’m nothing but a glorified gofer. It’s not as if I’m cooking for five hundred.”
“That would be scariness of epic proportions.” Tessa gave an exaggerated shudder and clutched her stomach.
Keri snorted. “Right. You can’t cook either.”
“I’m surprised we didn’t starve during college.”
“Ahh, the wonders of microwave dinners and pizza delivery.” Keri gave her friend a light punch in the shoulder. “But we survived that, you’ll make it through this. More than survive—you’re gonna do awesome.”
“Thanks.” Tessa let out a deep breath before giving her a wink. “Thanks for reminding me I can do it.”
They fist-bumped, then Tessa slipped into her office and Keri headed down the hall to escape onto deck.
She took it all in—the beautiful blue sky, the undulating waves of the ocean. The scent of the sea and a faint hint of fried food from the restaurants of the town filled her nostrils. She leaned on the railing and smiled.
It
was
a holiday. Tessa might be in the middle of panic mode, but those were normal first-time-out nerves. The shifter-only cruises had operated without a hitch for years, and with Tessa at the helm, nothing would change except maybe to get better. Like the rest of her family—the clan that had provided Keri’s second home for the past ten years—the girl had a flair for making others happy.
Volunteering as a troubleshooter wasn’t going to be a huge task at all. It was more a favour to ease Tessa’s concerns.
No, Keri planned on using what should be ample spare time this trip to plan out her future. She had an art degree from the community college, ink permanently staining her fingers, and a backpack full of charcoal pencils and art pads. But drawing pictures in the farmer’s market wouldn’t pay the bills forever. She sent another set of good wishes her parents’ direction for being patient with a rebellious hothead and giving her a place to bloom.
Now if she could only figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up.
A gust of wind tossed her long hair into her eyes, and Keri regretted her decision to leave it down. At sea she’d have to drag it back into a ponytail. She twisted the strands out of her way and dug in her pocket for an elastic.
Loud shouts drew her attention to the harbour. Three people raced through the streets, the one in front narrowly ahead. He leapt over a stack of boxes before shoving them behind him into the path of his pursuers. The first man turned the corner, out of sight for a moment, as the two behind forced the crates out of the way, their curses painting the air blue.
Keri walked along the railing, trying to locate the cause of the commotion. Was he a thief, perhaps? Someone late on their mooring payments? By the time she’d reached the prow of the boat, the two pursuers were visible in greater detail. Big clumpy fishermen boots graced their feet, and they were covered in shiny rain gear from head to toe. The sheer awkwardness of running in those outfits made her legs ache in sympathy.
Out on the main street, a lone figure dashed back into view, head down, legs pumping. He was poetry in motion as he leapt over ropes and around barrels, climbing over people and shipping supplies as if taking a casual stroll down the beach.
Only, when he changed direction, raced up the ramp and disappeared into the depths of the
Arctic Wolf
’s hold, the fun and games were over.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Keri turned to the nearest stairwell and sprinted downward.
Troubleshooter? This was trouble shouting loud and clear, and no way was someone sneaking aboard the ship unapproved. Not on her watch. Especially someone who might or might not have the fishermen’s mafia on his heels.
She burst into the crew common area and glanced around. A short line of people waited before a folding table, the two pursers behind it handing out keys and information sheets.
“Something wrong?” The chief supervisor, Chad, smiled her way enticingly, and yeah, they’d been flirting earlier, but…timing, dude. Being a family friend didn’t mean
any time, any place
.
“Did you see an unauthorized entry? There was a disturbance down on the docks.”
“No one new boarded except the last-minute crew we contracted locally. And this is almost the last of them.” Chad stood and eyed the line. “There’s one missing. A Mark Weaver. He’s not here yet—”
“Here I am. Sorry. Tiny mistake—alarm didn’t go off. Got here as quick as possible.”
The late arrival was dark haired, the strands long enough to lie tousled around his shoulders like some bad-boy rock star on tour.
Mmm
, she liked bad boys. His leather jacket hung open, his chest moving rapidly, and Keri hesitated.
Chest heaving? Slightly panting—as if he’d been running? “Did someone escort you to the ship, Mr. Weaver?”
His eyes widened, then his grin flashed and her belly warmed. Damn, that face of his should be labeled a dangerous weapon. “No, but I sure could use an escort to my room.”
“You’ll get your sleeping assignment in a minute,” Chad cut in. “First, sign here.”
Keri shook herself, stepping back in self-defense.
Mark winked her direction then leaned over the table to add a swirl of chaos to the bottom of the page. “There you go, love.”
Chad choked for a second before handing over a key. “Your room is on the port side, toward mid ship. You can get extra linens and supplies from the hall storage, and your first shift starts at eleven hundred hours. Report back here and you’ll find your team leader, who will get you fitted up and give you last-minute instructions.”
Mark tilted an imaginary hat at Keri, ignoring Chad completely. “You going to be around? Help me find my sea legs, that kind of thing?”
Keri continued to retreat until her back hit the wall. “I think we’ll end this conversation now, Mr. Weaver. Find your quarters.”
His dark eyes sparkled for a second before he dropped his gaze, stroking his way down her body. She should feel insulted. She should turn and demand he treat her with more respect. The words wouldn’t come, mainly because what she really wanted was to strip right there and ride him like a Harley. Feel his power rumbling between her thighs and—
Sweat broke out on her brow, cooling instantly in the air-conditioned room. Mark was out the door before she figured out how to respond further. Keri avoided the blatant question in Chad’s eyes and raced away, slamming through the door that led the opposite direction from where her mystery man had gone. All thoughts of why he’d been chased aboard were lost in the disastrous new revelation that had overtaken her.
This was not good. This was
so
not good. The situation had gone from troublesome to tortuous in less time than it took for the average wolf pack to consume a prime-rib dinner.
Keri stopped to lean her forehead on the nearest wall. She hit with more force than intended, which was moderately excruciating but somehow appropriate.
In fact, she repeated the move. A couple of times.
Bang
.
Bang
.
The resulting pain made her screw up her face.
Bang
. She was supposed to be there for her friend and act as a troubleshooter.
Bang
. Not be the one to cause chaos right under Tessa’s nose.
Bang
. Not discovering her mate in the midst of the hired help.
Her mate. Oh my word, was it really him?
She flipped around and pressed her shoulders to the wall, letting her head fall back. Instantly drooling over some strange guy wasn’t the problem—shifters were cool about sex, and if she wanted to go knock boots with someone, no one would even blink.
But what her body was doing right now? This was an out-of-the-blue, off-the-charts, do-it-now and do-it-hard attraction. In any shifter’s handbook, she was sure she’d find her symptoms listed as classic
he’s the one,
accompanied by flashing neon warning lights.
Now the question was, what the heck did she do?
Chapter Two
Jared sprawled across the single bed that occupied three-quarters of the available space in his tiny crew cabin. Ever since his fight-or-flight response had kicked in back at the coffee shop and shot him full of adrenaline, he’d been vibrating. Only now had his heart rate dropped to anything approaching normal.
He sat up and dragged a hand through his hair. Well, that had been exciting. His lover over the previous few nights had insisted she was good with some casual fun. The family photo he’d spotted on the wall, the one with her being guarded carefully by her older brothers—his chasers of the fisherman variety—should have reminded him otherwise. Even if she was fine with bed-rocking, mind-blowing, no-strings-attached sex, her big brothers had other ideas about what their little sis should be doing. They had warned him off a long time ago.
His reputation truly had been well earned.
Bursting in on the cruise-ship staff gathering put a temporary kink in his plans to simply hide out for a few minutes until the bruiser boys left the area. He’d been ready to cut and return to Haines, peeking down the corridor he’d run up, when the stiff from the sign-in table, that Chad somebody, had taken it upon himself to provide a door-to-door escort to his staff quarters.
In spite of the hole he was in, Jared had to laugh.
Stepping forward and claiming to be Mark—sheer impulse on his part. The guy was one of the Granite Lake pack, and pulling practical jokes on each other came with the territory.
This prank was the best so far, especially since he’d seen Mark tossing back a few too many last night. Jared bet his friend was somewhere off in Haines, face down, drooling and snoring, happily unaware he was late for his assignment.
Jared wondered what the pack would think up for work for the dude. Hopefully something physically dirty and nasty. Not that he was vindictive or anything, but the last time they’d crossed paths, Mark had stiffed him with the bill for an entire night’s food and drink.
Jared headed for the door. Time for the fun and games to be over. Maybe he’d even be nice and phone Mark once he got down on the docks. Give the guy a wake-up call and all that. He poked his head out the door and pulled up short. Chad glanced over from where he stood chatting with a couple girls in housekeeping uniforms—neither of whom Jared recognized.
“Need something?” Suspicion tinged Chad’s voice.
Shit
. “Nope. Just curious. Thought I heard a large donkey in the hallway. No worries…”
He ducked back into his room and closed the door on the sound of feminine laughter and Chad’s cussing.
Oh yeah, it was a good thing this was a temporary gig. Chad was far too easy to tease.
Jared made his way over to the tiny window and cupped his hands around his eyes to block the room light. He peered out, fascinated to see the people boarding the ship. Bags and boxes were being rolled up a gangplank, and all over the dock there was excitement and energy. Dynamic, thrilling.
A huge yawn broke free and he stretched lazily. Well, that was enough of that. He was more than ready to head home and crash for another few hours. Some time this afternoon he would show up at the Heritage Village. Maybe do a little shopping first…
When are you going to grow up?
Maggie’s tease from the coffee shop echoed in his head. He felt a little guilty that people he admired had been completely taken in by his deception. All the more honest responses he could have given her blurred together into a confusing morass, compounded by this temporary excursion back into the world of the privileged. It wasn’t his first time on a cruise ship, and the percolating memories were both attractive and disturbing. Frustration made him revert to his usual coping strategy, which was to ignore the issue.
He snuck another peek out the door, delighted to find the hall empty. Jared whistled softly, making his way forward and glancing down hallways to figure his way out of the bowels of the ship. A quick peek at his watch. Ten a.m. Lots of time. He could even get in a nap and game of pool before heading over to do some volunteer work. He took a set of stairs upward, weaving through increasing crowds as shifters in holiday garb filled the hallways.